glyptoteque

Wow, this starts out so good; the beautiful cinematography, the smooth editing, the top of the class acting and last but not least the brilliance that is the soundtrack; tinny and cheaper than cheap, repetitive synth-hell ( What a wonderful, imaginative composer! ). And let's not forget the enormously sinister atmosphere on display here, and the vulgar display of over the top gore, what more could you want? Oh yes of course, a brilliantly written screenplay, a story that makes so much sense that it's almost painful at times. Yep, you surely get it all here, no other Asian horror film can compare with this diamond.

Damn, what an absolute travesty this film was. From start to end it's total amateur hour, there simply isn't a single redeeming aspect to be found here. When other reviewers state that they have "been around the horror block" quite a few times and this is one of the nastiest films they have seen, I just know they haven't even taken a step outside the block. Please don't listen to them, they don't know what they are talking about. This moronic attempt at gory horror is the epitome of tame, in no shape or form did I watch something extreme. This for some inane reason has been compared to the untouchable The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ( 1974 ). Besides not a single horror film of that ilk even coming close to the filthy brilliance of that piece of art, it's doubly blasphemous comparing this feeble whimper to that feral roar of a film. So f off with that! It's of course easy to see exactly which scene this abomination lifted it's inspiration from, it's of course from the penultimate scene in TCM. But whereas the dinner scene in TCM is one of the most unnerving and dread inducing scenes ever put to celluloid, in this film it's just moronic over acting, laughing maniacally in a cringe worthy attempt to be oh so scary. Pathetic.

Summarized then; an abortion of a film, crappy acting, lousy cinematography, non- existent gore and dread, and a story so immensely nonsensical it's truly mind-blowing. If you want extreme Asian horror, watch The Untold Story, Tumbling Doll Of Flesh, Naked Blood, Grotesque and Suicide Club. Avoid this turd at all costs!

Hmm, contributed ( although meagerly) to this project, and I must admit I had hoped for a slightly better outcome. I felt a bit underwhelmed by this as opposed to Lord of Tears, which was a superior film in my opinion. The same sense of desolation and hopelessness is definitely present, but what is lacking here is the intangible sense of dread. When you choose to display the enemy so frequently, much of the uncanny and the creepy loose its impact, I felt there was such an over-saturation of the raven-men, that it became boring. In Lord Of Tears, the creature was used sparingly, appearing now and then to utter prophecies of doom, but here the raven- men is used to so such an effect that they almost cancel themselves out as figments of horror and madness and instead becoming mere men in beaked costumes. Which of course diminishes greatly the alternate reality you are supposed to be swept up in as a viewer. But all in all, compared to the soulless dreck being released with the label of horror these days, this film is without a doubt a work of passion for horror, and despite the flaws, I suggest you check it out. And whenever Mr. Brewster has a new project, you should support it, there is always room for improvement.