Gong tau

Nasty category three (adults only) horror film about a cop who's life is complicated by some killings that have ties to black magic and which are very much directed at ruining his life. Bloody, unpleasant and creepy this is one of the better Hong Kong horror films I've seen in the last few months. Give it a couple of extra points for not being about a ghost with long dark hair.It also feels more like a police procedural rather than a horror film for a good portion of it. This is a film that takes the Black Magic films of the 1970's and 80's with centipedes and floating heads and updates them for the current sensibilities. Then again many of the black magic films were often good and gross, so why mess with them? It doesn't. I was on edge for a good portion of the film, how can you not be with the nastiness that befalls an infant? Clearly anything is possible. I won't over sell the film by insinuating that its perfect, its not, some of the talking scenes are a bit draggy and the final sequence, which at times is gruesome, maybe goes on a bit too long. Still there is something about the film that makes you sit bolt upright and watch dreading the next nasty turn. If you like your horror bloody and full of bugs give this film a shot.

Gong Tau The news of a new HK Cat 3 movie directed by Cat 3 legend director Herman Yau was big news for me. Even though I have a stack of that genre I haven't even watched yet, I still get excited when a new one is announced. This is all about Chinese Black Magic, and a curse being put on a policeman's family killing their baby with hundreds of needle holes, and inflicting his wife with severe pain. Also, other cops are dying for no reason and no cause of death, so the suspicion is GONG TAU. In the case of the baby Needle Gong Tau, but what is the most feared Gong Tau of all, yes, you got it, Flying Head Gong Tau. And when you see the guy sending out these Gong Tau spells, and his head and everything attached to it, you know you are in Cat 3 territory. The main theme of the movie, is the detective trying to find someone that can purge Gong Tau from his Wife, and then find out who and why somebody is casting these nasty curses. This is actually a pretty good movie, I enjoyed it immensely, and even though the nastiness is not quite as nasty as previous Cat 3 movies I've seen, this one still delivers the blood and gore in buckets. The ending is a little funny I thought, but still effective. This is still my favorite Asian genre, and this one does not disappoint. It's better than the last recent Cat 3 movie I bought, "Dog Bite Dog" released in 2006, but then again, I still liked that one too. For fans of extreme Asian Cinema, you definitely want your dose of GONG TAU.

I'm gonna comment on this one for the same reason someone else here did. It's odd that the majority of the small number of comments are negative, and they always show up on the main page whenever I check this film. So the first user comment is usually "terrible" or along those lines, and this movie is certainly far from terrible. As a fan of the Black Magic movies of the seventies and eighties, and I'd include "The Devil" in there too, Gong Tau is a great film in the franchise. Gory and shocking, with interesting characters and a good plot that puts the black magic curse in a modern police setting. Without giving away too much, there are a lot of interesting and gruesome scenes and images for the adventurous viewer and it is a nice return to Cat III film-making for the awesome Herman Yau. Every frame of this film bleeds atmosphere, it comes as no surprise that Yau was a cinematographer before becoming a director. A must watch for horror fans and fans of the bizarre and it's no small wonder that extreme horror novelist Edward Lee cites this as being his favourite horror film of 2007.

A disgustingly good movie… Herman Yau is back and perhaps back to his 90s best. With a glimpse of Yau's 90s work, there is no doubt that the gore and blood genre is where Yau can claim to be heads above the rest. It's been a long 2007 for HK cinema and with only Protégé that actually qualifies as worthy cinema, it is about time that Gong Tau pushes for the title. Gong Tau is one heck of an amazingly compelling movie that engages the audience attention from start to finish. While there are some noticeable flaws and even some notions of thinking that it could have been better, it is still an immensely successful piece of HK cinema and something that Herman Yau can be proud of. It is easily the most impacting movie of 2007 and is certainly the most disgustingly good movie still the stomach churner in 2004's Dumplings.

There is little doubt that Yau loves the word "real" and his style of direction is always straight forward and seemingly realistic. It is exactly that reason that makes Yau's work stand right out and it is his thirst for gore, blood and sex that makes him a genre hero. He is brave enough to go the route not usually taken by other HK directors. While his fellow counterparts would cut away the shockingly revealing scenes of stomach churning realism, Yau stays there to allow the audience to endure through the eyes of realism. In the process of writing this piece of review, Neo is still pondering within his stomach about the body parts, the gore, the naked body, the blood and poisonous yet exotic insects within the human body. It is that impacting and for that full credit must be given to director Yau.

It is rare that a director over-shadows the performances of its actors and perhaps regulating them into nothing more than a supporting. The main focus isn't about the actors, but rather about the gore and Gong Tau itself. The issue of Gong Tau is mythical and even at times unbelievable, but in the human world nothing is certain and it is that tiny notion of uncertainly that Yau plays along with audience and created a little piece of gem. A controversial director by all means, Yau is not afraid to show an infant's death through the art of Gong Tau. It is a brave piece of filmmaking and perhaps one of the most memorable scenes in recent years. While in his last venture (A Mob Story), the gore is reduced to cutting of a finger, here Yau produces gore after gore, blood after blood and skin after skin and the effect is ultimately shocking the audience to the max and challenging their stomach's capacity.

It takes brave soul to churn out and endure through this extravagant and believe the journey is certainly worth taking. Mark Cheng is usually a B-grade actor at best and luckily that is exactly what he I require to do. On the other hand, Lam Suet and Maggie Siu, both produced a performance that allows the audience to feel and more importantly more humane. With that being said, Yau use of newcomer Teng Tzu-Hsuan in an ultra-revealing role is both brave and worthy of praise. Her body is perfectly shaped and her face is ultimately photogenic and her scenes after scenes of skin and body parts revealing is certainly a bonus to all male viewers. It is reminder of how Yau used to film movies and in Gong Tau, Yau is certainly back to what he does best.

All in all, Gong Tau by all means is a heck of a good movie and even if there are some scenes that are a bit too far-fetched, the movie is still realistic enough to shock the audience with the gore and enough skins to satisfy a particular part of the audience. It is an admirable piece of cinema and for that Yau should be given full credit. HK cinema has suffered a lot in recent years and it is movies of the calibre of this one that gives hope to HK cinema lovers. It does not take a genius to work out that Neo favours the bold. Gong Tau is an interesting premise and result is a movie that provides the audience with suitable guilty pleasure of gore, blood and sex in the HK way. It is once again its time to resort to a piece of cliché – Neo just love it…

I rate it 9.5/10

• www.thehkneo.com

Could it be the return of genuine Cat III madness? When I first heard about this film it certainly sounded like it, considering the involvement of director Herman Yau ("Ebola Syndrome", "The Untold Story") and the listing of several themes & keywords that are customary for this sub genre's certification. After seeing the film at the Fantasy and Horror Festival in Belgium, I must admit it's not a total throwback to the outrageous films of the early nineties, but a successful mixture between Cat III nastiness and a far more sophisticated kind of film-making. "Gong Tau" isn't as sickeningly gore and doesn't contain any absurd humor, but to compensate for all this, the script is actually coherent for once and even introduces some effective and plausible dramatic story lines. Next to the voodoo horror plot, there's a very engaging domestic drama sub plot, which honestly makes the horror far more intense, grim and disturbing. The titular term refers to the most nightmarish type of oriental voodoo that black magic artists inflict onto people for reasons of either love or revenge. The harsh Hong Kong copper Rockman Cheung loses his baby son and almost his wife when someone targets him for Gong Tau terror. The main and only suspect is a criminal Lam Chiu, who Rockman shot in the head ten years ago, but he survived and mysteriously vanished. But when the real culprit and motives come to the surface, Rockman actually depends on Lam Chiu's knowledge of the occult for survival. "Gong Tau" is reasonably nauseating and surely doesn't bother to avoid the most shocking taboo subjects (dead babies, bug vomiting, mutilation…) but the violence is never fully gratuitous and Herman Yau largely remains focused on story building and atmosphere instead of sickness. The Gong Tau characteristics may sound a little over the top, as it involves heads separating from the body and antidotes that require a hodgepodge of insect venom, sperm and grease of a human corpse. The special effects and make-up are fabulous and the set pieces are marvelously sinister. Yau's direction is still as stable and reliable as it was over ten years ago, but his cast members definitely improve. Especially Mark Cheng as Rockman and Maggie Siu as his emotionally wrecked wife deliver stellar performances. The climax is insanely gory and even provides a neat (albeit illogical) twist. See this thing if you crave for the good old days of horror cinema to return. After "Dog Bite Dog" last year, this is another modest triumph in the Asian horror industry!