Silk - O Primeiro Espírito Capturado

Two reasons why I watched this. First, I've been recommended this film by a friend. Secondly, it starred Barbie Hsu - with a name like that, why shouldn't I want to watch this? OK, so I know she starred in the Taiwanese pop-drama television series Meteor Garden, and am just curious to see her in yet another horror movie. And since I'm in post-birthday celebrations, I also learnt she's a day older than me.

OK, so I'm digressing. Silk is a horror movie, and quite a decent one at that. Although it uses the all too familiar ghostly boy character, this boy, unlike recent predecessor seen in Dorm, is very much creepier and deadlier. He's the star ghoul, and exhibits a strange behavioural pattern of staying in a particular room and speaking to himself, or so it is thought.

A team of modern day paranormal investigators cum scientists, led by Japanese Hashimoto (Yosuke Eguchi), recruits a police hotshot with special powers of lip reading, sharp shooting, and that peculiar sixth sense, Ye Qi-Dong (Chang Chen), to unravel the mystery of the boy. However, Hashimoto has an ulterior motive into his research, which has spawned an anti- gravity device called the Menger Sponge, that can be used to entrap spirits, and in liquid spray form, allows the user to see the paranormal.

The movie relies on some hokey physics theories to bring across some ideas and its premise. It tries to explain the phenomenon of spirits and ghosts and how they come about, using some scientific explanation that they are forms of energy. Watch this movie to see if you agree to the conditions presented to turn someone into a spirit that roams the earth, rather than to dissipate into nothingness upon death. But don't get me wrong, it does make for some interesting story development (hey it's fiction/science fiction anyway).

At its core, this movie dwells on themes of existence, family, and again the human emotions of love and hate. I thought Chang Chen did well in the role of the officer who, despite his super abilities, still find it difficult to grapple with new inexplicable experiences, and at the same time, the critical illness of his beloved mother, and trying to maintain a relationship of sorts. The rest of the cast did OK, but in my opinion, noted more for their eye candy presence.

There are truly genuine scary moments in this movie, which was seriously lacking in recent horror releases. Although most are much ado about nothing, or relied on the usual tricks up the horror sleeve with smart manipulation of editing and music, it did provide what I thought was an explanation on how offerings to spirits are possibly handled, through the use of well placed and polished special effects.

In summary, what works for Silk is its semblance of a decent story, and the ending which was satisfactory, given its at times hilarious build up during the tense final (what's up with all these Ringu homages, made plain ridiculous and full of cheese) and unexpected twist of a logical flaw. It's also touching and sad at times, and for those who are of softer hearts, it might bring about some tears.

Do take note though, with its PG rating locally, much of the gore were censored out, in really ugly means. Very jarring to the entire flow of the movie.

This is a movie with much creativity. It's not just about ghost, but also sci-fi and many other factors. Don't expect it to be a typical ghost movie. It's much better than ghost movies which just try to terrify people.

Many people will enjoy all the complexity in this movie, while some may feel it's too complicated as a movie. Especially, people who have engineering background will like this movie a lot.

The special effect is not as magnificent as the best Hollywood sci-fi movies, but it's good enough for a ghost related movie.

The actors are good as well, while they are mostly Asian.

I believe the comment for this movie will be polarized depending on the expectation & background of the watcher.

In Taipei, the crippled scientist Hashimoto (Yosuke Eguchi) uses his invention of "Menger Sponge" to capture the energy of the spirit of a child in an old building. He invites the specialist in reading lips, Detective Tung (Chen Chang), to join his research team that is studying the phenomenon to understand the movements of the lips of the ghost. Hashimoto is trying to disclose why the energy of the ghost does not dissipate, and Tung discovers the identity and the dramatic story of the boy. He was sick with tumors and was killed by his own mother and buried nearby a nuclear plant. Hashimoto deduces that the rage of the boy for his mother associated to the location where the body was buried were the reason to keep the energy. When the government decides to shutdown the research, Hashimoto becomes insane and takes the spirit with him.

"Guisi" is an original and dramatic ghost story with characters well developed and great special effects. However, the confused screenplay is weird and flawed in some moments, with an absolute lack of explanation for many situations. For example, how Hashimoto walks in the ceiling of the director's bedroom? Why the ghosts kill when the person looks in their eyes? Why the mother dies exactly when Tung reaches her room? There are many other situations without a satisfactory explanation, but it is worthwhile watching this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Silk - O Primeiro Espírito Capturado" ("Silk - The First Captured Spirit")

Note: On 04 September 2015, I saw this film again.

Wow..., what a beautiful and sophisticated supernatural movie about life and death. Acting is superb, plot very interesting, music amazing. Very atmospheric, scary but also touching story about the ghost of a little boy who has a special bond with his mother, where love and hatred are synonyms of life and death. The direction is a real ART - innovative and unpredictable. Only one silly car crash scene (unnecessary and fake) but who cares!

Definitely one of the best supernatural movies in a long long time. Can't wait to watch it again!

Highly recommended. Enjoy!

This is not the best movie that I have ever seen, but it comes very close. In fact, I haven't had the experience of being at the edge of my seat for a long time now, but for this movie, I was constantly at the edge of my seat. And that's saying something.

The idea is effectively new, and interestingly captivating. The story itself is cohesive and very sophisticated, something that recent movies lack. The writer uses science to explain supernatural phenomenons like ghosts (no, it is not the Matrix assimilating a program that is doing what it is not supposed to do). And it's no simple science we are talking about here. Although I could understand the story, my friend who is a college IT lecturer couldn't. On top of that, the writer can even anticipates what the audience will ask. Every time I came up with a question, one of the characters on-screen asks that very same question. As can be expected from the writer who wrote Double Vision (although I didn't really understand that movie as a whole - but it was a good story nevertheless). Characters developments were immensely heart-wrenching, although it was only focused on two characters. There was a scene where I actually closed my eyes and turned away from the screen, and I was crying.

The editing and plot were superbly done. For a movie that could have bored the audience easily, this movie interlaced long explanation sequences with actions and scare scenes. This is the main reason why I was at the edge of my seat. I kept waiting for the answers but at the same time being caught in the action on-screen. Brilliant! The acting was the next commendable area of the movie. Chang Chen gave a very solid performance as both a cop and a son in distraught. Karena Lam also gave a memorable performance here as a woman who is willing to sacrifice for love. Yosuke Eguchi's performance reminds me of Tadanobu Asano's performance in Ichi The Killer. Although less masochistic, Hashimoto's character gave you the sense of someone who has a strong hold on his own believes, and he is willing to go further than most people to get what he wants. Yosuke Eguchi was brilliant as Hashimoto, being able to bring out that pain and stubbornness within the character. The casting director should get an award for this alone.

Art direction was very good. The building of the set was not only believable, but also gave out the correct atmosphere to compliment every aspect of the movie. There are no overkills like those you see in Pulse. The backgrounds were nicely done, and house decorations are kept to a realistic level. No unnecessary marks on the walls, no abundance of abandoned furniture, and definitely no worms squirming on leftover food or unwashed dishes. An abandoned apartment looks like an abandoned apartment. Just look closely on the beginning sequence and you will see what I mean.

Camera works were good and innovative, but more importantly, there were effective. The lighting was perfectly done. I got goosebumps just from the atmosphere alone.

With those said, let's look at the negative side of the movie. Directing was not very strong here. No fatal mistakes were made by Su Chao-Bin, but there were nothing much to impress either. My only major complain is the scare scenes. They were by far the worst ideas I have ever seen. It was still good in the beginning, but towards the end, they were downright funny and unimaginative. Those who came up with the ideas, and those who approved them, should be shot in the kneecap. This movie can be really scary if only the scenes were done right. What an unfortunately and unnecessary weakness.

The music was insignificant. I can't recall really, if there were any background music to accompany the movie. They just don't register. It didn't help the movie, but at least it didn't ruin it. Also, I don't really like the multi-lingual dialogs. More often than not, I find myself switching between listening to the dialogs and reading the subtitles, which in this movie where many explanations were essentials (and often very long), it can be easy to get lost. Why? Because the characters often switch languages right in the middle of a conversation! Also, I don't care much about the politics portrayed in the movie.

It could work just as well with only one country being involved in the case. How many Japanese can speak perfect Mandarin, and vice versa? Overall, the movie was good, very good, but it could have been great. Maybe if I directed the movie...