O Perseguidor

BEAST STALKER is one of those wonderful films – a crime movie with real heart behind it. The story may be hackneyed and predictable and the plot twists might be anything but, but in the end this film is a triumph because it gets to the real darkness and emotion behind the subject matter. Police procedurals and crime thrillers have long been popular in Hong Kong, but many of them are inevitably slick and soulless, providing entertainment but without real depth to back it up. Not so BEAST STALKER.

The overall story is one of kidnapping, but there's much more going on with the film than that. Both heroes and villains are painted with the same level of painstaking care, so that in the end the film becomes all about character rather than cliché and the latest effort to make the hero look cool in front of a slow-motion explosion. The acting is a triumph; Nicholas Tse bags the fairly predictable role of the tortured cop and does a good job with it, but it's Nick Cheung as the would-be kidnapper who really shines. Cheung could easily have been over the top or theatrical in his turn as the film's villain, but instead he comes across as an all-too real person. He's one of the most interesting bad guys I've seen in a film, and he ignites every scene he takes part in with his dynamic performance.

Of course, at the end of the day this is still a thriller, and director Dante Lam makes sure we don't forget it. There are car crashes, fist fights, shoot-outs and foot chases, and all of them are portrayed with the maximum excitement. This is the first time I've seen a film of Lam's, and I love his cinematography: he sets the scene in long shots before moving in close and staying in close whether dialogue or action is playing out. It adds a level of realism and catapults the viewer into the film in an effective, engaging way. On the strength of BEAST STALKER I'm already eager to track down more of the director's work.

Many Hong Kong thrillers suffer from over styled over produced (by Hong Kong standard) and over acting. I feel like this one has none of those and it has a good story and direction to back everything up. Nick Tse is a pretty boy but this flick he plays a man all right. The film was released in 2008 and I just caught it in 2020. I have no expectation after seeing too many thoughtless glossy productions, but this one is an exception and a pleasant surprise.

Sometimes what you're looking for is right in front of you. Sometimes you really have to look for it. In this case our main hero is trying to figure out who's responsible for a crime and what went down. Now some may think they know way before him, some may be right, but that is not what is good about this movie. It's the action and the actors that help the story and the movie itself.

There are some fancy elements in this that help create something exciting for the viewers. Suspense is high and it keeps it at a steady level. Good stunts and action scenes too

Great film with lots of emotional scene. You're going to love the movie once you watch it

Just saw Dante Lam's Beaststalker at Seattle International Film Festival and loved it. Can anyone tell me why he chose that title? In other words, what is the significance of the name "Beaststalker"? I haven't seen "Beast Cop," but is there some kind of convention or genre in HongKong cinema that would explain it?

To anyone who hasn't seen this film, I highly recommend it. The performances are outstanding, it's a real emotional roller-coaster, and is very cleverly put together. Here's hoping that the Americans don't try to remake it, as it would lose its real punch. The only good remake I've ever seen was "The Departed," and even that one didn't live up to the HK original.