REVIEW: It Remains (2023)
Hong Kong filmmakers still remember how to make a good horror flick.
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There was a time when watching a Hong Kong horror movie meant you would be in for a bit of a rollercoaster ride. It could be a serious horror title like Rigor Mortis or Dream Home, or something silly like Holy Virgin vs The Evil Dead.
Whatever it was, as long as it wasn’t an anthology film, you were almost guaranteed a good time.
Since the handover and the slowly encroaching tentacle grip of mainland money on the Hong Kong film industry, the humble horror movie has fallen out of favour. Exploring themes that would get the film banned in the mainland, its a genre that’s now ignored by all but the bravest of independent filmmakers.
But director Kelvin Shum has given it a red hot crack, and the impressive results speak for themselves.
Be warned though. If you are looking for a gorefest, a spooky chiller or a slasher film, this isn’t it. This is a film that wants to mess with your head.
PLOT
A group of work colleagues go on a short trip to a remote island to help one of them recover from the recent loss of his girlfriend. While on the island, they notice it’s all but abandoned, with the exception of one man and his daughter who spends most of her time in her room.
While on the island, they start to experience a series of hallucinations and supernatural events, where a tragedy from each of their pasts manifests into a nightmarish reality, which is then combined with the brutal truth about the island’s history.
ABOUT THE FILM
Be prepared for many WTF moments in the film, as it really sets itself on taking you - the viewer - on a really crazy ride.
Crazy is maybe a harsh word, because there does seem to be an exploration of the character’s mental health and how they each deal with the trauma of losing a loved one.
The movie mixes flashback and hallucination shots within scenes to really portray that type of mental anguish the characters are experiencing. This makes the movie a rather impressive visual experience as you’re questioning what is real in the film, or why certain things are happening.
Borrowing elements from thrillers and mystery movies, the story line shrouds the past of each character until a set moment in the film where the revelation makes a relevant plot point. And this is seen most impactfully in the final scene of the film which involves a re-incarnation that one of the characters has desperately sought to avoid.
The movie is a good length, with always enough going on to keep you hooked and pushing the story along at a decent pace where it never gets too confusing or hard to follow.
What are my overall thoughts?
There is a good reason why this movie has generated such positive discussion - because it really is good. And with any luck it encourages a new wave of Hong Kong horror movies that will define a new generation of filmmakers
Check this out if you can.
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Genre Horror
Director Kelvin Shum
Starring Anson Lo, Chu Pak-Hong, Summer Chan, David Chiang Da-wei
Original Title 釀魂
Country of Origin Hong Kong
Release Date 24 August 2023
It remains hong kong horror movie review 2023