YIN YANG MANSION (China 2024) - MINI REVIEW

Survive 7 days in this creepy building, win a massive prize.

Two men, one of them with his girlfriend, and a security guard are tasked with spending 7 nights in an old factory dorm building in order to be eligible to inherit a 7 million RMB insurance policy left behind from a mysterious benefactor with vague connections to them all. The dorm is haunted by the spirits of ghosts of the past, specifically of a young woman who scandalously gave birth in the bathroom of one of the rooms. How are all of these people connected and are the ghosts real?

Well of course the ghosts are not real, but that’s now part of the fun of these Chinese movies that call themselves horror films - seeing how it all ends and seeing how the ghosts are explained. It’s almost a genre in itself.

The process to get there though is probably one of the more enjoyable Chinese horror movie experiences in a long time. The movie lays on the atmosphere, sometimes a little bit too much, then fails to reel it back in time before it becomes too comical, and the fear in the characters eyes is always over-exaggerated, but by the end of the film all the twisted pieces eventually come together.

Unlike most Chinese horror movies that forget the horror element in the final third as the mystery and thriller elements take over, this movie attempts to keep it front and center and manages to achieve that.

But remember, we are comparing this to other Chinese horror movies, not horror movies in general.

I’d like to say the acting is solid, but only one performer can hold their heads high in this film, and that’s the bespectacled Li Meng, known for her work in big budget films like A Place Called Silence and Never Say Never. She keeps control of her character for the longest of anyone in the film before the inevitable disaster at the end.

The ending is completely expected, there are no surprises here except for the rather creative use of the zhizha paper dolls and the excellent red colour lighting used throughout. One day when China lifts these restrictions on horror movies, a title like this is really going to shine when it’s released from its shackles.

Until then, it’s a solid 2 out of 5.

Genre Chinese Horror Thriller
Director Shenghe Wang
Starring Meng Li, Xiaoding Su, Xun Liu, Lu Hai
Original Title 鸳鸯楼·惊魂
Alternative Title Mandarin Duck House, Yin Yang Mansions
Country of Origin China
Release Date 31 October 2024