Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hi! Welcome to The Silver Spleen. My name is Rudyard Kipling, and this is my review of TALES FROM THE DARK PART 2. Just in time for the Hungry Ghost Festival,
TALES FROM THE DARK PART 2 opened last week in Hong Kong.
This installment is markedly different from Part 1, the most obvious difference being
Part 2 is rated Category III. The overall tone is also quite a bit different,
with this installment being much darker and not as light-hearted as the first half.
The first segment, 'Pillow,' is directed by Gordon Chan. Fala Chen and Gordon Lam star
in a story of a couple who have some relationship difficulties.
I don't want to tell you much about the story in this segment, because to do so would kinda
ruin it. It's better, I think, if you just go into it not knowing.
But like I said, it's about a couple who have some issues.
Who hasn't been there, right? Yes, your honor.
And, to be honest, I also don't want to tell you too much about the story because to me,
the ending felt kind of contrived and even rushed.
But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy this segment a lot, I really did.
I thought it was well-acted, well-shot, and was very entertaining.
I really enjoyed it, for admittedly personal reasons.
I was really surprised by how explicit some of the sex scenes were in this segment.
But not in any prurient way. It was very shocking to me to see Fala Chen
doing sex scenes. It struck me as unusual, even daring, for
her, if not for the director. And Gordon Lam.
The story is interesting, mostly well-told (except for the ending), and very well-acted.
It naturally transcends basic logic more than once, but as a ghost story, you kinda have
to expect that. The middle segment of the film is directed
by Lawrence Lau, and it's called 'Hide and Seek.'
A group of students return to their former primary school, which is slated for demolition.
They're going to have an illicit party and play games.
They decide to play 'ghost hunter' and, (super)naturally, they find more than they bargained for.
The young actors manage varying levels of acting skill, and therefore convincingness,
but I managed to at least stay in the story most of the time.
I actually really liked the 'crazy' janitor guy.
He was weird, and creepy, jsut like he's supposed to be.
Because aren't janitors like that? Some of the scares seemed pretty cheap, not
just narratively, but in their technical execution. On at least one occasion, the make-up was
just obtrusively bad. I've always found the loud jump scare to be
really just a cheap ploy. Even so, some of these so-called 'cheap effects'
were actually pretty interesting and very entertaining.
This segment would have been very much at home in PART 1; there's nothing Category III
about it, and it's kind of unfortunate that it gets stuck between these two segments that
are Category III, and therefore a good portion of its audience gets excluded.
The third segment of TALES FROM THE DARK PART 2 is Teddy Robin's 'Umbrella,' which also
stars... Teddy Robin. It's the story of a mysterious man making
his way across Hong Kong at night, intercut with a parallel story of a *** who's
very grateful to be on her way home to China very very soon.
Or so the thinks. The segment feels very much like a postcard
to the city's vibrant nocturnal environment, which is populated by all manner of interesting
people, even in real life. From what I've read.
The climax of the segment was really entertaining to me.
But I'm me. I enjoyed it, a lot like the first segment,
because I was shocked, not only by what was happening onscreen, but by the people that
were doing it. I enjoyed this segment for its look, its feel,
and the story. I don't think very many people are going to
find it to be their favorite segment, but I did.
I had a lot of fun, and I found myself thinking about this segment, and the questions that
it asks, a long time after the movie ended. In all, TALES FROM THE DARK PART 1&2 have
been very interesting. Ghost movies are pretty rare these days, but
if we're lucky, maybe we'll get to see more of them.
Now the way to do that would be to support the movies that we do get.
Go to the cinema and watch TALES FROM THE DARK 2.
Then, later on, when it's released on DVD, buy the DVD.
Guess what you're not gonna do; you're not gonna download the movies.
I want you to buy them because that's how we can encourage filmmakers to make more films
that we like. Not by stealing, by buying.
So when the film is released, I'll update the description with a place you can buy it.
Please do that for me. Do it for the filmmakers, do it for the cinema.
If you enjoy my review, please leave me a comment.
If you didn't enjoy my review, please leave me a comment.
If you enjoy these reviews in general, I would greatly appreciate a subscription.
Because it lets me know someone out there is listening to me babble.