I happened to get a chance to sit down and watch the 2015 movie "Keeper of Darkness" (aka "Tor dei gui mou yan") from writer and director Nick Cheung here in 2020. I had not even heard about the movie prior to getting this chance.
Given my fascination with the Hong Kong cinema, needless to say that I seized the moment and sat down to watch this movie.
Well, first of all I must say that the movie's synopsis sounded interesting, and it sold the movie well, and definitely put me up with some expectations for the movie. Which director Nick Cheung unfortunately failed to deliver upon. The movie's storyline just ended up being very bland and often just monotonous.
As for the effects in "Keeper of Darkness", well overall the special effects and CGI team worked their magic quite well. Expect for two horribly rendered ghost effects; the short, overly muscular ghost, it was just atrocious to look at. And the fact that the main ghost was blown out of proportions, it just looked so poorly made, especially because some of the head wasn't show. It looked like they just added a warped image effect in post production. It was laughable to say the least.
It should be said that they had managed to gather a good ensemble of actors and actresses for the movie. Some familiar faces if you are well-traversed within the Hong Kong cinema.
The movie is labelled as a horror and thriller, well I will say that it is more of a thriller than it is a horror movie, because the horror elements are very, very weak throughout the course of the movie.
"Keeper of Darkness" was mediocre at best, and as such I am rating it five out of ten stars. I must admit that when the movie came to an end, I was left with an overwhelming sensation of 'was that really it?'
Keeper of Darkness
2015 [CN]
Action / Horror / Thriller
Plot summary
Street-smart exorcist Fatt has an unique method of dealing with vengeful spirits: He negotiates with them and persuades them to let go of their grudges. After recordings of his exorcisms go viral, Fatt attracts the attentions of a murderous spirit who’s targeting mediums, as well as a troublesome reporter who takes great interest in Fatt and his close relationship with a female spirit.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
May 28, 2020 at 06:55 PM
Director
Top cast
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Potentially great movie ended in mediocrity...
Satisfying...
Adorable ghostly specters, I avoided watching at night, who knows... "Do one good deed. One good deed cancels out three bad ones." I liked the plot, the reasonable development, Nick Cheung lost in charm, and won in acting... Great effects, evolving story, satisfying ending...
Who you gonna call?
Actually he might not pick up, if you call him. For a various amount of reasons that is. One of them is he is reluctant to just help people as is evident in the movie. Not just anyone that is. So while he sees dead people (where have you heard that before?), it is more than that. He also does more than talk to them, if the situation requires that.
It's quite the weird movie. While it does seem to be conventional at places (rhythm, spacing, pacing and of course story and twist wise), the ending is quite something. It's like an add on, which might make sense to some and might completely take others out of the movie. Whatever the case is, this is nicely done and the effects are decent