Tor dei gui mou yan

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?'

Not going to bother with the plot as others have succinctly summed it up for you. In my opinion this was a decent film that one could watch if its a weekend and there's nothing to do. The acting, storyline and special effects will not leave you feeling disappointed. At the very least, if you rented this movie for a couple of bucks, rest easy in knowing you will get your money's worth.

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

Who would have thought that Nick Cheung would have such an affinity with the supernatural, so much so that one year after his directorial debut in 'Hungry Ghost Ritual', he would return to the director's chair in yet another horror outing? 'Keeper of Darkness', which he also stars in, finds a much more assured and confident Cheung at the helm of a flawed but much more compelling story compared to last, which follows a professional exorcist who moonlights as a gangster by day as he attempts to find closure with a female ghost while under threat by one of the most vicious spirits that he has ever encountered in his personal and professional life.

Stoic on the outside but tormented on the inside, Fatt is not quite so different from the usual cop roles that Cheung plays, except that this time he happens to be an exorcist blessed (or cursed) not only with the ability to see ghosts whether in the day or at night but also with the knack of being able to communicate with them. It is through this communication that Fatt convinces them to let go of their often tragic past, and in doing so, leave the human vessel which they have possessed as an outlet for their repressed feelings. As Fatt would tell us, the spirits which linger on in our world tend to be either suicides or murder victims, whose grudges with our kind prevent them from moving on to reincarnation and the hope of a better tomorrow.

On one of his assignments, Fatt runs into the spirit of a young girl who was burnt alive with her father Hark (Shi Yan Neng), the latter of whom is hell bent on exacting revenge on the corrupt detective responsible for their appalling fate. Unless Fatt helps him kill that detective, Hark threatens to continue a murder spree which had already claimed the lives of two mediums. And yet though it may be convenient to assume that the film is no more than another battle between the vengeful ghost and the unfortunate ghost whisperer, there is in fact yet another equally significant dimension to Fatt's story – that is, a female spirit named Shuet (Amber Kuo) who has lived in the same apartment as Fatt since he was a kid and whom he has grown to fall in love with.

Shuet is an intriguing addition all right, and thankfully, Yeung Sin-Ling's screenplay nicely fleshes out the unlikely connection between them through multiple flashbacks that adds poignancy to the emotional dilemma which both Shuet and Fatt have to confront in the later half of the film. Without giving away too much, a good part of it has to do with Fatt's clinically depressed mother (played by Karena Lam) and the dingy apartment that they move into with a history of its own. Besides Shuet, Fatt's lonely existence consists of his loyal assistant Chung (Louis Cheung), a boastful self- important gangster type who provides some degree of comic relief, and is interrupted by the presence of rookie reporter Ling (Sisley Choi), who is hungry to capture some ghostly phenomenon on camera to boost her career standing.

The multitude of supporting characters and their respective arcs with Fatt do make the central narrative more diffused than ideal, but by and large, Cheung succeeds in painting a portrait of a tragic loner who draws on his own pain to help set free the lost and wandering spirits of our world while remaining trapped by his personal childhood demons. Cheung's soulful portrayal is the key here, drawing us into his tortured soul and opening the way for us to understand that of those which have left this world whom he communicates with. As a director though, he does struggle trying to balance drama, horror and romance in the same movie, but those shortcomings do not distract from his own otherwise much stronger lead performance that is the very emotional anchor of the story.

Yet even though he may not be on the surest footing, there is still much to praise about Cheung's ambition and achievement in his sophomore feature. Most significantly, his attempt to fuse the supernatural with the real world as we know it is hauntingly captured in phantasmagorical images that recall what the Pang brothers had created in 'Re-cycle' but in a much more evocative fashion. A particular standout sequence is one which sees Fatt go about his routine of bringing candies for ghosts wandering in one of the dark alleyways in Hong Kong – alternating between what Fatt sees and what someone without the gift of the third eye would, Cheung sharply evokes what it means to have spirits walking in our midst. In contrast, a later sequence that has Fatt immerse himself into the spiritual realm to search out Hark sees Cheung go all out in CGI to recreate the infamous Kowloon Walled City, although that bit of excess with digital trickery proves the law of diminishing returns.

Still, there is no doubt that 'Keeper of Darkness' is visually distinctive in its own right, including the sight of Cheung with a prodigious crop of white hair and a body covered in Mandala tattoos. Also notable is how Cheung avoids cheap jump scares and instead goes for slow-burn sequences that build dread and tension, gaining its horror stripes the hard-earned way. Even though he might have taken some time to segue from acting to acting and directing, that time since has likely paid off, if not in terms of experience than for being able to call in favours from the likes of Andrew Lau, Shawn Yue and even Jacky Cheung, all of whom appear in glorified cameos here. And though he is still a much better actor than director, Cheung's sophomore outing as the latter is a marked improvement from his last, proving himself yet again to be the keeper of the - especially in recent years - dying Hong Kong horror genre.

Keeper of Darkness makes fun of Korean drama on more than one occasion. This is both relevant and ironic, considering the film's often melodramatic, poignant, and at times, humorous script, bears a striking similarity. It would be folly to think the filmmakers are unaware of this, for actor/director Nick Cheung fully embraces this to craft a frequently entertaining, edge of your seat narrative, which combines themes of love, loyalty and the supernatural, and though there's a lot going on, Cheung and his great supporting cast superbly pull this off.

Fatt (the always entertaining Cheung) is a white haired, street smart exorcist, who, with the help of assistant Ah-Chung (Louis Cheung) and his connections with a gang element, assists the city of its spiritual concerns. Though Fatt could never be described as anti-social, his strongest relationship is with Cherr (the adorable Amber Kuo), a ghost who inhabits his home. The characterisation applied to both these leads is fantastic; the story of how they met being developed over the course of the film. However, the same cannot be said for the other characters, who, by the end of the feature, feel greatly underdeveloped, burning questions about them left unanswered.

When Fatt's most recent exorcism makes its way online, journalist Zi-Ling (Sisley Choi) makes it her mission to interview him. Never does she suspect that Fatt would refuse her. Zi-Ling's determination propels her further into the realm of the supernatural, and predictably, into trouble. Running afoul of some ghosts of her own, Fatt finds himself having to help her, while investigating the deaths of fellow mediums and exorcists at the hands of violent spectre Hark (Shi Yanneng). Reasons for Hark's malevolence are explored during the narrative, though the film's attempts to have him seem sympathetic are equally powerful.

With the exception of a couple scenes, the special effects are superb, and really drag you into the world that Keeper of Darkness creates. The only problem is that the world is not always given the depth it deserves. There are moments when Fatt is required, much like John Constantine, to cross over to the other side. These fleeting moments are incredible, and it's a shame these moments are not capitalised on. Moreover, though this is a ghost film, it could never truly qualify as 'horror'. If Fatt using chickens and fireworks to frighten a ghost away is not ridiculously comedic enough, the playfulness of the first ghosts we encounter removes any sense of terror. From selfish ghosts, to the more needy variety, the film creates a deep seeded sympathy for the spiritual realm, while also exploring how people become ghosts in the first place. This is not to say Keeper of Darkness is not without its suspense, the constant danger faced by the characters making us genuinely feel concern.

Unlike other films that clearly introduce the leads and the conflict in the first few frames, Keeper of Darkness takes the rulebook on typical narrative structure and throws it out the window in exchange for something more random. The opening scene sees a young Fatt and his mother (Karena Lam) with zero context, following this up with another random sequence, while it isn't until much later into the film that we are introduced to Cherr, despite her having such a pivotal role.

Though sporadic, while also juggling multiple genres and plots, the film consistently works. The film is similar, tonally, jumping from moments of in your face action, to sweeping emotional sequences. The feature is not without its predictability, but from the first scene until its poignant finish, this never gets in the way. From my experience, Keeper of Darkness is a difficult film to find, and though it's not scary enough to grace our screens come Halloween, its charm, sense of humour and occasional thrills makes for (despite been about ghosts) lively entertainment.