"THAT DEMON WITHIN" (HONG KONG) FILM REVIEW 魔警

## “THAT DEMON WITHIN” 魔警

PRESS REVIEW

 “That Demon Within” packs in a punchful of shocks:

It is an artful blend of crime thrills and psycho horrors and (surprise) …Daniel Wu plays the ultimate tortuous hunk battling between bouts of schizophrenia and reality.

Daniel delves further into this Neo Noir actioner with a stoned glaze that’s bound to send shivers down your spine.

“Who’s the victim and who’s the hero and the motive for the killings” will be left entirely to your imagination.

The plot twists are aplenty. You have to seek out the red herrings. You have to concentrate to stay within the plot.

However, this film has the dressing of a psychodrama, much less an action thriller.

 Initially the focus is on Hon Kong (Nick Cheung), a ruthless Demon King masked gang leader, but in a grisly failed diamond heist shoot-out, he staggers half-dead into a hospital  to fight for his life. He is given a blood donation by security cop Dave Wong (Daniel Wu) who is clueless that he is a robber.

The focus peremptorily shifts over to the latter, a listless demented “zombie” acted brilliantly by Daniel Wu.

We soon learn that he harbors the secret of an unhappy past, of a loveless upbringing under his cruel father,and of a caring relationship with his granny. But what we fail to learn is whether Dave and Hon blended personalities during the initial blood transfusion.

There are confusing and conflicting issues as the movie progresses and the film director opens the gap for the viewer to imagine.

This one is a shocking and expertly made thriller by DANTE LAM. There are plenty of his trademark shoot-outs and explosions.

I like the movie poster showing a close up of Hon Kong (Nick Cheung) with a sneering smile. (smirk)

But the one who overpowers in this film is Dave Wong (Daniel Wu) and this may be his best acting role to date.

Don’t miss it!

RATING: 4 out of 5