Although this is a Tiawanese movie, some of the characters speak some English. I like the subtitles when they appear because I try to guess which sounds match the translated words, and I try to remember them.
The movie reminds me of how I felt when I saw HOSTEL. It’s not the same story and it is by no means an imitation.
Before I continue, I must get through the most important characteristic. Yes, there are boobs, specifically, those of Maria Ozawa. Why do I state this? It’s because the absence of boobs means that the movie is a cop-out. I don’t want to see PG-rated horror, and if a movie gets an R-rating because someone said “fuck” more than seven times, it’s still a PG-rated movie in my eyes. If viewers are too squeamish to see boobs, then everything else is going to suck too. Being afraid of nudity means the filmmaker is afraid, not bold, no matter how much blood is seen. So bravo, Kevin Ko!
I also want to mention that the boobs are actually touched, which is a natural thing to do yet it remains absent from most cash-grab movies.
I don’t give away story or plot because the only thing that I want to know before watching a movie is if it is worth the investment of my time to watch it, but I will say that for the most part, I found myself interested in the tale, specifically of the protagonist. Of course, this is a horror movie, so bad decisions get made by characters, some coincidences occur that seem like plot points rather than story points (yes, there is a difference), but this is not a realistic set of situations. It’s for entertainment.
Yes, there is gore. There was a scene in which a mouse was going to be subjected to torture, to show what will happen to the human. I had to turn my eyes away. I didn’t want to hate the director in case this was a real death of an animal. I didn’t look back at the screen until after the audio indicated that the shots were over.
There was an interesting twist on the prejudices between classes of wealth and poverty, which I will let you discover on your own. It’s refreshing to see a writer who revamps common themes.
Returning to the gore, I will only say that this movie contains ample amounts, but the entertainment value comes from the tension of the scenes.
This was a fun ride, and I found myself thinking about the movie even a few days after watching it. It’s horror, so I can’t object to some of the things that would raise a few questions if the genre were different.
This isn’t one of the movies that are made for “modern audiences” so a girl that is barely over a hundred pounds does not beat up a dozen men. There is no bending of physics in this movie. The only superhuman element of any character may perhaps be the level of bravery, or even level-headed thinking in a dire situation, that you root for. There is no propaganda, not even in the aforementioned differences between social classes. There is no idealism; just a fun romp in a movie that satisfies in tension-building, great characters, gore, and a good pair of tits that are actually fondled.