Reviewed by Daniel Rutledge
How far would you go to get your dream home? Ridiculously far if you’re Lai-sheung, the main character in Dream Home.
She has been obsessed with a beautiful sea-view apartment since childhood and when she is finally about to secure one, the deal falls apart at the last minute. So she goes on a killing spree of the neighbours in a bid to lower the price.
The narrative jumps back and forward through time in a clever way that keeps you engaged throughout, although this in addition to the foreign language may be difficult to follow for some viewers. By the end of the film, however, it will have completely fallen into place for anyone with a strong enough stomach to still be in the cinema.
The kills are really what make this movie amazing. They are all very graphic, superbly inventive and extremely well-done. I should emphasize the ‘superbly inventive’ part of the last sentence more, as they really are, terrifically so.
Horror fans will recall with joy the most memorable piece of violence in a lot of their favourite films and look forward to being surprised with the new ways in which hapless victims are dispatched in every film. Those people will be in wide-eyed, open-mouthed ecstasy while watching Dream Home.
But I’m talking about this like I would a bog-standard horror which it is most definitely not. It’s a classy, clever film with an interesting story that is a darkly comic take on Hong Kong’s ever increasing property prices – it just happens to involve the best horror death scenes we’ve seen in a long, long time.
Very highly recommended, but not for the faint-hearted.
Five stars.
This film is playing at the 2010 Hong Kong Film Festival.
Dream Home
:: Director: Edmond Pang
:: Starring: Josie Ho , Eason Chan, Derek Tsang, Lawrence Chou, Juno Mak, Michelle Ye, Paw Hee Ching
:: Running Time: 95 mins
:: Rating: R18
:: Trailer: Watch here
