Interactive Murders (2002)



	Interactive Murders		Return to Review Archive - I
	Year:	2002	Andy Hui and Nicola Cheung
	Director:	Billy Tang Hin-Sing
	Cast:	Andy Hui Chi-On, Nicola Cheung Sun-Yu, Ronald Cheng Chung-Kei, Ken Wong Hap-Hei, Irene Santiago Casiano, David Lee Wai-Seung, Cha Yuen-Yee
	The Skinny:	A few interesting twists populate this passably entertaining thriller from the hard-working Billy Tang. While gratifyingly nihilistic, the film also proves to be more jarring than compelling.
	Review by Kozo:	Billy Tang brings us yet another Golden Harvest thriller with Interactive Murders. Andy Hui stars as Mo, a former police inspector who was highly successful despite massive gambling debts that forced his retirement. Now moonlighting as a bodyguard, Mo is called back into service by the local cops led by Ken Wong and Irene Santiago Casiano. They initially disdain his help, but give in when he turns out to be an incredibly skilled detective. The big case: a serial kidnapper named Jash who's taken singing celebrity Anna hostage. This madman leaves clues on the Internet and even asks to deal specifically with Mo. Meanwhile, spooky girl Shana (Nicola Cheung) shows up. Shana called into a radio show to predict the kidnapping and claims to have the "sixth sense". Mo and the cops enlist Shana for help, but not before she predicts the kidnapping of a few other celebrities. Mo eventually suspects that Jash is actually a former nemesis of his, but not before more bad stuff happens that complicates matters. Ostensibly an "interactive" thriller, director Tang and screenwriter Felix Chong give the audience ample opportunity to figure out things for ourselves. That means we get to stare at the same computer screens and mysterious Internet wallpaper that contains all the supposed clues to the crime. Little verbal clues are also dropped that eventually pay off when we discover exactly who's behind the crimes and - more importantly - why they're even doing it. That ultimate revelation is the big payoff of the film, which makes the film seem more clever and interesting than it probably truly is. Like The Sixth Sense, you can see the hints upon a second viewing, but the effect doesn't enrich the story. More likely, you could feel bewildered or - even worse - screwed with. The twists certainly make you pay attention, but they don't necessarily make the film better. This isn't to say that Interactive Murders isn't interesting. It is, but only as a passable curiosity. The actors are uniformly competent, with Andy Hui and Nicola Cheung turning in decent lead turns. Billy Tang has been churning out movie after movie recently. While none of them have been standout pictures, they've at least been decent diversions considering their small budgets. However, Herman Yau has been doing pretty much the same thing for years, and his movies are usually better, too. (Kozo 2002)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Golden Harvest Home Video Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Dolby Digital 5.1 Removable English and Chinese Subtitles

		image courtesy of Golden Harvest Home Video
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