Hung bou joi sin (2014) Reviews

• Standard ghost story

  lost-in-limbo2018-06-22

  I always find the superstitious beliefs of another culture quite interesting and China is one of the more unique. "TWILIGHT ONLINE" is sadly not that unique, but a middle-of-the-road Hong Kong mystery-horror with constant, in-your-face strange occurrences and ghostly apparitions. No cliché is left unchecked. On the technical side you can call it over-stylized with elaborate plotting that erratically moves back-and-forth throughout the narrative's timeline. There's a purpose for it however, as it opens up different points of view. Leading to first perceptions not being quite what they first appeared. It does start off like your basic creepy, vengeful ghost tale wanting to scare you with loud jump scares and heavy saturated atmospherics. Where I did find the opening 10 minutes rather effective, but midway through the film it eventually moves away from that spooky ambiance and focuses on linking everything together. That's when the confounding questions come thick and fast, as the investigating detective (an excellent Siu-Fai Cheung) begins questioning his own mindset. Supposedly elements of the story are based on true-life events involving a double-decker bus plunging off a bridge, crashing into the village below and that of a suicide victim dressed in red (which is not good) leaping to her death in a public housing complex on the day of the Chinese Ghost Festival.