Written by Kwok Cheung Tsang & Chi-Man Wan & Ho-Cheung Pang
Directed by Ho-Cheung Pang
From the outset, Dream Home sets the bar high for the film to continue as a balls out slasher. A dementedly gory opening has a security guard to a high rise building in Hong Kong doing things no person should ever do with a razorblade. The perpetrator escapes quietly in the background.
First and foremost, the cinematography is exquisite. Full of rich colors and vibrant tones, color is used often to set an unsettling tone for each scene. We begin to follow Cheng Lai-Sheung (Josie Ho), as she toils at her job as a telemarketer for a bank, continually getting hung up on.
A series of fragmented flashbacks reveal that her ultimate dream was to save her father, to get him close to the view of the ocean he longs for, before his ailing body ultimately fails him. We follow the trials and tribulations of a home buyer, stepped on by large companies with no compassion for the individual, only the hard numbers, a new style of business since the crumbling of the world housing markets.
The audience is treated to the daily frustrations of life as Cheng Lai-Sheung faces roadblocks along her way to what she imagines is success. Her sometimes fling (Eason Chan) is a drunken fratboy type that only calls when he needs a quick release, or just doesn't want to go home to his wife. Cheng uses this to her advantage, adding his brutish sympathy to her cache of weapons.
Some audiences may find the juxtaposition of Chinese melodrama and extreme gory horror off putting, but for those experienced with CAT III films, it's a splattery fun ride, with some of the best practical F/X work in the past few years. Reminiscent of old school KNB, the practical work is messy and detailed, they managed to capture a lot of the shine that just N and B seem to be missing these days.
As for the slasher conventions, it's nothing new. The whole approach, of a stepped on homeowner trying to hold fast what has become theirs, is an interesting one, but once it gets down to it, all the slashing takes place in a few measured sequences, and while the kills and gore are fresh and unique, the whole episode turns into a murky mess of plot.
Which is not to say it's not enjoyable. It is, very much so. Some of the most squirm inducing moments I've seen in a recent horror film. However, the marriage of the two concepts just don't quite gel in the end, while I respect the filmmakers for the unique approach to a slasher, it's not a coy play on the conventions of a slasher like the very good All the Boys Love Mandy Lane. As far as Chinese slashers go, however, it's one of the better films you'll see.
8.7/10 (B+)
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