Four Eyed Monsters
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Directed by Ann Hui.
A young girl witnesses a horrific street accident. A man (Anthony Wong in a pivotal cameo) is hit by a trolley and decapitated. Fifteen years later, June (Shu Qi) is all grown up, and doesn't even remember the accident. One night at a club, Peter (Eason Chan), an unhappy young man, sees June dancing, wearing an eye patch, and approaches her. She quickly uses him to get away from another man, and drags him to a karaoke bar. Just as abruptly, they leave the karaoke bar, and she has him take her to his place. The next morning, he awakens to find his apartment splattered with red paint, and fifty dollars missing from his wallet. He and his roommate, Simon (Sam Lee), then discover Peter's father (James Wong) lying in the bathtub, jabbering about how he doesn't have Alzheimer's, but he's possessed. Eventually, Peter runs into the elusive June again, and they seem to be developing a relationship. But despite his romance with this mysterious woman, things continue to go badly for Peter. He loses his job as a hairdresser, and his father commits suicide. Soon, he discovers June's secret. Ever since she was a little girl, she's seen ghosts. She wears dark glasses or an eye patch sometimes, so she won't have to see them. Soon, it becomes clear that one ghost in particular is haunting June--the ghost of a man demanding his head back. As Peter gets closer to June, he begins to unravel the mystery, and discovers a connection to his own family's past. Visible Secret was written by Abe Kwong and directed by Ann Hui (Ordinary Heroes). Kwong would later direct the sequel. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
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Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
is neutral about it.
Few films mix genres with as little regard for consistency of tone as Ann Hui's entertainingly offbeat Visible Secret. From the opening sequence, which features a headless corpse staggering clumsily through a downtown street, the film is an odd mix of the creepy, the comic, and the romantic. Strong performances and well-composed visuals (cinematographer Arthur Wong (Once Upon a Time in China) won a Hong Kong Film Award for his fine work) keep the story involving through all its frequently absurd digressions. For example, a subplot involving the Peter's (Eason Chan) failing career as a hairdresser gets a surprising amount of screen time. In one scene, while the boy whose hair he's cutting reads a violent comic, Peter accidentally nicks his ear, bloodying the boy's face, which thrills the boy, but understandably horrifies his mother. This kind of goofily disturbing humor is typical of the film, and it's a credit to Chan and co-star Shu Qi (The Transporter) that they somehow manage to maintain our interest in the fate of their characters through such nuttiness. In another scene which wonderfully twists genre expectations, June (Shu Qi) offers nonverbal encouragement from the sidelines while Peter tries to placate a friend of theirs who's apparently possessed by the spirit of a scorned girl who committed suicide. While the film would probably be scarier without all this comic business, Hui does manage to produce a few chills, and even attains a surprising degree of poignancy. Her visual flair and her willingness to cross genre boundaries make the entertaining Visible Secret a very worthwhile diversion. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
 

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