Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, Re-Cycle <鬼域> marked the then-fifth directorial efforts for Oxide and Danny Pang a.k.a. the Pang brothers.
This was back in the day when the Pang brothers used to be associated with the Hong Kong horror genre since they first gained their recognitions in 2002’s The Eye <見鬼>. That movie, of course, famously launched both of their careers as well as their lead star, Malaysian-born (Angelica) Lee Sinje.
Having revisited Re-Cycle <鬼域> last weekend, I realised we hardly get this kind of ambitious Hong Kong horror movie these days. The Pang brothers weren’t just set out to make another typical supernatural horror movie, even though it sure looked as if they headed in that direction. At least in the first 35 minutes or so, where the Pang brothers revisited The Eye <見鬼>-like filmmaking vibe, complete with obligatory but effective jump scares as well as clever uses of sound and silence and ominous score. At one point, the Pang brothers even gave us a creepy elevator scene where Lee Sinje’s character riding with a grandmother and a little girl.
Speaking of Lee Sinje’s character, she plays a successful romantic novelist named Ting Yin, whose last novel Eternal Love has recently turned into an acclaimed movie adaptation (I didn’t notice Soi Cheang made a cameo appearance during the press conference scene until I revisited the movie for the second time). Instead of writing another romance novel, her next project turns out to be a horror story called 鬼域 (pronounced as “gwai wik”, which literally mean “ghost domain” in Cantonese).
As Ting Yin tries to get a headstart for her new novel, she constantly suffering from writer’s block. Her stress eventually overwhelms her to the point that she starts to feel something strange is happening around her. She suspects her apartment is haunted, particularly after she discovers a few strands of unknown long hairs on the kitchen sink and bathroom floor.
This is where Re-Cycle <鬼域> starts to get interesting as the film gradually shifted tones from supernatural horror to a dark version of Alice in Wonderland-like territory. Ting Yin finds herself trapped in an alternate world. Or more specifically, a decaying city filled with derelict buildings as well as seemingly endless staircases, zombies and floating ghosts. It doesn’t end there as she subsequently ends up in an odd amusement park-like courtyard sandwiched between the two buildings, which include the looming sights of an old Ferris wheel and even a huge pirate ship swinging back and forth from the above.
From there, she meets a mysterious old man (Lau Siu-Ming) and a little girl in a red dress (Zeng Ya-Qi). As she desperately finding her way out of the alternate world, she also learns the truth about why she got stuck in the first place.
The second half of the movie relies heavily on CGI from Fat Face Production Limited led by Ng Yuen-Fai. While the special effects aren’t entirely convincing, it’s hard to deny the level of creativity and imagination showcased in this movie.
Interestingly enough, this was the first time Ng Yuen-Fai handled the special effects work for a feature film and he did so admirably. He was also responsible for the Pang brothers’ later works including Diary <妄想> (2006), The Storm Warriors <風雲2> (2009) and Child’s Eye <童眼> (2010). Ng Yuen-Fai has since graduated into the director’s position, where his two long-delayed high-profile Hong Kong blockbusters Back To The Past <尋秦記> and Warriors Of Future <明日戰記> still pending for release.
Back to Re-Cycle <鬼域>, the Pang brothers did more than just relegating the effects-heavy second half into what could have been an empty CGI show-off. They smartly made good use of the special effects as multiple forms of symbolism reflecting the meaning of loneliness and abandonment.
Lee Sinje does a good job portraying an emotionally vulnerable character while her co-star, Zeng Ya-Qi fares equally well as the little girl in the red dress. The movie, of course, is not without its fair share of problems. This can be seen during the later part of the movie as it reveals the truth about Ting Yin and the little girl. The scene itself feels somewhat rushed and if that’s not enough, the Pang brothers try to level up with a twist ending straight out from M. Night Shyamalan’s storytelling playbook.
Re-Cycle <鬼域> was the sixth highest-grossing Hong Kong movie in 2006, earning HK$14.1 million at the local box office behind Jacob Cheung’s historical drama A Battle Of Wits <墨攻>. It even went on to score three nominations at the 26th Hong Kong Film Awards including Best Actress (lost to Gong Li for Curse Of The Golden Flower <滿城盡帶黃金甲>) but managed to take home two technical awards including Best Sound Design and Best Visual Effects.
