Zhi chi

A black and white depressing nightmare from Hong Kong! Director Cheang Pou-soi already has quite a rich career and after the excellent actioner Kill Zone 2 with Tony Jaa, he tries a dark crime drama with the essence of Fincher's Se7en that over into exploitation, and it's a depressing film for the strong-minded. For me, anyway! A veteran and a newcomer join forces to catch a maniacal serial killer who is brutally murdering young women on the streets of Hong Kong with a hand-cutting fetish. A woman who caused the death of the veteran's wife shows up and offers to help, but not everything goes as planned. The black and white format surprisingly is not a problem at all, it has a bit of an artsy feel, but the tone is darker and definitely more shocking. It's a two hour show of violence, humiliation against women, dead bodies and filth that makes Hong Kong a downright Sin City. There is one downright brutal knife action sequence that gave me a boner, and the film doesn't let the viewer breathe, throwing one raw scene after another. The killer himself is disgustingly sleazy and his lair is a downright disgusting place that reeked of death all the way to my living room. The atmosphere is awesome and the denouement is also interesting. This is what I call proper, gritty, raw, bleak and cold crime drama that wipes its ass with everything I've had the pleasure of seeing in the genre in recent years. Story 4/5, Action 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 4/5. 8/10. (07.10.2021)