Wai dor lei ah yut ho   2010   Hong Kong Dream Home
Dream Home Image Cover
Additional Images
Director:Ho-Cheung Pang
Studio:852 Films
Writer:Ho-Cheung Pang, Kwok Cheung Tsang, Chi-Man Wan
IMDb Rating:6.6 (1,515 votes)
Awards:3 nominations
Genre:Horror
Duration:96 min
Languages:Cantonese
IMDb:1407972
Search:NetflixYouTube
Ho-Cheung Pang  ...  (Director)
Ho-Cheung Pang, Kwok Cheung Tsang, Chi-Man Wan  ...  (Writer)
 
Josie Ho  ...  Cheng Lai - Sheung
Eason Chan  ...  Siu To
Michelle Ye  ...  Flat 8A Female Owner
Norman Chu  ...  Sheung's Father
Juno Mak  ...  Cop Fat
Chu-chu Zhou  ...  Woman B
Lawrence Chou  ...  On Jai
Hee Ching Paw  ...  Sheung's Mother
Kwok Cheung Tsang  ...  
Lap-Man Sin  ...  Flat 8A Male Owner
Ching Wong  ...  Security Guard
Hoi-Pang Lo  ...  Sheung's Grandpa
Wai Hung Chan  ...  
Ying Kwan Lok  ...  
Juan Song  ...  
Nelson Yu Lik-wai  ...  Cinematographer
Gabriele Roberto  ...  Composer
Comments: Gore-hounds and violence enthusiasts should enjoy this one a lot, except that all the horror plot points are interrupted by a lot of story and social commentary about rising home prices in Hong Kong. Dream Home is a serious and thoughtful drama with a lot of blood.

The flashback narrative technique doesn't serve the film very well except for the fact that it lets the blood start flowing from the opening scene. It feels like a cop out to me when a director doesn't have the confidence to let a film build to its climax, and feels the need to begin with the climax and then retrace the steps that lead up to it.

A few of the kills in this film are fantastic, in a "Really?!?! Holy Shit!" sort of way, especially the coitus interruptus one. The fact that mild-mannered Josie Ho is performing them adds to the effect. The only problem I had is that many of them start off as failures, to build phony tension the wrong way, become successes, and then someone who should have been dead dead dead pops up for another go at it. This produces more bang for the buck by getting, say, a dozen kills out of only seven characters.

There's plenty of nudity and some graphic fucking to round things out but the cognitive dissonance created by mixing deep dramatic story lines with over-the-top bloodletting is likely to leave most viewers sitting on the fence verdict-wise. I recommend the film more to gore hounds than to connoisseurs of fine Hong Kong cinema. The film looks great and the production values are top notch, so ....

Summary: When she was a child, Cheng Lai-Sheung (Josie Ho) could see Hong Kong's famed Victoris harbour from her apartment. But as time passed, the old buildings in front of her home were demolished to make way for a huge residential project No.1 Victoria Bay' that now blocks her view. Increasingly disappointed and upset, she vowed to one day save up enough money for her family to move into 'No. 1 Victoria Bay' with a magnificent sea view.

In order to achieve her dream, Cheng has to work hard at two full-time jobs. She even goes as far as stealing customer data to sell to other companies. However, no matter how much she toils, she cannot earn enough to keep up with the forever out of reach ... until suddenly, it dawns on her: in order to get what she wants, she must take matters into her own hands ... even if it means getting her hands seriously bloody.


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