Haunting Love: No Love Lost
Trick-or-treaters aren't the only ones excited ahead of Halloween on October 31. The festival is also a chance for horror film fans to indulge in demons, zombies, ghosts and ghouls - at least in foreign films. This year sees just one Halloween-inspired horror flick hit the big screen in China, with initial expectations modest due to the country's poor track record in the genre.
Homegrown horror film Haunting Love (2012) directed by Liang Ting, which makes its domestic premiere on October 30, has generated plenty of interest ahead of its release.
The film, which revolves around a story of love, betrayal and revenge, boasts award-winning producers, including audio engineer Zhao Nan and cinematographer Curran Pang, whom have each won Hong Kong Film Awards.
However, the film's rookie cast has prompted many devoted horror fans to question whether the movie can live up to lofty expectations.
Luo Tie, a 22-year-old university student and horror movie fan who has seen the trailer for Haunting Love, told Metro Beijing that it hardly sent a chill down his spine. "I would classify it as a romance film with horror elements," said Luo.
"I can see the filmmaker has made an earnest effort to create a terrifying atmosphere by using haunting sounds and narration, but the film still appears to lack any heart-stopping moments."
Statistics from Chinese online movie database mtime.com show that 23 homegrown horror films have been released this year alone. Miao Ruomu, a film scriptwriter, told Metro Beijing Chinese horror movies have, despite their lackluster reputation, traditionally performed well at the box office. Based on its 10-star rating system, statistics from mtime.com and social networking website douban.com show most Chinese horror films rank five stars or lower.
Miao attributed most negative feedback to filmgoers' disappointment that Chinese horror films don't follow the mold of foreign movies that have supernatural creatures.
"I know people buy tickets to see horror films expecting to see ghosts, but the reality in China is [filmmakers] simply cannot do that," she said, referring to what she dubbed "unwritten" regulations from the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television that ban ghosts and spirits from being depicted in movies.
Poor production quality is another shortcoming of Chinese horror films, Miao noted, saying the pursuit of profits by film production companies often results in corners being cut.
"Among all film genres, horror has the highest return on investment," said Miao.
"Most [Chinese] horror films cast inexperienced actors to reduce their budget. They also spend little money on special effects, so their budgets are a fraction of most blockbusters. Filmmakers save a lot of money, but production quality is sacrificed."
Nevertheless, fans will continue to show faith in Chinese horror films by hitting the cinema, Miao said.
"So far many horror films have raked in satisfying amounts at the box office. Most not only break even, but make profits of 1 million yuan ($160,156) or more. However, I don't think this can last," she said.
"Filmmakers should focus on producing convincing movies rather than earning quick money."
Source
Any Chinese horror recs Aiya?
Happy Halloween Aiya~
