Spoilers
Incidentally, Night Corridor assembles an ensemble of action veterans, probably not intentionally as the movie is anything but a kung-fu flick.
Brought up and educated in the U.S., 6-foot-2, 29-yearold, handsome Daniel Wu is the lead as well as the centre of the story. A genuine martial art expert, Wu made his mark in action flick Purple Storm (1999), but proved that he can really act in Peony Pavilion (2001) which won wild acclaim in the Moscow Festival and best actress for Rie Miyazawa. In NC, he plays an artist recalled from London to Hong Kong by the news of his twin brother's accidental death. What he finds there, in addition to the very grotesque and gory nature of the death, is that his brother has been going around using his identity all these years he was away. So technically it is he that is dead. The fun begins there with he recurring trip to a Gothic looking library in search of the truth.
Playing his mother is Wai Ying-hung, one of the earlier women fighting stars in Hong Kong, probably earlier than Michelle Yeoh. In NC, she plays an alcoholic, hysterical woman with a somewhat dubious relationship with Wu's twin brother. Some reviews suggest that in this movie, she symbolises the witch. Eddy Ko is another veteran kung-fu star, on both the big screen and the tube. In NC, he plays a child-molesting priest and it doesn't take long to figure out his role in this movie. And it was a great delight to see Kuk Fung, who in the 60's and 70's was seen in just about every martial art movie. In NC, he plays the rather harmless looking library caretaker, until suspicious signs begin to show. Fresh looking Coco Chiang plays Wu's deceased twin brother's girl friend but again things are not always what they seem.
The plot is not really that difficult to follow, particularly for those who are used to watching mysteries. Most of the developments (mostly not convoluted enough to be called `twists') did not come as a surprise to me. The final twist may remind you of Polanski's `The Ninth Gate' (1999). And then there are things that are never totally explained, but then this is not something new in movies these days.
From the above, you may have already gathered that the movie is not particularly frightening, nor does it have a particularly brilliant plot. I like it though, not despite these apparent lacking, but because of them. The movie focuses on simple story telling and building up of a Gothic atmosphere, both of which work quite well. It does not pretend to be a profound psychological study but there are interesting elements. The acting is solidly reliable. All told, it represents honest efforts in movie making that shows up in respectable results.
Incidentally, Night Corridor assembles an ensemble of action veterans, probably not intentionally as the movie is anything but a kung-fu flick.
Brought up and educated in the U.S., 6-foot-2, 29-yearold, handsome Daniel Wu is the lead as well as the centre of the story. A genuine martial art expert, Wu made his mark in action flick Purple Storm (1999), but proved that he can really act in Peony Pavilion (2001) which won wild acclaim in the Moscow Festival and best actress for Rie Miyazawa. In NC, he plays an artist recalled from London to Hong Kong by the news of his twin brother's accidental death. What he finds there, in addition to the very grotesque and gory nature of the death, is that his brother has been going around using his identity all these years he was away. So technically it is he that is dead. The fun begins there with he recurring trip to a Gothic looking library in search of the truth.
Playing his mother is Wai Ying-hung, one of the earlier women fighting stars in Hong Kong, probably earlier than Michelle Yeoh. In NC, she plays an alcoholic, hysterical woman with a somewhat dubious relationship with Wu's twin brother. Some reviews suggest that in this movie, she symbolises the witch. Eddy Ko is another veteran kung-fu star, on both the big screen and the tube. In NC, he plays a child-molesting priest and it doesn't take long to figure out his role in this movie. And it was a great delight to see Kuk Fung, who in the 60's and 70's was seen in just about every martial art movie. In NC, he plays the rather harmless looking library caretaker, until suspicious signs begin to show. Fresh looking Coco Chiang plays Wu's deceased twin brother's girl friend but again things are not always what they seem.
The plot is not really that difficult to follow, particularly for those who are used to watching mysteries. Most of the developments (mostly not convoluted enough to be called `twists') did not come as a surprise to me. The final twist may remind you of Polanski's `The Ninth Gate' (1999). And then there are things that are never totally explained, but then this is not something new in movies these days.
From the above, you may have already gathered that the movie is not particularly frightening, nor does it have a particularly brilliant plot. I like it though, not despite these apparent lacking, but because of them. The movie focuses on simple story telling and building up of a Gothic atmosphere, both of which work quite well. It does not pretend to be a profound psychological study but there are interesting elements. The acting is solidly reliable. All told, it represents honest efforts in movie making that shows up in respectable results.