Movie Review: Painted Skin

I watched "Painted Skin" today with Xiao Lu er.

I heard the review on 8tv quickie . It was said that the film is one of the most horrifying films of the the year. Being a sucker for good reviews, I was really fired up to watch this film. Donnie Yen in the starring role only made me want to watch this all the more. I thought he was fantastic in that kung fu film, dragon tiger something.

Xiao Lu er was not keen on watching this. She did not like the idea of watching horror movies at night. Furthermore, she was bored by all these movies by China which constantly ran around the same style. Anyway, I managed to persuade her to go watch it with me (nevermind the fact that there are limited choices in the Mines TGV).

This story was one of many in "Liao Zai" (I have no idea if this is the correct pin yin), a Chinese compilation of stories regarding the supernatural. Basically it was about this female demon who wore a skin and needed to eat human heart to prevent the skin from rotting.

Not that I had very high expectations on this. The film didn't disappoint but it didn't leave me in awe either. There's nothing horrifying about the movie at all. In fact, it seemed more like a romance drama. I was kind of let down not seeing Donnie Yen in some high flying kung fu stunts. Plus, he was not really the main character. The title role went to Zhao Wei, who acted really well.

The make up of the ladies in this film were very light. They all appeared to look pale yet attractive. Maybe it was due to me just finishing my photography assignments, I really appreciated the different angle shots here. Some of the scenes were beautifully shot.

Considering this being a Chinese film, I was elated to find that there was no artsy fartsy nonsense here. Nothing such as long quiet still moments all in the name of art though I would prefer a faster pace.

I had a good time watching this. Not bad but still left a lot to be desired.