A horde of zombies prepares to attack the protagonist of Re-Cycle

This weekend I watched a crazy Horror/Fantasy movie from Hong Kong called Re-Cycle.  It’s the story of a writer haunted by ghosts who is sucked into an eerie fantasy world of her own devising.  It’s like a cross between The Ring, What Dreams May Come, and the PC game Sanitarium. 

And also, there are zombies.

Re-Cycle is a high-budget film, and has some great effects shots, but the plotting is oddly iterated, and the shifts in tone are pretty dramatic.  For the first 1/3 of the film, we meet the author and follow her around her spooky apartment as she is haunted by ghostly presences.  It’s right out of The Ring.  There are many jump-out-and-scare-you moments which are masterfully done.  I jumped in my seat more than a few times!

But then, just as you’re settling in for a film with the tone of The Ring, the filmmakers are like, “Surprise!  Now it’s goddamn Labyrinth.  Enjoy!”  And the protagonist is magically transported to a fantasy-land where she meets mystical creatures (some friendly, some zombie) who alternately help and attack her.  The settings are rendered in CGI, but just as fanciful as anything created by Jim Henson or Terry Jones.  (Seriously, I was ready for an Asian David Bowie to show up and start singing.) 

Then, as the film nears its conclusion, it changes tone yet again and waxes disturbingly serious.  And there are, I suppose, some potentially moving discoveries made by the main characters.  However, the tone shifts so much that it’s hard to get in the right mood to cry along with the protagonist.  (It’s like: First you were in a scary horror movie, then you were playing with Fraggles, and now you want my rapt attention as you wax-dramatic about having an abortion?  What?)

"Wow! A new world to explore and be sad in!"

You’d think, here, that the tone-shifts would be over… but no. 

At the very last minute, in an O. Henry-style trick ending, the filmmakers are like: “Never mind.  This isn’t working out.  We’re going back to The Ring again.  Boo!” 

And then it ends.

Suffice to say, I can’t recommend this film 100%.  But that’s not to say there are no redeeming qualities.  The monsters and special effects are pretty scary, and the zombies are really good-looking.  In some cases they are just a little “off” in subtle ways that make them even more freaky.  (Like they have unnaturally-long necks, or arrive hanging from trees.)  My favorite scene in Re-Cycle is during the “Labyrinth-phase” when the writer and her friend must cross a bridge full of zombies who will not detect them as long as they do not breathe.  It’s really scary and effectively done.  (Would that I could say that about the rest of the film.)

In conclusion, please consider this blog as giving Re-Cycle a middling review.  Two-and-a-half stars, Etc.  The movie was beautifully shot, and had some pretty cool zombies, but the abrupt tone shifts were just too much for me.

"I heard you weren't feeling sad enough, so I brought a bunch of zombies."

One of my favorite horror movies to date is the Pang Brother’s The Eye, which told the story of a blind woman getting a corneal transplant through a donor. Unfortunately for her, the donor had the genetic predisposition to see ghosts. Of course, like all asian horror movies, it was remade for the American audience to digest. So if you’re in the mood to have the shit scared out of you, go rent the original; it’s that good.

Ending sermon though, I have come into contact with the Pang Brother’s latest outfit, Re-Cycle. A visually stunning and emotionally driven film. What’s different about this movie than Eye is that it’s not much of a bonafide horror movie but more of a psychological thriller, reminiscent of movies like Jacob’s Ladder and Stanley Kubrick’s version of The Shining.

The film revolves around a singular female protagonist, Tsui Ting-Yin (Angelica Lee), a successful novel writer whose books have been made into Lifetime/Oxygen Channel-esque movies. You know, the type of movies with a lot of romance and unnecessary tragedy, real tear jerkers. She announces a new book, Gwai Wik (or “Re-Cycle”) which is more aligned with the supernatural.

Along with the stresses of writing a new book, her estranged husband returns to her after 8 years and wants to reconcile with what they had. Unfortunately, the movie’s handling with this conflict is set aside for the majority of the movie to put more focus on the events that transpire. So, character development between the two isn’t put in the spotlight until way later at the end of the movie.

Indeed, these events, like the estranged husband, are anything but welcoming to Ting-Yin. As she progresses deeper and deeper into putting herself into the main character’s shoes, things turn belly-up. We are treated with typical asian horror cliches: long-haired ghosts wandering around behind opaque pane doors, scaring the shit out of everyone (including the audience). However, that is the least of Ting-Yin’s worries as she begins to slowly delve deeper into the world of “recyclables.”

Like I had mentioned before, the film is a visual marvel. Using CGI and set pieces to create a twisted version of Alice in Wonderland. The world Ting-Yin steps into harbors the forgotten and abandoned, from childhood toys to suicide victims, everything looks decrepit and used. However, over time pieces of the world become eroded or “recycled” and if one gets caught up in the erosion, they are forever erased from the world.

The film also seems to be inspired by the Silent Hill games. From some of the imagery to directly using actual sounds from the game itself. It’s great for once to see a game’s narrative and disturbing visuals being used as an influence for a movie, instead of the other way around.

Along the way, Ting-Yin comes into contact with a little girl whom she affectionally calls “Ting-Yu.” Ting-Yu knows more about this dream world than Ting-Yin does and rightfully so as later on in the story, she becomes a pivotal role in the climax of the film. I won’t spoil it for you but the ending is pretty emotional and dramatic and will definitely put a tear in your Eye.

The duo, however, don’t go through this world like a cakewalk. There is some conflict to behold. Besides the aforementioned long haired ghost who stalks Ting-Yin, we also run into zombies who look freaking pissed. Because they are forgotten souls, they feel the need to rage against the machine of the living. This includes harassing Ting-Yin and Ting-Yu everywhere they go.

All and all though, this movie is really about the central character and her self-involvement within the character she created in her own subconscious mind, and how the character becomes absorbed into this frightening world of the abandoned. After you see the ending, you’ll understand as to why she created this world in her head and why she wanted to go there in the first place. It’s heartbreaking, it’s tragic, and it’s frightening, but it is worth the watch. It isn’t like conventional asian horror flicks but it does have a lot of imagination to back it up, much like the imagination of Ting-Yin.

Rating: 4.5/5

Ayer noche antes de acostarme vi una nueva película del
cine asiático, su nombre como bien dice el título del
post es Re-Cycle y si la tuviera que resumir en tres
palabras diría que es un Peliculón Paranoico
Recomendado.

La defino con estas tres simples palabras porque no
sé exactamente a que tipo de género pertenece la obra
realizada por los hermanos Pang (Oxide Pang Chun y
Danny Pang), ya que en un primer lugar parece una típica
película de terror pero va cambiando el género
constantemente a lo largo de la historia. Sé perfectamente
que soy muy torpe contando de que va la historia porque
seguramente os revelaría parte fundamental de esta, así
que os adjunto una sinopsis de Gaikokujin:
“Tsui Ting-Yin es una escritora que, abrumada por éxito
de su primera novela, comienza a escribir su segunda
novela, “Re-cycle” en la aborda el tema paranormal.
Después de escribir el primer capítulo de la misma, no
convence decide borrarlo. A partir de ese momento
comienza a tener experiencias paranormales y todo
aquello que escribió comienza a vivirlo en carne propia…“

A un humilde servidor la película me ha gustado bastante
aunque al principio es un poco floja pero con el paso de los

minutos me gustaba más (y la actriz principal también).

Para los amantes de la ciencia ficción y la fantasía les
gustará mucho la película aunque no esté doblada aún al
castellano (la vi subtitulada vía Asia-Team para los
curiosos).
Ya tan solo me queda adjuntaros un trailer de Re-Cycle
y animaros a verla ya que os la recomiendo mucho.
Un saludos a todos y recordar mirar a ambos lados de la

calle antes de cruzarla ^^.