REVIEW : Insanity - 暴疯语 (2015)

You want to know what was the funniest thing in a movie that is pretty un-funny in general?

The director is named 李光耀, the English name David Lee might not ring any bells, but the Chinese name should.

Okay, that was not funny. I apologise.

Insanity opens with Fan Kwok-Sang (Sean Lau 刘青云) who is unemployed and bitter, not to mention paranoid with bouts of schizophrenia which lead to him throwing his wife out of the window and to her death. Three years later, under the care of Dr. Chow (Huang Xiaoming 黄晓明), he is deemed to have recovered from insanity and is released from the mental institution to reenter society as as normal person. But when something goes terribly, terribly wrong for Fan, it is up to Chow the perfectionist to pick up the pieces and to do whatever it takes to maintain his reputation

The Doctor and his Patient, or is it?

Psychological thrillers almost always share some similarities; they almost always have some sort twist that would make the audience go GASP at the grand reveal. You can say a psychological thriller would not be labelled so if there wasn't some sort of plot twist in it. There is one in Insanity, but early on in the movie we're already given little bits and pieces, hints that would lead us to draw our own conclusions ourselves on how the end would turn out to be. There won't be gasps in the cinema, but merely a couple of 'ooh's and 'ahhs'.

However, I do enjoy what occurs after the big reveal, when they uncover the inconsistencies, revealing the truth behind the illusion. It was that part where I found some pleasant surprises in a largely predictable film.

Sean Lau is excellent here; one moment you hate his guts, the next you're hoping nothing bad befalls him.

Insanity might not be the one film that will rewrite the genre, but it's still pretty good for a Hong Kong movie. (Lord knows when was the last time I've watched a good Hong Kong production) The tight cinematography constantly makes us question what is real and what isn't. The sound effects and music do a job of keeping you on the edge of your seat, and sometimes you can't help but wonder if Insanity was a horror movie instead. Paw Hee-Ching's portrayal as Fan's creepy mother-in-law helps keep up with the slasher-like quality of the movie.

People say that mother-in-laws are scary, I don't think this is what they had in mind.

I rate it : 7/10 stars

THE GOOD : Sean Lau as Fan Kwok-Sang is awesome

THE BAD : There's a couple of plot points that aren't resolved; it's predictable and there are no big surprises (although some might argue that to be a good thing, oh well)

WATCH IT IF YOU...

• ...fancy yourself a good Hong Kong thriller. 

INSANITY - 暴疯语 (2015)

Genre : Psychological Thriller

Runtime : 99 mins

Director : David Lee

Cast : Sean Lau, Huang Xiaoming, Alex Fong