Member mpm74 Posted August 9, 2010 Member Share Posted August 9, 2010 A newlywed couple’s (Kwan Sang and Nora Miao) relationship turns into a nightmare when they start to witness paranormal activity. A “spiritualist” (Ko Keung) is hired to investigate the strange phenomenon, and discovers a deep, dark secret within the marriage that’s bringing back a vengeful spirit. The Obsessed (I have no idea why it’s titled this) is cheap-looking and tacky, even for 1970’s Hong Kong film standards. I imagine the cost of this film was as low budget as a Philippine-produced Godfrey Ho flick; probably worse, since barely any stunts or fight choreography were involved. There are some special effects, but let’s not go there. It’s supposed to be a horror movie, but it’s not scary or creepy at all. It’s actually unintentionally funny in every possible way. It’s one of those “so bad, it’s good” movies, so if you think of it that way, it will entertain you. Maybe I should give this film more credit. After all, it predates similar Hollywood films like The Amityville Horror (1979) and Poltergeist (1982), which were both very successful around the world. But then again, it’s not like The Obsessed was the first film of this kind. If there’s a legitimate saving grace, it’s the presence of Nora Miao. We’re so used to seeing her as a sword-wielding heroine, or Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan’s strong co-star, but never as a helpless woman who’s having some marital problems and serious issues with ghosts. Also, where else would we get to see her make out with a guy (in this case, Kwan Sang) and scream her ass off? It’s very important to keep in mind that the version I saw was a pan & scan, poorly dubbed, Ocean Shores english-language version. I’m sure this has a lot to do with why it came across as bad as it did. If I saw it in its original Chinese language, I’m sure it could be taken much more serious. 4/10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member fiol Posted August 9, 2010 Member Share Posted August 9, 2010 A newlywed couple’s (Kwan Sang and Nora Miao) relationship turns into a nightmare when they start to witness paranormal activity. A “spiritualist” (Ko Keung) is hired to investigate the strange phenomenon, and discovers a deep, dark secret within the marriage that’s bringing back a vengeful spirit. The Obsessed (I have no idea why it’s titled this) is cheap-looking and tacky, even for 1970’s Hong Kong film standards. I imagine the cost of this film was as low budget as a Philippine-produced Godfrey Ho flick; probably worse, since barely any stunts or fight choreography were involved. There are some special effects, but let’s not go there. It’s supposed to be a horror movie, but it’s not scary or creepy at all. It’s actually unintentionally funny in every possible way. It’s one of those “so bad, it’s good” movies, so if you think of it that way, it will entertain you. Maybe I should give this film more credit. After all, it predates similar Hollywood films like The Amityville Horror (1979) and Poltergeist (1982), which were both very successful around the world. But then again, it’s not like The Obsessed was the first film of this kind. If there’s a legitimate saving grace, it’s the presence of Nora Miao. We’re so used to seeing her as a sword-wielding heroine, or Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan’s strong co-star, but never as a helpless woman who’s having some marital problems and serious issues with ghosts. Also, where else would we get to see her make out with a guy (in this case, Kwan Sang) and scream her ass off? It’s very important to keep in mind that the version I saw was a pan & scan, poorly dubbed, Ocean Shores english-language version. I’m sure this has a lot to do with why it came across as bad as it did. If I saw it in its original Chinese language, I’m sure it could be taken much more serious. 4/10 I've the HK vcd (OS) with english and mandarin. I think that when i ll watch i ll choose mandarin xD I hope it turns out to be at least a decent flick.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mpm74 Posted August 9, 2010 Author Member Share Posted August 9, 2010 fiol: Do you know if it's in widescreen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member fiol Posted August 9, 2010 Member Share Posted August 9, 2010 fiol: Do you know if it's in widescreen? the vcd? uhmm if i remember correctly is 4:3 but i need to check again since my memory is not good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Hong Kong film made in Taiwan, so yeah it should be Mandarin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted June 25, 2021 Member Share Posted June 25, 2021 According to the HKMDB, this was a collaboration with Korean people that was made in South Korea. The HK company who worked on it are the same people who stabbed Bruce Lee in the back with Fist of Unicorn. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted June 25, 2021 Member Share Posted June 25, 2021 Sounds right up my alley! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted June 26, 2021 Moderator Share Posted June 26, 2021 16 hours ago, Cognoscente said: According to the HKMDB, this was a collaboration with Korean people that was made in South Korea. The kmdb also substantiates this, where the movie goes under the title 'Fury of Soul', making it look like this was in fact filmed in Korea (with plenty of Korean cast members as well) rather than the earlier mentioned Taiwan (if I get a chance to see it I could easily confirm). Here's the entry - https://www.kmdb.or.kr/eng/db/kor/detail/movie/K/03037 & the Korean poster - 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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