Ab-Normal Beauty (V)
| release date | December 26 2005 |
| studio | Tartan |
| director | Oxide Pang |
| writer | Oxide Pang |
| starring | Race Wong, Anson Leung and Ekin Cheng |
| site | tartanfilmsusa.com |
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If torture-porn is a genre then this is the best one. This film made me jump out of my seat a few times and is beautifully shot. The Pang brothers really know how to portray a wide range of emotions at one time without ever losing the most important one…fear.
This is such a strange and, at times, beautiful movie. It was as much scary as it was gut-wrenching. It really made me feel for the girl in the movie and the problem she was facing. Very original and unique.
Firstly, DO NOT go into this film expecting it to be horror. It has it’s moments but for the most part it is a drama, and a very strong one.
I’d ignore the above comments labelling the film as ‘torture-porn’ and ‘not horror’ because this film is most definitely horror (let’s just say that lovers of Drama would get a nasty shock watching this) and it doesn’t explore the dark alley-ways of ‘torture-porn’ until its finale, which is extremely relevant to the film I might add! Abnormal Beauty is you typical Asian horror film. It’s strange, sometimes bizarre, but also very deep and rich in character. The film is also beautifully directed by the other half of the Pang brothers whose only film I’ve seen is The Eye which I really liked! However, I’d say that Abnormal Beauty is even better than The Eye. It deals with thought-provoking themes such as what crosses the line between art or beauty and sadism. It also does an incredible job at getting into the main character (Jin’s) head. The screenplay is careful not to turn her into a villain, but into someone you can sympathise with and care about. Abnormal Beauty is defintely one of the better Asian horror films, and is somewhat under-rated.
A lot of people get held up on the new direction the film takes about 3/4 of a way through, but I actually found it to be very relevant to the character. They also seem to ignore the first 3/4 of the film which I think is outstanding. Right from the moment Jin captures her first image of death, I became as immersed as she did. There’s a fantsatic build-up to that first image with slow motion used along with an extremely loud orchestral score which perfectly illustrates the turning point of her character. She becomes obsessed with photographing the macabre and it was nice to see the angel on her shoulder in the form of her lover, trying to get her to have a reality-check and tell her that she’s going too far.
It’s very gripping, and this is largely due to the enigmatic directing. It’s extremely lively and really evokes Jin’s obsession. We get into her head and stay with her as she spirals out of control, and it’s quite fascinating to see her behaviour become more and more dangerous. The film also dares to go even deeper by hinting at her past childhood events which Freud fans are sure to be thankful for. It’s a very detailed and supremely interesting character portrait, that’s hard not to become involved in.
Now as for the surprising plot (almost genre) twist. I really liked it! It gave the film an unpredictable edge which is always great to see. The film almost switches genre from psychological horror to a taut mystery thriller, but of course with a strong horror element always present. I won’t spoil the final 20 minutes or so for anyone, but it has been compared to Saw which is ridiculous. The finale to Abnormal Beauty serves a great purpose to its characters and narrative. The final reveal came as a great surprise to me and is also quite a disturbing and thought-provoking thought, as it’s what Jin could’ve became.
Abnormal Beauty is a deep and immersive film. The directing is outstanding, as is the wonderfully indepth and rich screenplay which has a playful quality about it, being as it’s so unpredictable. I enjoyed its relevant themes of obsession and the media. It’s also interesting to see how Jin acts when the lens is turned on her. You could even say that the second half deals with issues regarding the male gaze and the ill-treatment of women in the media. Abnormal Beauty certainly isn’t your average horror film and I could see why it divides audiences, but it certainly caught my eye in the right way! More people should see it!