THE STRANGE HOUSE

Yezi, a young woman, is accosted in the street by a stranger who makes her a strange proposal. A woman is dying and Yezi has to impersonate her daughter, who recently died in tragic circumstances, to soften her final days. The offer’s too good to refuse. Yezi is flat out broke and gets to spend time in a very comfortable house. And the woman is blind and too far gone to notice anything. The cold shower and even threats she receives from the rest of the family upon her arrival, makes her hesitate. But she pushes through and starts to dress herself in the clothes of the girl. She even sleeps in her bed. When Yezi starts asking questions about the deceased, she gets disturbing answers. Her parents died in mysterious circumstances and her brother drowned, even though he could swim like a fish. But it’s not until she discovers the girl’s diary, that Yezi realizes in what a hornet’s nests she finds herself.

A new film from genre titan Danny Pang (The Eye, Bangkok Dangerous) is always a treat. This time he’s flying solo without his brother Oxide, delighting us with a spooky thriller that would even keep you glued to a bed of nails. Armed with a solid script, Danny plays ping pong with the truth, in the good company of Johnnie To regular Siu-Fai Cheung and Jiao Xu (CJ7, Dragon Nest).