Saat yan faan is interesting if only because it crams an awful lot of concepts that have appeared in some very effective thrillers. Its greatest fault is that those various elements do not always gel.The story revolves around Ling, a detective who seemingly suffers from amnesia. What's worse, there is a serial killer on the loose and clues start to point towards Ling as a suspect. Is Ling somehow responsible for what is going on? Does he really suffer from amnesia or not? How is he involved exactly? The movie goes through several twists and turns, some of which are rather cool and unpredictable. Director Chow Hin Yeung Roy goes for a feel that is reminiscent of occidental hits such as Se7en. Right from the film title, you gets loads of quick edits, sound effects and the like. Several film locations are rather interesting and it does feel like a big budget Asian movie. Unfortunately, as is par for the course in Asian thrillers, the acting is absolutely awful. Cheesy and over-dramatic doesn't even begin to describe the performances. The script is also terrible and seems to try hard to go for a Hollywood tone and fails. The whole movie would flow much better if it stayed true to its cultural roots.As the story unfolds and we get hold of what is really going on, the acting and dialog is too weak to allow us to suspend disbelief. We're still left with several cool ideas which might benefit from a remake of some kind, since this movie was so desperate to adopt a Hollywood feel.

It is not that rare to find a film in which almost all of the IMDb reviews are negative. However, it -is- rare to find a film in which all (or almost all) of the reviewers gave the film negative reviews for virtually the exact reasons.Aaron Kwok plays a police detective in charge of an investigation into a string of serial murders, who suffers amnesia apparently as a result of an incident shown in the opening sequence of the film (and in which another police detective was seriously injured). The first half of the film shows his state of mental decline as he gradually succumbs to paranoia when he (re)discovers clues and evidence that seems to finger him as the murderer. This part of the film is very well done, minus the grizzly murder scenes and the opening sequence, which are clearly gratuitous. Kwok makes a convincing performance as a detective who is simultaneously convinced that he is being framed but unable to deny the trail of evidence that confronts him. The uncertainty over his role in the murders is compounded by his amnesia and his personal conviction regarding his innocence, which compels him to conceal damning evidence from his colleagues while trying desperately to hunt down a killer that he believe is still "out there." "Western" audiences are most likely to compare this segment of the film to Memento given the amnesia component and the gradually unfolding clues that lead the main character to question his starting assumptions.Half way through the film, things take a horrendous turn. A rather ridiculous "twist" is inserted into the plot that begins to unravel the film, rendering it "silly" to the point of laugh out loud hilarity. I won't spoil the "twist" here, but there are a number of reviews with spoiler warnings that will save you the 2 hours or so that you might otherwise waste watching this film. It's too bad, really, since this film could have been so much better.

SITTING through the first half of this crime thriller, an avid moviegoer would get a sense of 'deja vu'. The viewer recalls popular movies like "Seven", "Primal Fear", "Memento" and later, "Orphan".However, when the plot is unraveled, one would feel hugely disappointed. The script is badly contrived and so full of holes that we feel cheated at having to sit through two hours for this piece of drivel.The movie starts off promisingly with an intriguing premise: what if you are investigating a series of murders and all the evidence point to you as the culprit? Aaron Kwok's detective Ling, who is investing a serial killer that uses electric drill on his victims, is found unconscious on the seventh floor of an apartment building. On the ground below, his colleague Tai (Chen Kuan Tai) is critically injured after falling from one of the top floors of the building.Ling, who suffers from amnesia after the 'attack', believes it is the work of the serial killer - but as he starts his own investigation into the incident, he is shocked to find that he may have been framed by the killer! What's more, he learns that his wife (Ning Chang) and five-year-old son are likely targets.The lame script aside, we have to admit that the build-up is rather tensed and suspenseful - thanks to Kwok and co-star Cheung Sui-Fai who plays his cop buddy 'Ghost'. Kwok gives his Detective Ling the requisite touch of outrage and paranoia that help to sustain our curiosity. Cheung, on the other hand, plays a man of reason and logic - until he is overwhelmed by them.Ning Chang is solid as the long-suffering wife but it is Josie Ho who livens things up as Minnie, Ling's younger sister who arrives from the States.The movie collapses when the 'truth' is revealed. Director Roy Chow (who also wrote the screenplay with To Chi-Long) seems to have spent so much time on the build-up that he has to rush through the ending. Instead of explaining the plot (or mystery), he makes the ending more ridiculous, opening up lots of questions on the minds of viewers. A very unfortunate debut for director Chow. - By LIM CHANG MOH (limchangmoh.blogspot,com)

The credentials attached to this production is somewhat stellar, and I got to admit I was hooked by the trailer, which stylishly promised something of quality hidden behind the very obvious red herrings thrown around. Lensed by Lee Pin Bing and starring Aaron Kwok, whom I've grown to admire his choice of projects which highlight his developing credibility as a serious actor, this film started off strong, but ended with an unsatisfying, weakened whimper in a schizophrenic manner.Unlike C+ Detective, which also recently starred Kwok in a cop role, and one which I had enjoyed and came with a number of surprises, Murderer got let down by the chief factor in direction and vision. While some may point the blame squarely at the story, I thought it was something that could be forgiven, since it needed something quite ludicrous to pull off that sense of disbelief that would drive Kwok's Chief Inspector Ling totally nuts, and make everyone roll their eyes if he were to tell the truth. And what more than to make his character morally ambiguous as well, not a squeaky clean do-gooder boy scout, with that shade of grey that hovers around even the best amongst us.The film started off literally with a bang, where we can rudely interrupted with a man who had fallen from great heights, and coupled with a bone-crunching impact. A cop is found at the foot of a block, barely alive, and on the upper floors lie Ling, completely dazed. When Ling wakes up, he suffers from memory loss, locking inside his subconscious some very vital clues to a serial killer whom his team had been investigating. A Memento-ish premise has been set, and you're primed for a thrilling ride, complete with complementary scenes of blood, gore and shocking quick edits.Naturally he becomes a suspect, and kudos to the story though in throwing up scenarios that all point toward him, from the murder weapon right down to irrefutable evidence that firmly indicates Ling's involvement, one way or another. Aaron Kwok does his best in providing that sense of despair, which on one hand he tries to uncover the truth and the identity of the serial killer, while on the other constantly worrying if he's truly in fact guilty, and through his dubious actions, make you wonder if he's either a Jekyll and Hyde, or just plain poetic justice if he were to be investigating himself.It developed adequately well up until the half way mark, where until then the story allowed Kwok to run wild with his emotions, showcasing a range that showed why he's a Best Actor award recipient. But alas even Kwok's ace performance failed to make up for director Roy Chow's shortcoming. I felt that while it may be necessary to show hand at the mid way point just who Ling's cunning adversary was, never mind if it could be a tad unbelievable, but the way it was handled was just plain sloppy.Imagine having to listen to the usual villainous monologue bragging just how smart the plot so far had been, or watch how a sequence of events had happened in order to develop this feeling of vendetta. It tried to redeem itself by occasionally suggesting to you that things may probably not be what it seemed, but instead of opting for a more psychological challenge, it laid everything out on the table verbatim, and failed to continue playing you, the audience, in keeping alive that sliver of hope that the revelation could be something more subtly handled, rather than being so verbatim and shoved down your throat as the truth.I had even secretly hoped for a dream sequence where one wakes up aand finds what had happened was nothing but a figment of imagination - I would be pleased with that development in this movie, so that would indicate to you just how badly handled it all was. And to makes things worse, there's this constant shuffle in the last 10 minutes between psychological drama (too little too late) to blood curdling and spouting moments of gore, and even attempting a Seven to a certain extent, which unfortunately dragged the scene a little too long for that sense of gory impact.A whole list of supporting cast, such as Cheung Siu Fai, Chin Kar Lok, Josie Ho playing Ling's sister Minnie, and Ning Chang as his wife Hazel, all fail to add any depth to the movie, being rather throwaway characters in this story which had as much potential as 20th Century Boys (with clues that are locked away in the past, and told through flashbacks), but let down by direction, failing to translate something more cerebral without casting a shadow of comedy in its lacklustre execution and delivery.