Whoops I forgot my 3D glasses to experience those mind-popping images (where we are informed when to put them on or take them off), but I doubt that gimmick would have saved this already below-average, if bizarre supernatural/slasher tale from Hong Kong. It looks like it had a bit money behind it, but it feels second-rate when compared to others of its field and that ending is a complete wimp out. At least it has going for it some stylish visual brushes by Wai-keung Lau's frenetic direction and an imposingly eerie setting (an abandoned theme park, which has some freaky looking clown dolls on a hanging tree) with some sensational art direction (like the opening entrance of the clown face). Too bad that it's senselessly penned with an messy same-old, same old structure (even though the concept showed more promise than your copy-and-paste 'Ringu' clone) of cheap jolts, typical thrills (that steals its thunder from other films) and lazily constructed characters. Even throughout it demonstrates some unwelcoming camp qualities, where the witless script and self-knowing humour just don't come off. It irritated, but not as much as the performances do. Bobo Chan in the lead role never convinces and her screaming/crying gave me a splitting headache.Yen along with her friends are looking for her missing brother, despite the warning from her medium mother that he's dead. It leads them to an amusement park, which closed down over a decade ago after a horrible accident involving the death of a young girl. Instead of finding her brother they come across restless spirits who pick them off one by one.The computer effects are well-done and never distracting, as there's one memorable decapitation sequence that's brilliantly executed and there's a little bit of blood 'n'gore in the traditional style. Sound effects hold an atmospheric grip, but those constant whooshing noises and whispering voices could've been toned down. The music score wasn't all that effective, even with some jaded cues.Pretty much like a foreseeable, underwhelming haunted house theme park ride.
... View MoreWhichever way you approach this movie, you can't escape the fact that it is downright awful!! Anyone expecting something along the lines of the standout far east films such as the Ring, the Eye, the Grudge etc is in for a massive disappointment when viewing this effort. In fact, it's difficult to find any redeeming features about this movie - storyline is flimsy in the extreme, acting is atrocious, screenplay and script are diabolical and, for a supposed scary film, it just isn't in the least bit scary. In addition, the few 3-D scenes are quite simply not in the least bit 3-dimensional! The whole thing is an utter mess from start to finish, and its 90 minute duration seems more like 90 hours! All in all, a quite dreadful experience!!
... View MoreOn the surface , this appeared to be a cool movie , with the 3D effects and all but on the inside , it's all crap , just like what any sane movie goer would tell you . So , what do we have in The Park ? We have special effects , plenty of unnecessary noise , loads of screaming and shrieking , and a whole lot of you-run-and-the-devil-seek situations our gorgeous young characters are being trapped in . Everyone is just plain annoying and walking around looking for trouble , screaming their head off when something jumps out and shouts BOO ! . You don't flinch when you see the youths gets finished off one by one in the most gruesome fashion . They just deserved it , you will think , shaking your head and wondering why are you even watching this movie in the first place . There is no suspense , no shock , no violence , no sex and most importantly , NO Plot line ... can you believe this is exactly a product of one of HK most acclaim and well established director , Andrew Lau ,who is also the guy who brought you the highly rated and well received trilogy , Infernal Affairs I , II and III ? No , you can't and neither can I . The ending is predictable and cheesy , you know who dies and who doesn't . An attempt to give a surprise twist in the ending didn't help . It merely leaves more questions unanswered and made the whole show look even lamer than ever that they might as well do without it. Badly written piece of trash , a thumbs-down plus an F .I don't mean to be critical but it's really so lousily done that it's just overly worthy of criticism . Don't watch it , don't buy the vcd or DVD just because the word 3D caught your kid's attention ... U have been warned ... this might be proven a waste of good money ... go watch The Haunted Mansion starring Eddie Murphy instead , at least that one has got some humour in it to worth a few good laughs ... honestly speaking , The Park was a movie that started out with good intentions and a fresh concept but which turned out disasterously and became totally unwatchable when it loses hold of it's objectives ....
... View MoreI love the recent spate of Asian horror films that have been coming our way: Dark Water, Ringu, The Eye, Ju-on, etc. And I can honestly say that even most of the bad horror films I've seen had at least something in them that was worth watching, whether for scares or laughs. I have to say that this movie is a complete waste of time. I never got scared, laughed, or even said "Hmmm." As I watched the film end I realized that I was incredibly relieved that it was over, not because I was so scared, but because I was so bored! This thing went on and on and on...and I never ever cared about one of the characters. Oh, and don't forget the crummy 3D effects...really awful. I rarely say this about a movie, but this is one you can safely miss without any feelings of guilt.
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