Wai dor lei ah yat ho

"Dream House" was somewhat of a great surprise. I love Hong Kong cinema and watch anything I can get my hands on. Though I wasn't familiar with "Dream House" prior to finding it by sheer random luck on Amazon, and decided to get it as it sounded interesting and was at an okay price.

And to make it all the more interesting, then the movie is based on true events that shook Hong Kong, and I got that confirmed from a friend living there, so it wasn't just something that was flaunted in the movie to make it more interesting - there was some truth behind it.

The story in "Dream House" is about Cheng Lai (played by Josie Ho) who has been saving money her entire life to buy her own dream apartment, a home of her own. She is living with her family, which is normal in Hong Kong, up until you get married, usually. Things seem to sort themselves out for her, except that the sellers raise the price, and other people are interested in the one and only specific apartment she wants. Cheng Lai sanity flickers and she is driven to inhuman actions.

"Dream House" was driven by a great story that sweeps you up and takes you along for a great ride. Plus it was really well acted, and it was mostly Josie Ho who pulled the weight. I, personally, do not care much for Eason Chan (playing Siu To) and his acting skills (or lack thereof).

The movie is filmed in a great way that makes it come off as right in your face, almost as if you were right there with the actors. Plus the camera work really helped the movie along as well, especially when Cheng Lai was having a breakdown on the street. That scene was just so amazingly nice.

And as a major plus, for all gorehounds out there, then there is a rather good amount of gore and really good effects in the movie, which makes it well worth checking out for the mayhem alone. I was impressed with some of the scenes. And I will say this, without giving away anything here; the scene with the pregnant tenant and her maid was one of the most brutal and graphically disturbing scenes I have seen in a long, long time. That really got my attention, as I had never expected that kind of graphic violence in this movie.

If you enjoy Hong Kong cinema, then you definitely should treat yourself to this movie, as it is a rather unique addition to the collection of Hong Kong cinema.