Dream Home (Hong Kong, 2010) - Color, Director(s): Ho-Cheung Pang
MPAA Rating: NR
[HK: CAT III]
Approx. 96 min.
Z-rating: 4 stars out of 5
Cheese Factor: 2 stars out of 5
Wow, this was a really surprising movie. The story is basically about a woman (Josie Ho) who's been dreaming of owning a flat in the building across from where she lives. She has been saving for her "dream home" and has been in negotiations for a long time. When it seems like she won't be able to purchase the flat that she wants, she's literally willing to kill for it. This is not your typical slasher though, so wait for it to play out.
The movie starts with her killing off a security guard. Although things do get a little bloody, she finishes him with very little effort which makes her look like a professional. Even with her second kill, she barges in through a door and kills a maid with assassin-like precision. As things progress, her kills get a little more sloppy and you realize that she's not really very good at killing people. This isn't a slasher the likes of Jason Voorhees or other unstoppable killing machines. She is just an average woman who just decides that she will do anything it takes to own her dream home. She isn't prepared for certain situations and often has to improvise on the spot. This leads to some of the most brutal killings like someone getting stabbed with broken glass bong or another person being suffocated by those vacuum seal bags. Towards the end, some crazy things happen by pure chance that lead to her escape but aren't very realistic. Anyone who watches CSI would know why she wouldn't get away with it. Regardless, this is one of the more surprisingly brutal slashers that I've seen, only because she's so unassuming as a killer.
Nudity: When she gets to the room with the stoner guys, they just picked up a couple of prostitutes. One of the guys takes a girl into the other room to have sex while a third guy shows up and cops a feel on the one that's passed out on the couch.
Gore: AWESOME! As creative as American and European slasher movies are with their kills, this HK slasher holds its own when it comes to brutality. One guy gets stabbed in the back multiple times before getting his pecker severed. Pretty messed up and graphic, so don't show this at a kid's party!
Awesome: to the MAX! These HK Category III films are some good stuff! I've always been a fan of The Untold Story and Ebola Syndrome, most other Chinese movies are Horror/Comedy with an emphasis on the Comedy. I did like the Cantonese slang the guys in the room were throwing around. This movie alternates between flashbacks and kill scenes to give you the backstory. Moral of the story? Don't piss women off!