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 he
Heirloom" marks the debut of Taiwanese
director Leste Chen, who had previously worked on
music videos for the likes of Joey Yung and Eason
Chan, a fact which is probably enough to start
alarm bells ringing. Fortunately, the director
manages to transcend his roots, and has produced a
decent fright flick which, though too flawed and
too unambitious to amount to very much, is at
least far better than it has any right to be. The
film has certainly proved popular in the domestic
market, being one of the biggest box office hits
in
Taiwan
of 2005, though this may be down to the general
lack of quality genre cinema more than anything
else.
The plot begins as James
(Jason Chang, "Formula 17") inherits a
huge, creepy house from his mysterious family, who
died twenty years previously in a mass suicide.
Possibly as a result of never having seen a horror
film in his life, he decides to move in, bringing
along his ballet dancer girlfriend Yo (Terri Kwan,
who won a Best Supporting Actress nomination at
the Golden Horse awards for "Turning Left and
Turning Right"). As expected, the house soon
appears haunted, with the usual strange noises in
the attic, half seen figures lurking around, and
James being tormented by portentous nightmares of
the past. After a number of deaths and
disappearances, James and Yo finally decide to
investigate and uncover the sinister truth about
his family, discovering an awful curse from which
there may be no escape.
This is all painfully
familiar and predictable stuff, although Chen does
manage to work in a fairly interesting and
disturbing back-story, most of which is revealed
in an awkward scene in which a conveniently
discovered surviving relative tells all. This
helps to keep the viewer interested, as do a few
inspired moments of unexplained weirdness, mostly
lifted from the likes of "Dumplings"
and "The
Grudge". The film which "The
Heirloom" would probably most like to be is
the Korean "A
Tale of Two Sisters", from which Chen
borrows the psychological nuances and production
design.
As with its inspiration,
"The Heirloom" has a wonderfully ornate,
gothic antique look to it, with some nicely
subdued colours and a good use of shadows. The
house itself is an impressively gloomy creation,
with an oppressive, stagnant atmosphere which
nicely conveys the feeling of dark secrets rotting
away in hidden rooms. Chen's direction is stylish,
without relying on the usual technical trickery
and fast editing which those with his background
usually seem to employ, and the film's creepy
visuals are its strongest point.
Unfortunately, Chen has
little idea how to handle even the most basic of
scares, and he consistently misses the target in
terms of frightening the viewer. All too often he
employs the most tired clichés of the genre, from
cats in cupboards to hands suddenly reaching into
the frame. Matters are not helped by the fact that
the film is far too sedate for its own good, and
Chen shows unnecessary restraint in avoiding
showing any of the more grotesque aspects of the
story, to the point that the fates of several
characters remain unclear.
As a result, the film is
rather sluggish and lacking in real thrills, being
what could be kindly referred to as a 'slow
burner'. However, instead of building to a climax,
it actually winds down gradually towards the end,
with most of the action, such as it is, taking
place in the first half. Since the characters
themselves are decidedly uninteresting, and the
cast sadly devoid of any charm, the viewer may
well find their concentration waning long before
the film meanders to its long sign-posted
conclusion.
Overall, "The
Heirloom" is a frustrating experience, mainly
as Chen is quite obviously a talented director
working with blatantly second string material.
Though it is not a bad film as such, and still
manages a fair amount of eeriness despite the fact
that nothing of interest actually happens, it is
most likely to be enjoyed only by genre diehards
or those unfamiliar with the tired routines of the
modern Asian ghost story.
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