» Film Festival Review: Rule #1 [SPOILERS]
The film starts as cheap but quite scary gotcha-horror. Although it relies heavily on the soundtrack, the director shows significant technical ability in setting up the gotchas.
The film develops into a flat-out monster-hunt action movie. I find the disconnect between these two acts to be quite disconcerting: how could the writer-director be so unclear on what kind of movie he wants to make? (But maybe consistent style is an Occidential thing?)
Interspersed in these two acts is noir satire, which includes some very clever scenes. The development of the main characters is pretty ineffective and quirky supporting characters fly in and out of frame – it feels as if Rule #1 was written as the pilot to a TV series. (Perhaps this is what reviewers meant when they compared it to the X-Files?)
Normally when a protagonist discovers that he is battling previously unseen supernatural forces, he is simultaneously given some weapon that is effective against them. Not so in Rule #1. There is no way to put benign ghosts to rest and the only way to fight malicious ghosts is to kill the innocent bystanders they’ve possessed. The film has a unsettling and unenjoyable theme of hopelessness and inevitable failure.
The third act presents two alternate endings, one bad and the other worse. I know that happy endings are a Hollywood thing, but why not make one of the alternatives cathartic to give the audience a sense of closure?
It’s implied at the beginning that the protagonist could simply be suffering from post-traumatic stress – that alternate explanation is quickly discarded. A well-written script would have allowed the audience to maintain this alternate or even presented it as a third alternate ending.
Kelvin Tong should stick to directing and stay far away from his typewriter.
I can’t help but think of the Scooby-Doo alternative ending to Wayne’s World.
Don
2 Feb 10 at 1:12 pm
I’ve been thinking about cultural relativism wrt this film — the assertion, in particular, that knowledge that ghosts are real would collapse society. I’m not sure that actually makes sense, but maybe ghosts are more of an existential threat to Eastern cultures?
I guess I am allowed to say that it didn’t make sense in my culture.
Still, I found Rule #1 fun and interesting enough to recommend to fans of Asian horror and action films.
Jack
2 Feb 10 at 1:50 pm
I liked this to a certain extent. I did wonder why the cops didn’t wear latex gloves to stop skin contact with suspected ghosts, as they would with people suspected of viral “possession”. Still, Asian horror tends towards existential freak-outs: There’s never a lot of hope, because life is difficult.
Strong agree, great idea — I would have integrated the endings into one, with some good twists. Alternate endings are a videogame, or DVD special features thing.
Jack
2 Feb 10 at 1:57 pm
[Edited to add to the "Movies" cloud.]
Jack
2 Feb 10 at 2:00 pm
@Jack: It may just be that I don’t like Asian horror. The script didn’t bother with coherence because all that mattered was the vibe. Do I just have to accept that?
Jared
2 Feb 10 at 2:47 pm