Rating: **
Review Date: 7/22/12
Director: Dennis Yu
Writer: Wong Jing
Cast: Lau Kar Leung (Liu Chia Liang), Mark Cheng, Wong Jing,
Hsu Shu Yuan
A 500 year old cat spirit is unwittingly unleashed by a construction crew and goes on a killing spree. Master Cheung (Lau Kar Leung) is the only one alive who knows how to kill the evil spirit, but no one believes him. He finally convinces Ah Long (Mark Cheng) to join his cause and learn his special kung fu, but it might be too late.
I picked this up because of kung fu master Lau Kar Leung, but when I saw Wong Jing's name in the credits, my heart sank. Granted, it's not as dreadful as Jing's later stories, but it still bears hints of his trademark misogynistic goofiness. The film is well lit and nicely shot, but the editing tends to be a bit choppy. The visual effects are adequate, but there's little to no kung fu to speak of. Leung beats up a few security guards in an elevator and that's about it. It makes me wonder why he's in the film at all. When it's not being silly, the film is wonderfully tense and grim, and the downbeat ending is a pleasant surprise. Not the film I was hoping for, but fortunately not a complete waste of time.