AB-NORMAL BEAUTY

(a.k.a. SEI MONG SE JUN)

Jiney (Race Wong, COLOUR OF SOUND) is a prize-winning art student on account of her daring, beautiful photography.

After refusing a date with the eager Anson (Anson Leung, ONE NIGHT IN MONGKOK), Jiney takes off to celebrate her latest prize win with her best friend Jasmine (the gorgeous Roseanne Wong, COLOUR OF SOUND) by taking more photographs.

While developing her photographs later at home, Jiney is advised that her mother is going to America on business for a month - leaving Jiney with the house to herself.

Jiney rushes to tell Jasmine, but is distracted on the way when she encounters the aftermath of a car accident. Initially repulsed and frightened, Jiney then decides it is an opportunity not to be missed - and takes several snaps of the dying driver.

Later in art class, Jiney starts to see an imaginary line of blood flowing down a naked model's torso - and incorporates it into her painting while Jasmine looks on, worried.

On the way home from college, the girls make a trip to the market and comes across a trader slaying chickens. Jiney insists he slash several chickens' throats for the benefit of her camera.

Unsurprisingly, then, Jasmine later pulls Jiney to a side and asks why she's become so obssessed with disgusting images since witnessing the car crash aftermath. Jiney does not know - although a nightmare she has in the bath, relating to her abusive childhood, may hold certain clues ...

Jiney struggles with her fascination, and her unrecipricated love for Jasmine, reaching such lows as threatening to commit suicide, photographing a girl taking her own life, and subjecting the lovestruck Anson to one photo shoot he'll never forget.

Jiney eventually confides in Jasmine, telling her she fears she is going crazy and needs help. At this point, things get better for a while as Jasmine moves into Jiney's home to look after he friend.

But a parcel left in Jiney's college locker and a gift deposited at her doorstep take the film into unexpected, darker territory ...

Oxide Pang Chun (THE EYE; BANGKOK DANGEROUS) has exhibited an annoyingly flashy style in his previous directorial efforts, that ultimately detracted from the action taking place onscreen. Thnakfully, he appears to have matured as a filmmaker and seems more content to tell his story in a less flashy but assured manner - allowing scenes space to breathe and develop, and letting the convincing relationship between the two female leads shine through.

Okay, there's still the odd moment of MTV-style gimmickry from Pang (the nightmare scenes; the over-stylised finale), but overall it's a definite improvement in style.

My main problem with AB-NORMAL BEAUTY is that, considering it's disturbing subject matter and foray into even darker ground in the second half, this could have been a masterpiece of harrowing cinema. But it's too clean, too safe - far too slick and polished, if you get my meaning. Sometimes you need your horror cinema to be a little rough around the edges, giving it that little bit unpredictability and danger. AB-NORMAL BEAUTY, like so many contemporary Asian horror flicks, is technically superb but lacking in the raw, nervous energy that true go-for-broke genre filmmaking possesses.

Still, gripe aside, it's a competent horror-thriller with strong performances, impressive visuals and a final scene that revels in it's own malicious sense of humour.

The picture quality, as is to be expected, is excellent. Tartan's 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer is gorgeous.

As is the Cantonese audio, which is available in 2.0, 5.1 and 5.1 DTS mixes. Easily removeable English subtitles are available.

Attractive animated menus lead into some interesting (if rather meagre) extras:

Eight minutes of deleted scenes are presented with removable English subtitles. These add little to the narrative of the film and it's easy to see why they were removed. A telephone conversation here, more footage of Jin developing photographs there ...

An eleven minute Behind The Scenes featurette starts off as an MTV-style EPK with Wong addressing the camera giving us her insight into her character's motivation, and Pang dissecting the theme of the movie. Things get more interesting though with some decent on-set footage.

Unfortunately the trailer and Premier Footage promised on the cover of this screener disc do not feature.

Tartan have also released the film in the US, with the same extras and audio options.

Review by Stu Willis