Wai dor lei ah yut ho (2010)

Director:

Ho-Cheung Pang

Writers:

Ho-Cheung Pang (story)
Ho-Cheung Pang (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

13 May 2010 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Cheng Li-sheung is a young, upwardly mobile professional finally ready to invest in her first home. But when the deal falls through, she is forced to keep her dream alive - even if it means keeping her would-be neighbors dead. |

Plot Keywords:

Home | Homicide | Protest | Past | Splatter

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Josie Ho	...	Cheng Lai - Sheung
Eason Chan	...	Siu To
Michelle Ye	...	Flat 8A Female Owner
Norman Chu	...	Sheung's Father
Lawrence Chou	...	On Jai
Juno Mak	...	Cop Fat
Lap-Man Sin	...	Flat 8A Male Owner
Hee Ching Paw	...	Sheung's Mother
Kwok Cheung Tsang	...	Cheung Jai
Ying Kwan Lok	...	Cop Man
Chu-chu Zhou	...	Woman B
Hoi-Pang Lo	...	Sheung's Grandpa
Juan Song
Ching Wong	...	Security Guard
Wai Hung Chan

Directed by
Ho-Cheung Pang

Writing credits
Ho-Cheung Pang		(story)
Ho-Cheung Pang		(screenplay) &
Kwok Cheung Tsang		(screenplay) &
Chi-Man Wan		(screenplay)

Produced by
Conroy Chan Chi-Chung	....	producer
Subi Liang	....	producer
Andrew Ooi	....	executive producer
Ho-Cheung Pang	....	producer

Original Music by
Gabriele Roberto

Cinematography by
Nelson Yu Lik-wai

Film Editing by
Wenders Li

Production Design by
Lim Chung Man

Makeup Department
Andrew Lin	....	special makeup effects artist (as Hoi Lin)

Sound Department
Marco Streccioni	....	mix engineer
Antonio Tavassi	....	assistant sound mixer
Du-Che Tu	....	sound

Special Effects by
Yuen Fai Ng	....	special effects supervisor
Bart Wong	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Bart Wong	....	main title design & animation

Music Department
Marco Streccioni	....	score mix engineer
Antonio Tavassi	....	score mix assistant

Production Companies

• 852 Films
• Making Film

Distributors

• IFC Films (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Entertainment (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cinemax (2011) (Hungary) (TV)
• EDKO Film (2010) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Network Releasing (2010) (UK) (all media)

Special Effects

• FatFace Productions (visual effects)

Also Known As:

"Dream Home" - USA (imdb display title)
"Weiduoliya yi hao" - Hong Kong (Mandarin title) (imdb display title)
"Álomotthon" - Hungary
"Dream Home" - Germany (imdb display title)
"Hayalimdeki ev" - Turkey (Turkish title) (festival title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R18 | UK:18 | Japan:R18+ | Malaysia:(Banned) | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

852 Films

Refreshingly great horror/comedy with a relevant social commentary

When going in to seeing this film, I knew the general outline of the plot and much talked about death scenes, what I did not expect was a genuinely well-made, acted, written and shot horror movie with a great blend of comedy and social context. Dream Home is one amongst a recent slew of fantastic Asian horror films, and shows that it is the foreign horror filmmakers who are making the top quality movies.

Ho-Cheung Pang (who directed and wrote) has made a simple story very entertaining. Cheng Lai-sheung (an incredibly beautiful Josie Ho) works two part time jobs in order to save her money to buy an apartment with an ocean view. This dream goes back to her childhood where various events and friendships lead her to this apartment. Unfortunately, with market prices the way they are she can't really afford the price being asked, and her obsession turns into a madness which only blood can satisfy.

Dream Home is not told in a chronological manner, rather, the story is told in bits and pieces, slowly revealing how Cheng became the murderer we are seeing. I found this to be a fantastic way to tell the story, as it doesn't follow that standard path of showing a descent into madness, instead, it gives us snippets in between the carnage in order to hold our attention, so we don't get bored with all the killing, but we also don't get bogged down with explanations. Speaking of the killings, this movie contains some extreme violence which most fans of this genre will love, I know I sure did. The majority of these are over-the-top and comic in the way they unfold (apart from the most talked about scene involving the suffocation of a pregnant woman), most of the scenes go for a few minutes, in which we see Cheng is not that adept at killing, and she will only get the upper hand out of luck. No body part is safe as we see eyes gouged out, heads blown off and major amounts of arterial spray. These scenes are also where the movies major drawback lays: the use of CGI. Although it wasn't terrible, it was obvious and did detract a little in some scenes, but that's just me being finicky.

Dream Home is not just about the death scenes, the film is technically well-made in all aspects. The directing, editing and cinematography give the film a beautiful look, with many gorgeous shots throughout the film. The scenes in the apartments where the all the murders take place are filmed in a variety of ways and angles, giving these scenes an intense, claustrophobic and sometimes surreal feel. The acting is fantastic from everyone, especially Josie Ho, who turns her psychopath into someone that at times you can sympathise with.

This movie, while being a great horror film, is also a very relevant commentary on the future home owners issue. With the price of housing increasing steadily (especially where I live) this story can feel a little close to home. Not that I, or any normal person, would go to this length to get a home, but it still brings up an important issue.

4/5