Binding Souls 綁靈 (2018) - Hong Kong
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
There is a lot of problems with this so-called local horror thriller “Binding Souls” as it is neither thrilling or scary in any possible way. With the premises of Japanese prison camp and haunted school, it can easily play off far more effectively as seen in Taiwanese “Detention”. However, Director Chan Pang-chun (“Daughter”) is horrible in his execution and hampered by an inconsistent script with an indifferent cast, the film ends up not only boring, but a total waste of time. When even industry genre veteran Kara Hui and Yuen Cheung-yan cannot save this film from its ill fated doom.
Tsao Yu-Ning headlines the film with zero presence or chemistry with his costars. Carlos Chan have seen better days than this annoying role as a womaniser. Meanwhile, Angie Shun, Anika Sheng and Keeva Mak rounds out the uninspiring ensemble cast of actors with the sole aim of acting like a scaredy-cat. Kara Hui tries hard to make some amends, but like Yuen Cheung-Yan, both efforts are in vain.
All in all, “Binding Souls” is really an unnecessary film that should have never been approved for production. The premises whilst promising is tired and lack any sort of innovation, aided with even poorer direction and cliche plot line and uninteresting characters. There is really nothing to like about this film. Highly not recommended for viewing.
I rated it 3/10
