A young man returns to Hong Kong after his mother attempts suicide and finds his childhood ability to see ghosts coming back…
Though the horror genre in Hong Kong hasn’t exactly been in rude health of late, there has been the odd film to get excited about. Back Home, which marks the feature debut of writer director Nate Ki, is one which has gotten a fair amount of attention, not least since it stars in the lead Anson Kong of the incredibly popular Cantopop boy band Mirror. This aside, the film should certainly be of interest to horror fans in general, mixing old fashioned, culturally-rooted scares with social and political commentary, something which, given the current climate in Hong Kong, marks it as a laudably brave and ambitious effort.
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Rusted BodyKong plays Heung Wing, a young man who has been living with relatives in Canada, the film beginning with him coming back to Hong Kong after being told that his estranged mother (Bai Ling) is in a coma after a suicide attempt. Staying in his old bedroom in their crumbling apartment block home, he finds himself haunted by disturbing visions, which might be his childhood ability to see ghosts returning and which bring with them some seriously unpleasant memories. Matters aren’t helped by the fact that most of the other residents of the building are an odd bunch or that there’s been a series of mysterious suicides in the area, and Heung Wing starts to uncover a dark web of secrets and lies which force him to confront the trauma of his own past.
It’s clear from the start that Nate Ki, who also wrote 2020’s Hell Bank Presents: Running Ghost, has approached Back Home as a full-on horror film, something which definitely wins him points, and by establishing from early on that Keung Wing can indeed see ghosts, the narrative doesn’t waste any time in getting to the frights. There’s a pleasing mix of eerie atmospherics, jump scares and surreal visions throughout, with a few nasty moments thrown in for good measure, and while for the most part the set pieces are familiar stuff, drawing from both Eastern and Western horror, Ki does a good job of pulling it all together and keeping things moving an at engaging pace. It’s fair to say that the film is more likely to be frightening for younger viewers rather than old genre hands, as there’s really nothing new here, even when it gets to the inevitable final revelations, though it remains solid spooky fun from start to finish.
Boosted by quality production values and creepy set design, Back Home makes the most of its setting and cultural underpinnings, with some effective use of Chinese opera, paper funeral gifts, black magic and more, and though a bit random at times, this underpins the film with a fascinating sense of mythology. Though Ki’s script is a bit scattershot, it’s clear that the film is prioritising meaning and metaphor over traditional narrative concerns, and its meandering ambiguity works well to give the impression of a dark fever dream and of a reflection of the troubled mind of its traumatised protagonist. Decent performances also help, and Anson Kong manages to make Keung Wing interesting enough, if a bit of a blank, and it’s great to see Bai Ling getting a chance to chew the scenery in her own inimitable fashion.
Back Home arguably works best when it comes to what’s lurking beneath the surface, as while its horror elements are ostensibly focused on a psychological deconstruction of Keung Wing, it’s hard not to read the film as a commentary on contemporary Hong Kong. Certainly, Ki seems to be using Keung Wing’s journey and the way in which the film deals with memory and guilt as a means of connecting the past with the uncertainty of the future, with a nihilistic take on responsibility and generational differences, and there are a number of lines and moments in the script which reference politics in a surprisingly open manner. Through this, the apartment block and its various inhabitants work as a microcosm of Hong Kong society, in a pretty bleak, darkly satirical way, and this serves well to give the film another level of depth, as well as lending its horror an ironic sense of ghoulish glee.
This having been said, delving into the social commentary isn’t necessary for enjoying Back Home, and it’s an entertaining bit of genre fun whether taken as pure horror or satire. An accomplished debut for Nate Ki, it’s a timely reminder of the joys of Hong Kong genre cinema, and hopefully it’ll be successful enough to inspire more of the same.
Back Home is in UK cinemas from 27th October, released by Haven Productions. Join us every Thursday for the latest in James’ #cineXtremes series.
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