★ 8 / 10
”The only love that I really believe in
heartaem
”The only love that I really believe in, is a mother’s love for her children.” - Karl Lagerfeld It’s about time I started catching up with all the Asian horror…
”The only love that I really believe in, is a mother’s love for her children.”
- Karl Lagerfeld
It’s about time I started catching up with all the Asian horror in 2023 and that led me to pick out Singapore’s _Circle Line_; a 1 hour 19 minutes, survival horror-thriller creature feature.
I have been stuck on the London Underground once for maybe 3 minutes and let me tell you was that 3 minutes the longest of my life, staring into the darkness around the train, wondering what was out there, what might happen if we didn’t start moving soon, and then, blissfully, the train whirred on the tracks and that was my nightmare over.
This film is pretty much what my brain created over those 3 minutes and wee woo this is my nightmare.
Can we talk about Jesseca Liu’s acting here? Her character is astounding, and so, so brave and I am in awe watching how she so naturally plays the role of a mother. I don’t know how much the harrowing backstory was needed, but, it definitely served a good role of character development and understanding. The main four characters were remarkable, and I was really rooting for all of them, from the pit of my stomach. The dad as well did amazing in his role and I am just immensely amazed at what the actors managed to do with their script.
There’s something about this that’s just so centric to family and familial beliefs that is just strangely stunning. Maybe it’s the fact I haven’t watched all that many Singaporian films and I’m just new to the themes and formats they use, but it really took my breath away.
This being said, it isn’t the best movie; it’s a creature feature set in 2023 in underground train tunnels. It’s either going to be up your alley or not, as the par with most creature features. But for me? I loved this. I love the feeling of dread and horror, the emotional constipation between familial units, and more. I can see why people did not like the ending, but, I love the ending.
If you watch this with more of a focus on “family within tragedy and disaster”, the film hits a little more, I think. Monster looked hella good (and looking at those rats, we know where the CGI budget went). Acting was pretty good, if not great, and I’m very interested in what J. D. Chua comes out with in the future. Very tense and very good, albeit, weak in some areas and needed a bit of a tidy up. But, that promises more for the director and script writer(s) in the future, in my opinion, and it’s got me excited for future movies.
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★ 5 / 10
Even though the monsters look fake, and the plot twist in killing them is quite formulaic, it's best to watch it at home on online streaming.
noshouse
In an ordinary subway car, people hurriedly get on and off, some immersed in their phones, and nobody noticed what was about to happen. Jesseca, with her…
In an ordinary subway car, people hurriedly get on and off, some immersed in their phones, and nobody noticed what was about to happen. Jesseca, with her daughter, faces unknown giant monsters emerging from the darkness. It feels like the sharp claws of a steel rhino. In the midst of chaos, from a third-person perspective, there are likely two scenarios: some would run frantically, while others would actively search for an escape route. When faced with such situations, Lucas's reaction in the movie can offer valuable insights. Unlike Jesseca, who confronts the monsters directly, Lucas observes more and tries to identify the weak points of the adversary. Perhaps, it's not about oneself but about setting up a strategy or a trap that can turn the tables.
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★ 2 / 10
Rife With Implausibilities.
meddlecore
The plot for this Singaporean horror film is simple. A reptilian beast is released by the mother of it's owner after her child dies (implied); where it takes…
The plot for this Singaporean horror film is simple.
A reptilian beast is released by the mother of it's owner after her child dies (implied); where it takes up residence in the subway system; and accidentally triggers a switch, to route one of the trains onto an unused track...where it gets stranded...and open to attack by said monster.
But not a whole lot in the film makes sense.
There are so many questions that go completely unaddressed.
First and foremost, what the hell the alien looking beast even is.
How the kid in the intro came to own it?
How big it got before they released it?
How long it was running rampant in the underground tunnels for?
How it survived?
What it was feeding on?
Not to mention all the gaping plotholes we are supposed to ignore.
Mainly...how you could conceivably "lose a train" in a modern subway system, in this day and age.
How the student's father was able to find them...while the rest of management was left in the dark about their location (despite the fact he told them where he believed they were).
And how they lost contact with him.
Not to mention, how the beast managed to procreate...when there is only one of them.
Though, I guess we are to assume it possesses the capability to reproduce parthenogenetically.
It certainly requires quite a bit of assumption, to simply engage with the storyline.
Which isn't exactly "good" writing.
(I won't even get started on the lop-sided character development)
On top of this...the monster is rendered with rather choppy CGI.
To be fair, it's not the worst CGI I've ever seen.
It's certainly better than the what we see in Cocaine Bear (to offer a reference point), for example.
That's for sure.
But they were way too ambitious with the action scenes...when their tech (or budget) just couldn't handle it.
Plus...the acting is quite bad.
Particularly in regards to the mother and son characters (who are the main characters in the film).
The kid was so damn annoying...I found myself rooting for his death.
I just wanted him gone.
And the mother wasn't much more tolerable.
But, alas...
I don't think you can blame Singapore for this.
It was a valiant effort.
I place the blame on Netflix for producing this type of high concept trash on the reg.
It's always been their policy to aim for quantity over quality.
I've no doubt this was a one-line pitch when it was green-lit.
Cause it shows.
2 out of 10.
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Oh, the english subtitles lined up perfectly and it was a good translation.