Heather
Langenkamp and Freddy Krueger’s other victims would be jealous of Dr. Lam
Sik-ka and his latest patient, because no matter what they do, they cannot
drift off to sleep. Yet, they still manage to have nightmares in Herman Yau’s The Sleep Curse (trailer here), which screens at
this year’s Abertoir: The International Horror Festival of Wales.
Dr.
Lam is a man of science, but not exclusively. He has seen uncanny things and visited
his share of mediums. Neither he or his former girlfriend Monique want to end
up like her older brother, whose mental collapse due to supernatural sleep
deprivation takes place during the prologue. It turns out their respective fathers
met the same fate, but it isn’t a hereditary condition. It is a curse dating
back to the Japanese occupation.
Quite
inconveniently (for a host of reasons), Lam’s decent but passive father Lam
Sing was involuntarily recruited to serve as a clerk and translator to the
Japanese commander. Part of his duties involve coordinating with Chow Fook, the
collaborator managing the local so-called “comfort station.” Lam’s heart aches
for the women enslaved there, but when his Japanese masters force him to make a
pseudo-Sophie’s Choice, it sets off a chain of very bad karma, which unfolds in
a series of flashbacks.
The
prospect of using war crimes committed against comfort women as the catalyst
for a horror film is admittedly dicey, but it certainly reflects still potent
(and officially sanctioned) anti-Japanese prejudices. Intriguingly, the film is
also set in 1990, pre-handover, at a time when many Hong Kongers were having
nightmares. It is therefore easy to sense ghosts from two eras haunting the
film. Initially, Yau seems more inclined to evoke feelings of uneasiness while
maintaining a general sense of mystery, until total bedlam breaks in in the
third act. We’re talking totally nuts here.
Regardless,
in a dual role, Anthony Wong makes a credible Peter Cushing figure as Dr. Lam
and is aptly tragic as the ill-fated Lam Sing. Likewise, Michelle Wai also
shows tremendous range as both Man Ching and Man Woon, two twins of drastically
differing temperaments, separated by cruel fate and Lam Sing. Jojo Goh only has
one role, but she still makes an impression playing Monique partly as a femme
fatale and partly as an increasingly vulnerable and agitated patient.
Herman
Yau is maybe not quite as prolific as Takeshi Miike, but he certainly does not
lack for a work ethic or ready financing. Despite turning out a steady stream of
hit action movies and comedies, he still exhibits a distinctive touch for
supernatural fare. Perfect for fans of the Nightmare
Detective franchise, The Sleep Curse screens
Thursday night (11/16), as part of Abertoir 2017.
