BABY BLUES (诡婴) (2013)

Genre: Thriller/Horror
Director: Leong Po-Chih  
Cast: Raymond Lam, Karena Ng, Kate Tsui, Janelle Sing, Yu Bo, Irene Wan, Lo Hoi-Pang
RunTime: 1 hr 33 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror and Scene of Intimacy)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films & Scorpio East Pictures
Official Website:  

Opening Day: 7 November 2013

Synopsis: When a young couple, blogger Tian Qing and song-writer Hao moves into a home, they find a mysterious doll that changes their lives forever. Not long after, Tian Qing becomes pregnant with twins but as Hao is always busy with his work, he comes home late every night. When Tian Qing suffers a fall and ends up giving birth to only one child, she begins to show signs of depression and weird behaviour...

Movie Review:

It really baffles us how there will always be movie protagonists who take fancy in the strangest objects. Take for example the doll you see on the movie poster here – who in the right mind would think it is adorable, so much so that he or she becomes obsessed and in love with it? Oh, we must have left out the fact that in horror movies, logic is often left and the door. In the name of scaring you shitless, anything goes.

Chinese British director Leong Po Chih, who is known for his non Chinese works Shanghai 1920 (1991) and The Wisdom of Crocodiles (1998), tries his hand at helming a Hong Kong horror flick. Does he manage to inject his Western influence into an Asian horror movie? Can he bring out memorable performances from Raymond Lam and Kate Tsui like how he did with John Lone and Jude Law? Most importantly, is this not going to yet another run of the mill scary movie that belongs in the DVD bin?

Very unfortunately, as much as we want to root for this production, it is a forgettable movie that does nothing to spike your senses.

The story fails to excite: A young couple moves into a new house and chances upon a creepy looking doll that will mess up their lives forever. The wife becomes pregnant with twins but ends up giving birth to only one child after a fall. No thanks to the husband’s busy work schedule as a record producer, she begins to show signs of depression and weird behaviour. Does it have to do with the freaky doll she took a liking with? You bet!

Good looker Raymond Lam (The Sorcerer and the White Snake, Saving General Yang) takes on the role of the husband while eye candy Janelle Sing stars alongside as his wife. Anyone would want to be in the shoes of this model couple – but you know that only happens in movies. Co stars include Kate Tsui as a seductively sexy singer, Lam’s real life girlfriend Karena Ng as his sister in law,and Lo Hoi Pang as an ominous uncle who appears randomly to warn the couple of their impending doom.

There are a number of notable Hong Kong artistes here, and to be fair, they deliver commendable performances. What makes this 93 minute flick a disposable one is its ridiculous plot (nothing new actually), a sluggish story pacing (when things begin picking up in the last 20 minutes, it’s really too late to leave an impact) and its uncreative scare tactics. Come on, you can definitely do better than having a CGI doll spinning and pointing its bloody finger at you? Splattering blood and hallucination dream sequences aren’t anything exciting to shout about in this day and age as well.

By the time the credits roll, you’d wonder whether this movie belongs on the small screen (especially when the stars are relatively well known for their TV roles), and whether the movie managed to send any chills down your spine.  

Movie Rating:

(Despite decent performances, the Hong Kong horror flick is messily forgettable)

Review by John Li