HOUSE OF THE INVISIBLES (2007-HK)
review by Neo




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Yet another non-scary C-movie…
It’s been a while that I have seen a recent HK film that is filmed with such low production values and absolutely cheap casting. Apart from Lam Suet, an A-list supporting actor in his own right and perhaps Wayne Lai, a frequent TVB lead nowadays, the rest are a bunch of C-list actors that are not even wanted by the TVB network. Expectations are definitely low and Neo was certainly expecting the worst of the worst. Sometimes, going into a film with ultra low expectations, may actually make the film better than it is. However, despite this flick being better than expected, it is still a piece of junk that doesn’t really make any sense and like all other B-horror flick, it is not scary at all.

The movie goes like this: Shot in Malaysia, House of the Invisibles is set in a shabby old building which only accommodates a few households. They include Fat Chow (Lam Suet) and his wife (Emily Kwan) who has broken her legs in an accident, and Chow's colleague Chee (Tong Ling) and her good-for-nothing artist boyfriend (Eddie Pang). While Chow's other colleague Chung (Wayne Lai) gets addicted to gambling, Chow can't resist the temptation of visiting prostitutes like Kiu (Natalie Ng). These people have been very content living their decadent lives, despite the garbage woman's (Ha Ping) frequent advice, until one day they accidentally cross paths with the world of the dead...

With all the criticism on hand, there are a couple of highlights, in an otherwise pretty dim flick. Lam Suet stands out in his usual way, Wayne Lai overacts as he always does and Natalie Ng does adequately as a seducer in a sexy way. Natalie Ng is someone that deserves a better role, as Neo still remembers her from the coming of age flick Un Baiser Vole where she seduces Stephen Fung in the university campus. It was a good performance and her sexual urge was humorous to watch, but somehow Ng never made it big and it is disappointing that she is now reduced to a cameo in a C-movie.

All in all, House of Invisibles is really hard to be recommended in any aspect and perhaps it is a film that should never have come out. Calling it a film is already an accomplishment and some credit should be given to the first time director for a tying everything up finale. Ultimately the film suffers immensely from the ultra low production values and cheap sound effects, but for a movie filled with C-list actors, it is probably safe for Neo to call it – a better than expected C-movie…

I rate it 4.5/10

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Starring: Lam Suet, Emily Kwan, Tong Ling, Eddie Pang, Wayne Lai, Natalie Ng, Ha Ping
Directed by: Elfa Lee
Genre: Horror