Troublesome Night 6: Viewer Comments

The first five entries in this ongoing HK horror series were anthologies with no connection between the various films. Prior to viewing TROUBLESOME NIGHT 6, I had only seen parts I & II and, fine casts aside, found them tepid at best. For the sixth installment, director Herman Yau Lai-to concentrates on a single story and the results are moderately successful. When a woman commits suicide by jumping off of a building, Ten Magazine runs a picture of her bloody corpse on the cover of its latest issue. Four years later, one of the tabloid's photographers turns up dead, while his partner has been frightened into a state of dementia. Wong (Louis Koo Tin-lok), the cop heading up the investigation, sees a mysterious woman in red and pursues her but ends up experiencing a series of frightening visions. A reformed alcoholic whose previous drunken exploits were showcased in an issue of Ten four years earlier, Wong begins to wonder if he has fallen off the wagon. His partner, Chung (Simon Lui Yu-yeung), determines that the woman Wong seeks is the late model Kwok Siu-heung (Gigi Lai Chi), the victim featured on that infamous Ten cover. Another Ten staffer turns up dead shortly thereafter and there is one other, wholly inexplicable aspect of the case: an odd series of festering sores have appeared on some of those involved. The growths are resistant to any known treatment and Wong discovers some on his chest. But why him, when he had nothing to do with the incident? Evidently inspired by the harsh criticism the HK media has earned this past year (it isn't enough that the reporters in the film take pictures of the dead girl, they even move her hair, to get a better close-up, and raise her dress to reveal more leg), TROUBLESOME NIGHT 6 is refreshingly free of the sophomoric humor that detracts from far too many HK horror pictures, and the plot threads come together in satisfying fashion. Still, the film does not come close to generating the uneasiness that permeates recent Japanese fare, like THE RING I & II and HYPNOSIS, and, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, is never genuinely scary. It does, however, show that Herman Yau is continuing to mature as a filmmaker and is worth keeping an eye on, something that one never would have expected, given his early work. As with every entry in this series, producer Nam Yin has assembled a quality supporting cast, including Amanda Lee Wai-man, Wayne Lai Yiu-cheung, Peter Ngor Chi-kwan, Ng Chi-hung, Ronald Wong Pan, Helena Law Lan, and Nadia Chan Chung-ling. TROUBLESOME NIGHT 6 looks to have been a dark film by design and that is how it is presented here. Contrasts could be stronger but the presentation is, otherwise, decent and the source material is largely clean. The sound is good but, contrary to the stereo listing on the keep case and in the end credits, there is no channel separation on either the Cantonese or Mandarin tracks. Regardless, the sound is still forceful and effective. Extras include the theatrical trailer, trailers for A LAMB IN DESPAIR, THE RULES OF THE GAME, and UNGRATEFUL TINK, plus a bio/filmography for Louis Koo (which incorrectly lists his English name as "Leo"). Thanks to Sanney Leung for the title translations.