Following one of Billy Tang's better films post Category III-craze, Sharp Guns, comes this psycho killer-thriller and once again, much is evident in Tang's work when working with less exploitative material. Watching everything from Dial D For Demons to Sexy And Dangerous, you constantly flip flop between the fact that deep inside there is that better filmmaker waiting to emerge again to the fact that the better filmmaker only flourished when working with the graphic material in Red To Kill for instance. Interactive Murders represents the former train of thought and while a B-movie entry in the thriller genre with less than A-personnel on board, it has to be said that the competence on display deserves a high class vehicle to at least prove whether Tang has it in him or not.

Screenwriter Felix Chong after this went on to great fame as co-writer of the Internal Affairs trilogy but constructs a very familiar template here. If you haven't seen the content on display here before, such as Andy Hui's supercop being the best investigator in the world, his clashes with the subordinate cops, a dark past within himself and towards the psycho killer etc etc, then good for you...it will be an actual fresh experience! Based on what's given to Chong and Billy Tang, it's no surprise that Interactive Murders rarely tries to reinvent the genre to any extent though.

Despite, Tang's handling of familiarity remains competent which shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody who has followed his work. He maintains an involving pace, turns up the tension when cops are subjected to the puzzles (a silly concept in itself though) on the behalf of our unnamed and unseen psycho and makes sure to work with his favourite cinematographer Tony Miu to create as much of a distinguished visual palette as he can. At times the movie looks like most cheap B-movie ones, at others Miu distorts visuals to a compelling degree as well as giving us some twisted but compelling compositions. There goes a saying among fan circles that with Billy Tang's films, you're at least assured that they will look good despite being part of a somewhat obscure side of Hong Kong cinema. No different here.

Felix Chong may have written a strong social commentary, dealing with we as a viewing audience and our fascination with celebrities and crimes on prime time television (or in this case, on the internet). Tang seems to want to venture into something akin to deep but truth of the matter is, it is just there and briefly featured which I guess is a good thing in this film since deeper thematics really doesn't belong here. The benchmark of these thrillers was set by Se7en and frankly won't be topped so Tang just rightly worries about taking care of business as good as he can with the little means at hand. With an obvious upcoming twist in the final act (judging by the fact that we're 14 minutes away from the end when the dull climax is over), this is the point where most movies die usually. Again, neither of these turn of events may hold water when closely examined but when all is said and done, Interactive Murders firmly balances the ordinary and decent level all the way through. The ordinary and decent Billy Tang level that is, now inventing another way of grading after creating my Herman Yau scale of quality.

With no overly special written characters and characteristics, the actors expectedly do not distinguish themselves as such. Andy Hui does go through the motions well though, bringing the requisite intuition and intensity of this kind of cop character while Nicola Cheung logs a slight sympathetic turn as the sorrowful psychic Shana. A surprise appearance by a known comedian does rank as an intriguing curiosity.

Despite some ventures into what one would call trademark Billy Tang grimness, Interactive Murders, considering its place in the timeline, is far removed from Tang's works of 1993-1994. Considering the familiarity of pretty much all material at hand here, it's assuring to see that Tang can still provide a workable genre effort and with its final twists, you might feel urged to revisit this mystery once more. If I had one wish though, I would like to see someone take a risk and give Billy Tang a larger vehicle, if only once. There is still a filmmaker worthy of note in there and despite unavoidable frowns out there at Run And Kill and Red To Kill, those are really benchmarks just like Se7en was in the genre Interactive Murders resides in. Think about that.

While Billy Tang is best known for his Category III gorefests like Run and Kill, his last few films (in probably an adaptation to the more mellow style of the new millenium) have been fairly sedate. While there are no beheadings or brutal rapes in Interactive Murders (in fact, there is very little in the way of blood-letting at all), it still manages to create a creepy mood thanks to some polished camerawork and editing, as well as Cha Chuen Yee's performance. While the story is pretty straight-forward, there is a nice (and unexpected) Sixth Sense-style twist at the end which makes the viewer rethink the narrative. It's this kind of polished scriptwork which makes Interactive Murders stand above similar films, especially from Hong Kong, where the "flying paper" style tends to muddle many movies before they can make their point.

So why doesn't the movie warrant a higher rating? Interactive Murders, while good, didn't really impact me in any way. Everything is done competently, but it just lacks that certain something. I can't exactly tell you what that might be in this case -- maybe a bit of gore to pump up the horror value, or perhaps making Cha's character a bit more brutal as to make the tension rise -- but it does need something. Also, for how good the script is, there is a very dull patch in the second act that tends to lose the viewer, as suspense is replaced with romance. Overall, though, Interactive Murders is a solid supsense movie that probably won't satisfy gorehounds, but should offer solid entertainment for most other people.