The Sleep Curse
Description
Herman Yau’s creepy gorefest hearkens back to ’90s-style category III (adults-only) Hong Kong films, including the director’s own classics The Untold Story (1993) and Ebola Syndrome (1996). Replete with mad scientists, cannibalistic insomniacs, and war criminals, not to mention Anthony Wong in a dual role, The Sleep Curse offers midnight-movie flare turned up to 11. In the prologue, a wealthy middle-aged man is seen deteriorating from insomnia. His sister visits the egotistical sleep-disorder specialist Lam Sik-ka (Wong) for help with the problem. Lam has issues of his own, however—he’s just had his proposal about the benefits of sleep deprivation turned down by his superiors for being unethical and is seeking help from a medium to uncover secrets buried in his familial past. Marvelously intricate in that way Hong Kong cinema does best, the film employs a lengthy flashback set during WWII and the Japanese occupation to reveal the source of the sleeping sickness, paving the way for the film’s Grand Guignol climax. The version screened here will be the director’s cut, slightly longer (i.e. bloodier) than the version showed in Hong Kong theaters.
Born in 1961, Herman Yau studied film at Hong Kong Baptist College and started out making music videos and television commercials. Incredibly prolific, he’s produced or directed over 70 films, including cult classics The Untold Story (1993), Ebola Syndrome (1996), as well as mainstream hits such as Ip Man: The Final Fight (2013) and The Mobfathers (2016). This year finds him a triple threat—besides the two films in Hong Kong Cinema, he released the action film Shock Wave, starring Andy Lau.
Film Details
Language Cantonese, Japanese, Malay
Year 2017
Runtime 102
Country Hong Kong
Director Herman Yau
Producer Albert Lee
Writer Eric Li
Editor Azrael Chung
Cinematographer Kwong-Hung Chan
Music Jan Hung Mak
Cast Anthony Wong, Michelle Wai, Jojo Goh
Print Source Emperor Motion Pictures