bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Edmund Lee

3.5/5 stars
A daring effort for what it’s worth, Back Home is an eerie occult horror that works even better as a thinly veiled, caustic parody of Hong Kong’s social and political environment of recent times. There are few precedents of its calibre in the city’s cinema and there probably won’t be many more to follow.
While the immense popularity of Cantopop boy band Mirror isn’t exactly bringing world peace or doing everyone much good, some rising local filmmakers do have the band’s more prominent members to thank for bringing attention to niche genre projects that might otherwise sink without a trace.
After Anson Lo Hon-ting recently showed his acting chops in the supernatural horror It Remains, it is Anson Kong Ip-sang’s turn to restore his reputation as an emerging actor after his utterly forgettable role in the ensemble romantic comedy Love Suddenly.


Kong impresses here as Wing, a psychologically broken young man who was tortured as a kid when his ability to see ghosts – via his “third eye” – alienated him from his school peers, turned his father away from the family, and drove his mother Lan (Bai Ling), a Cantonese opera performer, insane.
Having fled home to live with his uncle in Canada for over 10 years, Wing believes he has lost his third eye after a long period of deceiving himself that he is no longer seeing things. Then a suicide attempt by Lan, who is discovered with her tongue cut out, brings him back to Hong Kong to face his demons all over again.

Essentially a folk horror set in a dilapidated public housing estate, Back Home sees Wing befriend a similarly haunted kid (Wesley Wong) – to the chagrin of Tai Bo’s paper-offerings artist and de facto village elder – while investigating the mysterious suicide cases that have plagued the neighbourhood.
With this dimly lit and progressively dreamlike story, first-time writer-director Nate Tse Ka-ki (officially credited as Nate Ki) has served up a chilling brew of Chinese superstitions and group psychopathology, with some Lynchian touches of sideshow creepiness thrown in for good measure.
Still, for its local audience at least, Back Home is likely to be appreciated more enthusiastically for its satirical edge than its horror movie credentials – especially as Tse has publicly declared that he thinks of Wing’s desire to stop seeing ghosts as a metaphor of Hongkongers turning a blind eye to injustice in society.

Why are only the young seeing ghosts? Why did Lan remove her tongue? And what happened on the estate’s deserted and apparently once glamorous seventh floor? With every question one may ask, Back Home does appear to make its case far more eloquently in the terms of a social allegory than it does in narrative logic.
Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook


4 Chinese fantasy wuxia films featuring weird monsters, ranked from worst to best

True Love, for Once in My Life movie review: Cecilia Yip, Tse Kwan-ho play divorced couple

Kung fu queen Angela Mao’s unusual turn in Broken Oath, a remake of Japan’s Lady Snowblood

Sam Hui, the ‘father of Cantopop’ whose relatable music and film roles struck a chord

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Back Home movie review: Mirror’s Anson Kong impresses opposite Bai Ling in Hong Kong horror full of ghosts – and social satire, if you watch closely

Anson Kong in a still from “Back Home” (category IIB, Cantonese). Directed by Nate Ki and co-starring Bai Ling and Tai Bo.

Anson Kong (left) as clairvoyant protagonist Wing, and Wesley Wong as his haunted friend, in a still from “Back Home” (category IIB, Cantonese). Directed by Nate Ki and co-starring Bai Ling and Tai Bo.

Bai Ling as Wing’s insane mother Lan, in a still from “Back Home”.

Anson Kong as the clairvoyant, psychologically broken protagonist Wing, in a still from “Back Home”.

Stand Up Story movie review: Ben Yuen, Ng Siu-hin shine as father and son in gentle, bittersweet comedy drama about surviving hardship

Ng Siu-hin (left) and Ben Yuen in a still from “Stand Up Story”.

Ng Siu-hin as Manny in a still from “Stand Up Story” (category IIA, Cantonese), directed by Au Cheuk-man.

Ng Wing-sze as May in a still from “Stand Up Story”. 

Ben Yuen as Wah (left) and Ng Siu-hin as Manny in a still from “Stand Up Story”.

Prison Flowers movie review: Chrissie Chau, Gillian Chung play inmates in abysmally scripted ‘thriller’ that plays like a boarding school drama

Chrissie Chau in a still from “Prison Flowers”.

Chrissie Chau in a still from “Prison Flowers”, directed by Lui Mei-fung. Gillian Chung co-stars.

Rain Li as psychopathic repeat offender Butcher Wan in a still from “Prison Flowers”.

Gillian Chung as prison bully Mrs Ball in a still from “Prison Flowers”.

It Remains movie review: Mirror boy band’s Anson Lo makes acting breakthrough in supernatural horror thriller full of atmosphere and spooky imagery

Anson Lo in a still from “It Remains”.

(From left) Tree Kwok, Anson Lo, Tommy Chu and Ng Siu-hin in a still from “It Remains”(category IIB; Cantonese), directed by Kelvin Shum. David Chiang co-stars.

Anson Lo as Finn in a still from “It Remains”.

David Chiang (front) and Summer Chan in a still from “It Remains”.

Everyphone Everywhere movie review: laid-back Hong Kong comedy by Amos Why takes mobile phone dramas in playful directions

Cecilia Choi as Ivy in a still from “Everyphone Everywhere”.

Peter Chan as Raymond in a still from “Everyphone Everywhere” (category IIB, Cantonese), directed by Amos Why. Endy Chow and Rosa Maria Velasco co-star.

From left: Endy Chow as Chit, Peter Chan as Raymond and Rosa Maria Velasco as Ana in a still from “Everyphone Everywhere”.

Cecilia Choi as Ivy (left) and Endy Chow in a still from “Everyphone Everywhere”.

Death Notice movie review: twisty crime mystery a change of gear for Herman Yau, director of Hong Kong action blockbuster series Shock Wave and The White Storm

Louis Koo in a still from “Death Notice”.

Julian Cheung (left) as police inspector Lo Fei and Louis Koo as the sole witness to an explosion that killed Lo’s fiancée and a fellow policeman in a still from “Death Notice” (category IIB, Cantonese), directed by Herman Yau. Francis Ng co-stars.

Julian Cheung as police inspector Lo Fei and Myolie Wu as the fiancée he could not save from an explosion in a still from “Death Notice”.

Francis Ng as chief superintendent Hon Ho in a still from “Death Notice”.

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

This supernatural horror with Cantopop star Kong as the clairvoyant protagonist is chilling enough, but will likely be appreciated more for its social satire
The tortured star’s desire to stop seeing ghosts? A metaphor for Hongkongers turning a blind eye to injustice, says director Nate Ki


Anson Kong of Cantopop group Mirror stars in Back Home, a supernatural horror that is chilling enough, but will probably be more appreciated as a thinly veiled critique of Hong Kong’s sociopolitical environment.


Chinese language cinema

Asian cinema

Film reviews

Cinema

Hong Kong cinema

Asian cinema: Chinese films

Fame and celebrity

Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Hong Kong culture

Hong Kong entertainment

Mirror

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

Review | Back Home movie review: Mirror’s Anson Kong impresses opposite Bai Ling in Hong Kong horror full of ghosts – and social satire, if you watch closely

This supernatural horror with Cantopop star Kong as the clairvoyant protagonist is chilling enough, but will likely be appreciated more for its social satire The tortured star’s desire to stop seeing ghosts? A metaphor for Hongkongers turning a blind eye to injustice, says director Nate Ki

This supernatural horror with Cantopop star Kong as the clairvoyant protagonist is chilling enough, but will likely be appreciated more for its social satire

The tortured star’s desire to stop seeing ghosts? A metaphor for Hongkongers turning a blind eye to injustice, says director Nate Ki