Watches
February 03, 2022
I've come to a point where I'm starting to recognize directors and other films they've made, which is quite something considering the plethora of similar films released on these Chinese streaming platforms. As I liked Liu Xiandi's previous one quite a bit, I had medium-high hopes for this one, and he didn't disappoint.
Longyun Town has a dark history of abuse. After solving a serial child kidnapping case things quiet down, but 20 years later a new criminal turns up, kidnapping and killing young virgins. A ragtag trio of investigators is put on the case, but they'll have to cut through a lot of deceit and trickery if they want to unveil the real criminal.
The cinematography is lush and colorful, the action scenes are on point, the mystery is pretty fun and the performances are decent too. The short runtime and slick pacing only add to the fun, there's just nothing truly distinctive to set this film apart from its peers. If they'd give their directors just a bit more freedom, I think they're very close to delivering their first little genre masterpiece.