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Film Review: The Imp (1981) by Dennis Yu

"The Imp" may seem a bit dated when watched today, 40 years after its initial release, but the artistry is quite evident, the built-up of the atmosphere intriguing, and the exploitation elements rather entertaining.

Hailed upon its release as a new-wave twist on the traditional Cantonese horror picture, “” may incorporate a number of characteristics of the movement (location shooting, a focus on current problems of society, the reconstruction of classical legends) but also boasts aesthetics that remind of grindhouse movies intensely.

Ah Keung, a man in his thirties, is looking for a fulltime job to support Sau-lan, his wife, and child-to-be, but the interviews he attends are either for jobs he is under qualified (one interviewer is evidently disappointed he does not speak Japanese) or rather unlucky (the man who was supposed to interview him turns up dead in a violent crime). Furthermore, and despite his spouse's pleads to take up a job at her father's bra factory (a sample of Yu's subtle humor) he denies to do so, wishing to be his own man. Eventually, he manages to find work as a night security guard for a mall/office complex. However, as soon as the rest of the guards, led by Fatty, begin showing him the ropes, a number of strange incidents start taking place in the building, and soon people end up dead. Chiu Dan-yeing, a geomancer/ghostbuster follows the case and soon meets with Ah Keung and Fatty, in order to help them uncover and extinguish the bad spirits. However, soon the evilness extends to places much closer than the protagonist's workplace.

In terms of context, the narrative focuses largely on the concept of crime and punishment. That Ah Keung ends up in such a dangerous job seems like the punishment for not listening to his wife, and considering the job in his father-in-law's factory, lowly. Mr Hong Kong, one of the security guards, kicks a dog that is lingering around the table in the noodle shop they “gang” is eating, and even proceeds to cooking it up a bit later and serving it to the rest. His actions result in a rather brutal death that, essentially, kickstarts the horror in the story. A scared Fatty decides to quit his job and leave his former comrades behind, which results in another harsh punishment. Sau-lan, even if not exactly of her own volition, torments Ah Keung, with her punishment coming in the most sever way.

At the same time, through the aforementioned elements, a number of social comments regarding the difficulty of getting a job, the strain financial issues can put on couples, the ways tradition is still a large part of everyday life in Hong Kong, also emerge.

The concepts, however, is not presented through the prism of social realism, but through an approach that is rather exploitative, to the point that a number of scenes could easily be characterized as CAT III, and particularly the finale. Apart from that, the various deaths that take place within the story are seriously brutal, what is happening inside the elevator on occasion the same, while the kitchen breaking scene, and most of all, the revelation one with the fires, the ghosts and the zombie-like creatures definitely point towards this direction.

 It is during those scenes that the production values of the movie also reach their apogee, with the combination of Bob Thompson's cinematography, Yu Kwok-fung's editing, Kwan Kam-ming's set design and the overall sound resulting in a series of images that are horrifying as they are audiovisually impressive. The green and red hues also look quite good if a bit dated through today's perspective, and the sole element that is off in the movie are the action/exorcism scenes with Chiu, that seem to have drawn too much from Shaw Brothers similar productions.

On the other hand, the build-up of the atmosphere is great, with using both in-your-face elements through intense violence, and more subtle ones, like the barking dog and the movement of the furniture, to highlight that something is going wrong.

as Ah Keung has a role that has him looking quite frequently perplexed, stupefied, scared, and in general, out of his depth, and he does not succeed to the fullest, not all the time at least. On the other hand, he manages to present a rather likeable character, which definitely benefits the overall narrative. as Fatty is the main source of humor in the film, both through his attitude and his overall appearance, with his off-work clothes providing the most hilarious moments in the movie (one one day he wears a tight, bright red T-shirt that reads, “Am I a woman?”, on the next day his shirt reads, “No, I am a man”). as Sau-lan undergoes a transformation that sends chills in the ways she portrays it, while Hua Yueh expresses his mysteriousness and initial ambiguity convincingly.

“The Imp” may seem a bit dated when watched today, 40 years after its initial release, but the artistry is quite evident, the built-up of the atmosphere intriguing, and the exploitation elements rather entertaining. Definitely deserves a watch, even after all these years.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

My name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid, I cultivated that love during my adolescence, to extend to the whole of SE Asia.

Starting from my own blog in Greek, I then moved on to write for some of the major publications in Greece, and in a number of websites dealing with (Asian) cinema, such as Taste of Cinema, Hancinema, EasternKicks, Chinese Policy Institute, and of course, Asian Movie Pulse. in which I still continue to contribute.

In the beginning of 2017, I launched my own website, Asian Film Vault, which I merged in 2018 with Asian Movie Pulse, creating the most complete website about the Asian movie industry, as it deals with almost every country from East and South Asia, and definitely all genres.

You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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