I caught this movie in Johor, Malaysia together with a group of friends simply because we wanted to avoid the weekend crowd at the customs and I've watched almost all the nice blockbusters around. It was screened in Cantonese, with 3 language subtitles. I thought That Demon Within 魔 警 was pretty good, but some of my friends did not like it. Well, it ain't perfect, but at least it's worth the money and time spent (for me).

Daniel Wu and Nick Cheung Dave Wong (Daniel Wu) is a Good Cop with a demon in him, while Nick Cheung plays the role of the Good Cop and the "demon" (Well, I'm trying not to spoil the film here). Although they are both the leads, there were little direct interaction between Daniel Wu and Nick Cheung, yet their characters are closely linked by an unknown past. Short flashbacks left me wondering what exactly the problem is, and who's who. A friend commented how "bad" Daniel Wu, aka that Chinese dude that acts in movies, looked in this movie. Well, I guess Daniel Wu managed to achieve what he wanted, losing so much weight for this film.

Nick Cheung, as always, solid in his acting, was able to turn from bad to worse and worst to good all in a flash, although, I'm glad how these were always cut short to keep the story in suspense. Whereas for Daniel Wu, he is no longer the pretty boy from one of my favourite Hong Kong comedy "Love Undercover" 新紮師妹 but one with mature acting skills.

Many might find the film bizarre, but for me, there was a sense Déjà vu. Just some time back when I was hosting a travelling show in Malaysia, one of the crew members shared with me his experience of breaking down due to stress and how he went berserk and did stuff to harm himself. And all these, seemed to come alive in front of me in That Demon Within 魔 警.

Cinematography That demon within used quite a number of visual tricks and lens effect to represent the character's emotional and psychological condition. I particularly like the part where Dave (Daniel Wu) received the bad news while driving and the lens did a 360 degree turn, showing ...

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Cinematography is great. Dark and gritty with commendable performances, but the plot (if you can call it that) has holes so big an elephant could walk through them. I wonder how others can say it has a great twist. It's not a twist, it's a cliche ending that makes absolutely no sense if you really think about it.

THAT DEMON WITHIN is a generally interesting production from director Dante Lam, not as good as his BEAST STALKER or OPERATION RED SEA but nonetheless watchable and inventive for the most part. Daniel Wu stars in one of his darkest roles (alongside his unforgettable turn in THE SHINJUKU INCIDENT) as a cop tormented by the dark events of his past, who entangles with a master thief called the Demon King, events which cause his mental state to spiral out of control.

There's a general air of freshness to the production, a gritty, stylish, anything-goes kind of vibe. Part of it is the usual battle-of-wits between hero and villain, but there's more psychological depth and complexity to it than that. I'd dare say that this is Wu's best performance to date, with the bit where he's hooked up to a body camera particularly unflinching. The supporting cast also contains some very good turns from the likes of Andy On, and not least Cheung himself. On the other hand, I found the running time slightly overlong, and the back story is way too dragged out, which makes this feel padded at times. Still, kudos on that downbeat ending and the refusal to pander to sentimentality.