Nick Cheung has challenged nearly a myriad of roles that come his way, mostly to a good degree of success. He does perform in "Keeper of Darkness" as the eccentric exorcist, but the over usage of CG and fragmented subplots make it hard for audience to invest on any perspective. While it sometimes looks smooth, the movie jumps too hectically from scene to scene, making the progress more convoluted than it needs to be.
Fatt (Nick Cheung) is a man who possessed the ability to see ghosts. He tries to solve their problems and prevents them from stepping too far to the human side. This set-up, along with his tattooed and white haired visage, gives him a quirky and charismatic presence, almost like Constantine, supernatural detective from other side of the globe.
However, the plot tries to churn too many occurrences in too short of a span. Some of the introductions are done sluggishly, then it speeds up to flashback of the past, the burning malicious ghost and even strange bond with female reporter and ghost. The transition is jarring and can be quite confusing with sporadic editing.
This hurts the horror element as well, since some of the scenes are actually quite chilling, yet they are cut too shortly or done with too much CG. The graphic for setting and effect are admittedly pleasant, yet one would think a couple of horror instances are better off with practical effect. It also tries to fit in some comedic laughs, but these come off as cheesy soap opera from old days.
"Keeper of Darkness" wants to bring more visual finesse to oriental horror, however the focus on narrative is messy and frequent shift of tone can be alarmingly distracting.
Fatt (Nick Cheung) is a man who possessed the ability to see ghosts. He tries to solve their problems and prevents them from stepping too far to the human side. This set-up, along with his tattooed and white haired visage, gives him a quirky and charismatic presence, almost like Constantine, supernatural detective from other side of the globe.
However, the plot tries to churn too many occurrences in too short of a span. Some of the introductions are done sluggishly, then it speeds up to flashback of the past, the burning malicious ghost and even strange bond with female reporter and ghost. The transition is jarring and can be quite confusing with sporadic editing.
This hurts the horror element as well, since some of the scenes are actually quite chilling, yet they are cut too shortly or done with too much CG. The graphic for setting and effect are admittedly pleasant, yet one would think a couple of horror instances are better off with practical effect. It also tries to fit in some comedic laughs, but these come off as cheesy soap opera from old days.
"Keeper of Darkness" wants to bring more visual finesse to oriental horror, however the focus on narrative is messy and frequent shift of tone can be alarmingly distracting.