Soi Cheang’s Hong Kong Murderer Thriller ‘Mad Fate’ Official Trailer
by Alex Billington
July 28, 2023
Source: YouTube
“Red eyes are an ominous sign. It’s when you will kill.” Illume Films has revealed an official trailer for an indie Hong Kong mystery thriller film titled Mad Fate, from filmmaker Soi Cheang. This first premiered at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, and also played at the Hong Kong Film Festival in March. It’s now set to open in the US this August. The film stars Gordon Lam as a fortune-teller who crosses paths with a young man with a strong desire to commit murder and tries to change the latter’s destiny in various ways. It’s a stylish genre film with a few twists & turns. Also starring Lokman Yeung, Berg Ng, Ng Wing Sze, and Peter Chan. Reviews describe this one as: “Part grisly murder mystery, part pitch-black absurdist comedy feverishly musing on destiny and free will, Soi Cheang’s follow-up to Limbo sees the director again mining his flair for genre experiments in this nightmarish roller coaster ride.” This is a very strange trailer, it plays more like a teaser without much action footage. Still seems like it might be crazy enough to watch?
Here’s the first official trailer (+ international poster) for Soi Cheang’s Mad Fate, direct from YouTube:
Via Berlinale: “The sky above Hong Kong is not just heavy with clouds & rain, it also contains astral signs & dark omens in this esoteric neo-noir. In a radical and counter-intuitive move, rather than having the characters’ trajectories converge towards the end, the plot instead knits their fates together from the start. Crossing paths at the scene of a heinous crime in a brothel are the serial killer perpetrator and detective chasing him, but also a delivery boy obsessed with blood and knives and an occultist feng shui master who had predicted the victim’s gory fate without being able to prevent it. The last two quickly form an unlikely pair, and this transforms the film into a surreal, hyperkinetic, expressionist buddy thriller. The horoscopes confirm the boy will soon succumb to his bloodthirsty temptations, but to redeem past failures and save him from his fate, the fortune teller is willing to do anything. As the investigations gather pace, the pair sinks into delirium in a whirlwind of superstitions, rituals and distortions [in this] alchemical metropolis.“
Mad Fate, also known as Ming’on or 命案 in Cantonese, is directed by Macau actor / producer / filmmaker Soi Cheang, director of many films previously, including Diamond Hill, Big Head Monster, New Blood, The Death Curse, Dog Bite Dog, Shamo – The Ultimate Fighter, Motorway, The Monkey King 1 & 2 & 3, Kill Zone 2, Marauder, Limbo, and The Monkey King: The Legend Begins. The screenplay is written by Yau Nai Hoi and Melvin Li. Produced by Johnnie To, Yau Nai Hoi, Elaine Chu. This initially premiered at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, then it screened at the 2023 Hong Kong Film Festival. Illume Films will debut Mad Fate in select US theaters starting August 11th, 2023 coming soon. Who wants to watch?
