User Reviews

The premise of this film is startling: Imagine a place where everything abandoned and forgotten, all the thrown-away toys and the unwritten books, the unfulfilled plans, the dead and the unborn are still somehow present. This is a premise that easily attracts all kinds of stories and images, emotions and philosophical ruminations. What would you find in the Re-Cycle? What would you seek, and what would you come across that you were not thinking about? It is quite hard to make a totally bad film from this premise.

And "Re-Cycle" is not a totally bad film. It just misses most opportunities the premise offers. The Pang Brothers decided to film it as a mixture of horror and computer game, and the good stuff is struggling under the load of annoying genre conventions. It is sad to watch when the heroine has to solve some superfluous task ("Cross the bridge without breathing, or the dead will chase you"), when there is so much more interesting and meaningful that could happen instead. How else could you turn a person's inner self into a series a landscapes? Also, the relation with the little girl never gains the substance it needs to make the ending convincing. Sure, there is some amazing imagery here, and some of it even makes sense. But the film left me longing for a remake by somebody who handles both the imagery and the complexity of the idea.

By the way, if you feel the same, check out "After Life" by Hirokazu Kore-Eda. It is very low-key visually, but explores a similarly striking idea in great depth and with great humanity.

After writing three best-sellers about love story based on her own experiences, the successful writer Tsui Ting-Yin (Lee Sinje) is without inspiration and having difficulties to write her new novel in the horror genre entitled "Re-cycle". While drafting the text, spooky events happen at her apartment and her former boy-friend of eight years ago visits her, after his divorce, proposing Tsui. When Tsui sees a supernatural long-haired character of her book, she follows him and is trapped in his world of terror. But she is saved by the young Ting-yu (Qiqi Zeng), who discloses a secret about her to Tsui.

"Gwai wik" is visually very impressive, with a great cinematography and eerie and bizarre situations and atmosphere. The premise is good and original, but the screenplay is too short, basically an extension of the storyline and does not work well. I expected much more from the Pang brothers based on their previous works. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Assombração" ("Specter")

"Gwai wik", the Chinese title, means "ghost land". "Re-cycle" however is more apt in conjunction with the subject matter of the movie. Some may be tempted to think along the line of reincarnation but that is not really what this movie is about.

Very simply put, the movie is an ungentle reminder of the consequence of wasting, as things we discard purportedly end up in this limbo zone of "gwai wik". The most graphic example is a fictional character for a book, a tall, slender, long-haired women created by an author in the form of a few scribbled words on a piece of paper, but quickly discarded. The crumpled piece of paper in the garbage basket starts a sequence of strange events – creepy shadows, strands of abandoned long hair, menacing phone calls – that end up taking the author to "Gwai wik" where this "re-cycled" character materializes as a faceless apparition. But this is only one of many examples, which unfold in succession throughout the movie, culminating in one final revelation in a twist that is key to the whole movie.

The author Ting Yin is played by Angelica Lee, who possesses a face of a marvelous combination of loveliness and intelligence. Since winning the triple best actress award (Hong Kong's Oscar and Golden Bauhinia, as well as Taiwan's Golden Horse) in 2002 with "The eye", Lee has been considered one of the most talented actresses in Asia. Her rare combination of vulnerability and defiance has made her a prime choice for the horror thriller genre, although she has not particularly courted such roles. Still, in 2004, she did "Koma", and now "Re-cycle".

The first third of the movie follows the familiar path of the genre, depicting a frustrated author's strange encounters in her apartment, going through a period of creativity drought. Once she enters "Gwai wik", the movie become not unlike an old movie Tron (1982) when the protagonist enters a virtual world of imagination and goes through a series of adventures trying to escape. The faint-hearted may take comfort in that there is little gore in Re-cycle. The herd of zombie-like figures actually reminds me most of the scene in the Temple in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Super Star" ("See my eyes I can hardly see…..") more than any horror movie.

As Ting Yin goes through one "trial" after another in this maze of "Gwai Wik", a process best understood by those familiar with computer games, the layers of meanings and messages also gradually unfold, until the common theme of abandonment and re-cycling climaxes in one final revelation, which adds another dimension to various sub-themes such as throwing away toys, discarding creative ideas and neglecting regular cemetery visitations. More I'll not disclose.

The CGI in Re-cycle does not suffer by comparison with any big-budget Hollywood movie. While still looking unreal, as any CGI will, these images are particularly strong on details. Various colour filters have been used liberally and do succeed in providing an appropriate mood. While there are support roles, Lee carries the movie, and it is difficult to fault her superb acting. The movie also provokes some thought although there is really nothing new. Is sum, this movie is more than the average horror genre, and well worth watching.

The Law of the Conservation of Energy. That law basically states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be "messed with". We can change it and rearrange it but we can't make more of it or delete any of it. This film takes great artistic license with that law and plays with it (the scientifically bent need not register the "errors", they are well understood and such complaints need to note the reference to "artistic license" above). If you imagine something, you give it energy. If you half imagine it and then change your mind and dump the idea ... observing the Law of the first sentence ... that which you half created doesn't magically vanish. It has energy, it has reality, it exists ... but not enough to post in our daily reality. So where does it go? It's (by the rules enacted in this film)... "re-cycled". I kept thinking, while watching this mesmerizing film, that question belonging to the modern phone-call world ... "where is "hold"? Where do things we create, when we no longer need them, go? They have energy, tangible presence and interact with our world until they've lost our interest. Do they just ... go away? Not according to the Law of the Conservation of Energy. According to that law, they have to become ... something. That "something" is the hub of "Re-Cycle". It wisely centers on a writer who bleeds her life into her work. Maximum giving energy to thoughts and ideas. She eventually has to confront all those entities and ideas she created and summarily dumped when she was through with them, condemning them to a wasteland waiting to be re-cycled ... energy cannot be created or destroyed ... only changed. It finally becomes a morality tale, too personal to have to fiddle with political correctness. Beginning ties to end ... nicely. There are a lot of "What the (bleep) was that?" scenes I'm certain additional viewings will help (which I intend to have). For me, a knockout. But I want to leave you with a phrase ... just something to think about ... "embryo rich vaginal tunnel". Light you up? It did me.

This one isn't a "I've seen", this is an "I own".

The best way to enjoy this film would be to experience it knowing as little as possible. I've tried in the review to say as little as possible, however there is a chance I may have said too much. You may wish to consider seeing the film first before proceeding.

The problem with this movie is that unless you go in and take it for what it is, with no preconceived notions odds are you are going to be disappointed. For me, seeing this after reading some less than stellar reviews I was ready for a film that was going to disappoint. To my shock and amazement I was surprised to find that the film is a flawed masterpiece and probably one of the best films of the year.

The story of a young writer who ends up stuck in her own novel (literally) and has to find its way out is being marketed as a horror film pretty much across the board. The problem is that after the first twenty five minutes of creepy scary build up the film shifts gears and becomes something else. Certainly there are still horrific elements but the film is more a mythic quest along the lines of Alice in Wonderland, or one of the classic quest tales or perhaps even Andre Tarkovsky's Stalker.

The bulk of the film set in The Re-Cycle (the films English title) is set in a place were everything lost or forgotten goes. People, toys, characters, city blocks, memories, everything goes to this place. Its a jumble of places and people many half remembered. Its a place that is visually stunning to look at and is often amazing to look at. The films story line is also a jumble of pieces that refer back to other films or comics or books (for example Neil Gaiman's Sandman, What Dreams May Come, Spirited Away, Night of the Living Dead). Some have said that the film makes no narrative sense and is more candy for the eye instead of the head, but I would argue against that since a world as jumbled as this would create a series of quests as equally jumbled. Its as if you dreamed about the five different movies you watched before bed and then linked them in your mind as you slept. The structure and seeming referential nature of the set pieces seems to support this idea.

As I stated at the start the film also suffers from the not being a straight horror film all the way through. There is more than just the notion of scaring the audience at work here. Yes the film has a couple of good scares and a few moments where your stomach knots in unease, but the film is actually about something else. What that is isn't really clear until towards the end so the film ends up shifting tones three or four or five times in its two hour span. I know this shifting gears and recreating itself as something else probably going to disappoint hardcore horror fans, but ultimately it allows for a growth of characters and story lines into places you might not fully expect.

This is a masterpiece.

In the interest of full disclosure I do have to say that the film isn't perfect. Some of the creatures are a bit too rubbery and fake, which is at odds with much of the fine work on things like the long necked corpses. There are also a few lapses in the visual effects where its clear that things are not real, which is often glaring considering that many of the films vistas, from deranged amusement park to mountains in the sky are so real as to be almost matter of fact.

I really loved this movie a great deal. Its rare film that not only tries, but succeeds in being more than just one thing. It manages to take old things and turn them into something new. Its just a wonderful experience for those who are willing to be open to what it is, and not what you thin it should be.

Recycle is about a female writer who faces weird occurrences ever since she started to writer a new book. She's also facing relationship problems with her ex-husband.

The reason I called this a salad bowl is because, as I watched the movie 'blind'(not knowing what exactly it is), I thought it's gonna be the typical girl-haunted-by-ghost horror movie. The first half of the movie is just painful to watch. If you watched horror movies, you know the typical drill. Weird shadows moving, sudden trumpet-loud noises, ghost appear behind the character, character turns and disappear. It's a freakin piously-text-book horror techniques.

The second half of the film made me happy since it was a lot better, with an interesting premise but the first painful half left quite a scar. By then, I thought I was watching The Fall or Narnia, a fantasy-riddle movie. The places and the music fits so very well with a fantasy movie. Now throw in the relationship part, the twist part- you got a salad bowl.

The premise of the movie is that all the unwanted, unfulfilled, abandoned, forgotten things are transported to a whole new spiritual world. It's a very exciting one to look at but some are horrible.

For example, the first place was some slums with zombies. Clichéd, dull and boring. The last place was just some rocky mountains with floating rocks, again, what is noteworthy here? I just didn't find any! The interesting places are the "tunnel", "bookland" "toyland","playground land" and "graveyard".

Sadly, for some of these places like bookland, playground and toyland, the characters just pass by them without developing and expanding more about the land. Who are the people there? What are the people doing with the books there? What's with the slums? The character while at the slums just look around, chased by zombies, moved on the next place. Running? Yes. Exposition? Explanation? Expanding? None.

Just one last thing...What's with the overkill of onions?? I mean zombies! It's the only thing chasing after the character. Is zombies all that's is abondened as we know? We abandoned models after they get old, we abandoned soldiers at war, we abandoned old people in the shelter, the homeless in the alley, the whores in the gutter, the average teenager who committed suicide, the crippled in their hospital bed. But what's chasing the characters 90% of the movie? Zom-bies.

this is the worst movie the pang brothers made. it was good in the beginning, had the scare factor

then it went to complete drop to a bad horror story. the part with the tall girl and the scary dead city was the best part of it. then when it reach the little girl on the large toy horse, it hit ROCK BOTTEM. the story did go back to scare at the fetus part, but again it went completely BAD. i don't recommend this to anyone. if u have some time to kill and your in a mood for some scare then corny, then this should be right up your ally. 5 out of 10. pang brothers disappoint me this time.

Here sits one lone reviewer, looking over his shoulder for fear of boredom, staving off the desire to behold more than what has come before. Alas, much like the protagonist of many a pseudo-horror film, he too must come to terms with the mediocrity of it all. The shadows do contain boredom, although fortunately it really packs no more punch than any lame, spooky thing a small effects budget will buy you.

Flogging more life out of the dead horse that is HK's horror genre has turned into quite the art over time, with Danny and Oxide Pang likely most apt among perpetrators. These two helped much in establishing and maturing the trend four years ago with The Eye, and have now come back to haunt us with their most expensive project to date. Admittedly, Re-Cycle does almost nothing to alleviate creative woes associated with the horror theme, but at least brings to the fore the most well-crafted visuals in current Asian cinema, as does it go about its business honestly. After all, for something rehashing many previously used elements, Re-Cycle's a fitting title.

And honesty counts here, the Pangs doing their best to make you realize this isn't some trailblazing literary exercise. Starting with scene one, a slew of familiar ingredients march onwards, from sudden sound effects and frazzled images, to pale women with long, sticky hair. And just as the movie's look and feel are derived from releases a-priori, so does is its main cast member. Oddly credited as the Korean-sounding Lee Sinje, Angelica Lee's back in a role not too dissimilar from the memorable part she contributed in The Eye. Then again, Lee's sad, dejected stare and unfocused eyes lend themselves well to the type of performance required here, a fact Re-Cycle uses in one entertaining gag.

In her most generic and practically absent part to date, Lee plays as Tsui Ting Yin, a successful writer famous for romantic authoring, who undertakes an about-face by switching to supernatural suspense. The first part of the film, lasting all of fifteen minutes, introduces Tsui briefly, revealing some of her past, like a failed relationship and being pushed into things by other people's greed.

Soon after sitting down to put together a novel to challenge the Kings and Koontz's of the world, Tsui begins noticing bizarre occurrences in her unrealistically cool pad: stuff that's not supposed to be there, a feeling of being watched, and even clues to characters in her stories materialize. The paranormal assault intensifies until a climactic collapse from which Tsui eventually emerges, albeit in a Dante-esquire descent into hell, leading to a nether-realm full of insane irregularities and constant danger.

That's what qualifies Re-Cycle as something you should put on your watch list, for the lengthy alter-reality sequence as shown is by far the most impressive, gorgeous bit of innovative imagery to come out of a Hong Kong film studio yet, teasing perceptions and putting viewers on edge in anticipation of the next wave. Lasting the lion's share of the movie, Tsui's journey across a surreal nightmare-scape encompasses distinct stages, each carefully done and perhaps containing easter eggs for the patient to unlock. There's quite a lot of borrowing from previous zombie and fantasy numbers, but it's hard to say how much is inspired by other works versus genuine Pang imagination. Nor does it matter, the end result is tantalizing enough, at its best moments truly awe-inspiring and emotive, standing up there with the cream of indie imagery.

In particular, one segment has Tsui step out of her normal life via an elevator slap bang into a post-apocalyptic city environment, where traversing hell begins in earnest. For mood, graphics and direction, this scene deserves special mention, ensuring Re-Cycle has enough oomph injected into its hulk: it's one of those bits you can just watch and watch time and again.

But there's more to keep in mind, the lone reviewer continues hacking away at his keyboard, glancing towards the waning light. Boredom has arrived, for once the effects and breathtaking vistas fade, Re-Cycle stands bare as a string of also-seen standards with an obvious outcome hardly obscured by a double-twist close to the end. There's also quite some repetition, with several of the picture's stand-ins making one appearance too many, notably the undead souls roaming Tsui's wasteland, chasing her around futilely well after some unlikely animal flies home.

Ultimately, Re-Cycle reaches a foregone conclusion you'd have been able pinpoint from way across the river Styx, boatman or not. Speaking of boat people, this is one case where despite inescapable generic languor multiple watchings are probably not a bad idea. It's possible Re-Cycle's got more going for it than skin-deep apparent, and as such, the rating received adds a star for future potential, although having said that, do not expect the world. Most of what's in store you've seen in different places before, amounting to tried and tested references and allusions to relevant mysticism, philosophy and theology. Still, letting the Pangs do their thing can't hurt, so if inclined, devote the time and you may find yourself rewarded.

As a one-shot deal, Re-Cycle enjoys a massive array of beautiful visuals, culminating in the most splendiferous looks anyone's seen out of a HK flick. Otherwise it's very much the re-using of old ideas that's in store, but thanks to typically effective Pang direction and supervision, a cut above the rest of the generics out there, with even the cheapest of tricks working better than average. The resultant composition, although far from Independent Spirit material, indeed does field real scares and frights. Having bona fide horror helps in something selling as a horror product, but of more value would have been the spark to advance strong cosmetics into the next level of creative prowess.

Rating: * * * 1/2

Watching "Re-Cycle" really was a case of mixed feelings, but in the end an experience worth spending 100 minutes of my time on! The first third is a ghost movie in the tradition of "Ring" and "Dark Water", when the female lead character starts seeing a ghost with long black hair in the corner of her eye. It was not bad, but with stiff dialogs like in the press conference scene a bit hard to sit through (vote 5 of 10 for the first act). The second third rips off "Silent Hill" quite shamelessly, taking the female character into a rotting city full of undead people in a parallel world which abruptly ends at a cliff. Some breathless action here and good quality design (vote 7 of 10 for the second act). Now the last third is the most original part, a trip through a dark fantasy world not just to show FX but to redefine the relationship between three characters, leading unexpectedly to a solution which gives food for thought. Some stunning, beautiful moments here, so I'd vote 9 of 10 for the third act. Makes an average of 7 for the movie, but the number can't reflect how my sympathies went up and down. Let's put it this way: it was no masterpiece, but certainly interesting!

This movie is the epitome of paradox. Whether or not it is a scary movie does not even bother me. I am so fed-up by it I am not even going to spend much effort in writing this review. So here are the people who deserves to be Re- Cycled.

First: editor. The entire movie is a series of snapshots fading in and out of the screen. There is no continuous or coherent scene. Most of the time, you get flashes of a shadow or a hand. The shots are angled, out of focus, and pointless. If the movie was trying to be abstract, it failed miserably. I can't see a darn thing! I am refraining myself from using words that are not permitted here.

Second: the directors. To tell the truth, other than The Eye (the first movie), the rest of their works are mediocre, even borderline lousy. This movie pushes it over that borderline. One of the signs of weak direction is the inability to know when a scene should stop, and it is so evident here.

Third: sound director. Did they run out of budget? Give me a break.

Fourth: actor. I never like Lee's acting but I thought she was decent in The Eye. In this movie, I got sick looking at her, and most of the time, it is her that you see. She is the focus of every single shot, and she was able to show only one expression. Fear/anger/confusion; I can't decide which it was. Oh, and the dialog. Were they on a dictation contest? Does anyone in the cast and crew knows the meaning to the word 'acting'? At least at one point I feel for the little girl, but the best thing is, it wasn't the point where I was supposed to feel for her.

Fifth: writer. I can appreciate and even respect the idea presented in the movie. Yes, abandoning things are bad and we should recycle. So what's the point of the movie? Exactly, there is none. It teaches you neither to abandon, nor to recycle. Well, they do tell you the horrid of aborting a child, but I think the moral value is lost when you can't even make it to that point of the movie without losing your patience, and your mind. Oh and I think everyone who has watched at least one movie would have figured it out by then. I think they wanted to make the movie only because they thought the idea was nifty, but never really did any actual work on writing or reading the script. The movie spent the first 30 minute developing something that only affects 5 minutes at the end of the movie, and that was the gist of the one and a half hour movie. Please! And people dropping from the sky? Come on, help me out here.

Sixth: writer. Yes, he/she/they deserves to be buried twice. The entire story is a paradox. 'Why is everything here so horrible?' Lee said, squatting on a rock with a sweet child amidst a beautiful river with a small waterfall and lush greenery's. 'This is the place that I belong', Ting-Yu (the child) said when her mother was holding her in her arms, crying, wishing they could live together happily ever after. Need an explanation? The place is for abandoned things, and she has a mother that wants her, so she is not abandoned anymore and hence she no longer belongs there.'Anything you threw away can be found here' the child said, and then everything got sucked away by the wonder known as Re-Cycled. So what's the point again? They are thrown away, gather in this place, only to be thrown away again? Someone stop me please.

The lowest rating a movie can get here is 1. I gave this movie 2. The extra point was for the visual effect. The environment was nicely built, especially the toy graveyard. I think they made the movie BECAUSE of that. I would have given another point for creativity, but I took it back because the movie looked like a cross between The Langourliers and Silent Hill.

Why do I sound so angry you ask? Simple. I spent my money, my time, and my effort to watch a movie. I watch any movie with an open mind, and I try to justify the movie for what it is. I have enjoyed many movies, but when I watch a movie such as this, I get angry. I strongly suggest that they do not make another movie again. Excuse me while I go watch Dorm again.

This movie is an average movie for me. This movie is about a woman who aborts a child and is being sent to this other world where things are being recycled. Her child was there as well. This movie has a relatively decent storyline with a very very touching scene. This movie is entertaining in many ways. The other world was just done so so well and so original. I loved it. However, some of the scenes tried to be scary but it just didn't work. Pratically none of the scenes are scary to me. I thought it would be good if more things were being explained about this other world and I thought it would be good if there was more adventure which the main character could experience in this other world with the young girl. It would be good if this movie had been longer. This movie is very well paced and very touching. Possibly one of the most touching movies I have seen. This movie is quite nice and original in various ways. The other world was just done very well. You can just see a chunk of thrown away materials and stuff being found in the other world. This movie is recommended definitely. I thought that this movie was even better than shows such as The eye or the eye 2. Score: 7.6/10

The brothers Pang, mostly known for relatively crisp horrors such as "The Eye" plus both "Bangkok Dangerous" movies bring forth a visual spectacle, which surprises unexpectedly those tuning in for an Asian hair ghost flick. After some stunning build-up with ghostly spectres around every corner gloomily injecting fear (some of the best Asian horror sequences to date) the movie takes a drastic turn into Dantean territory of descent in the beyond. Reminiscent in style of movies such as "The Labirynth", "The Cell" and "What Dreams May Come", albeit way darker, more startling and creepy (but simultaneously awkwardly camp) concept.

The story focuses on a writer Angelica Lee (Tsui Ting-Yin), a renowned author of romance novels (famed for her love trilogy). After getting rid of one demons, those of the heart, Lee decides to indulge into horror and researching the supernatural. Stating that she finds it pivotal to experience happenings first hand, she soon starts experiencing encounters with shadows lurking just outside the peripheral vision and finds long dark hair laying around her apartment. Soon she realises that ideas and concepts created for her book are taking on a life of their own and blurring the distinction between fiction and reality. What's more these occurrences are increasing not only in volume, but also in intensity and brutality...

Featuring a Danteian descent into another reality started off with taking a inconspicuous elevator Angelica soon immerses into a terrifying realm, where friends are few and far between. Thus enter a visual extravagance across this ghastly underworld. Despite however these cinematographic strengths and frightful promise of terror initially suggested "Recycle" soon ventures into different story quadrants. Much like "The Eye", who starts off as a horror, but ends too close for comfort to "The Sixth Sense" territory. This time around influences regarding the highway to hell are evident, although the twist to the tale does the movie little favour. As it turns out the reality into which Angelica ventures is more a state of limbo, a graveyard for discarded ideas, thoughts, memories and things, where aborted foetuses grow and thrive and stuff of the mind lingers, when no longer remembered. Hellish connotations are rampant with forgotten dead waiting for remembrance and the journey increasingly going downward, nonetheless this is more a sort of purgatory of ideas, then a turtle-house for the evil.

The biggest issue however is the unrelenting melancholic melodrama overwhelming the otherwise intriguing tale. Whenever characters interact you can be more than sure that a moment of zen awaits you. Severely hindered by such poor dramaturgy the spectacular and at times horrific background fails to fill in the void. Moreover the whole journey into limbo is fraught with poorly executed horror frights with extremely low believability levels (which is saying much given we are left floating through a dream world).

This film is so damn preachy, I figured out the intended message about 1/3 through. It's funny to see so many reviewers and comments disavowing an obvious political message that can only be described as politically naive.

But even the most expensive CG effects and subtle religious intimidation disguised as emotional blackmail cannot allow you to chart a straight path through what is in fact a complex political issue. Eye candy is no substitute for genuine creativity (of thinking). This film is just completely thoughtless, abort it from your "to see" list (pun intended).