Josh Keown | Night Terror Novels 🧛🏻♂️’s review published on Letterboxd:
(This is just a repost of my first review for Heaven and Hell since this is a duplicate page...)
"Poop in my pants? I'm about to be knee deep in my own shit!"
- Lerm (Don't know the actor's name, but his snake tattoos are really something)
So whilst I was researching (read: just scrolling through lists) films for my anthology horror list, I came across this recent Taiwanese outing. Although I am a firm believer in the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover', I liked the posters and that was pretty much the only reason I chose to watch this, you know, just throwing caution to the wind.
1. Ghost Legacy segment
The first segment establishes an admirable tone from the get go; dark, muted colours coupled with a fairly well constructed atmosphere of oppression. The choice to have no spoken dialogue but rather dialogue cards is an interesting and I daresay quite effective one, as it really highlights the dense, ominous music. The plot does become a little convoluted, especially when the dialogue cards start narrating one character's thoughts as well as the speech, but overall the first short is a competent, if slightly muddled, ghost story.
VERDICT; 3/5 or 6/10
2. Heaven 11 segment
Continuing with the anthology's themes of heaven, hell and the supernatural (Oh, and, uh... CCTV?), the second segment takes place in a haunted convenience store! And to think people say there is no originality in modern horror! Hah.
In many ways this tale is quite the opposite of its predecessor; for the most part it is a more straightforward affair, and favours jump scares over atmosphere. I'll happily give credit where credit is due though; the stool jump scare was effectively done. Storywise, this entry is slightly stronger too, ending with a solid if a tad predictable twist. It even has the odd funny moment, including an absolutely great finale, which is a welcome bonus. The only real downside is that it's runtime is too long for the story it tells.
VERDICT; 3/5 or 6/10
3. Hell No. 8 segment
The third and final segment concerns a murder committed in an elevator, and the subsequent ghostly hauntings of the now man-hating female victim. Lerm and Tak, the two comic repairmen from the previous story return, as well as the boisterous, bumbling cashier, and bring the comedy in full force for this short - and it does have some sincerely funny moments.
It's just off the chain zany, but deft writing makes it a very enjoyable segment, even if it all but discards the genuine horror elements from those before it.
VERDICT; 3/5 or 6/10
VERDICT; Essentially a trio of classic ghost stories, Heaven and Hell makes a respectable effort at providing its own spin on conventional asian horror tropes. Unfortunately, despite moments of technical impressiveness, the stories themselves remain nice ideas with somewhat messy execution. Nonetheless, it's an enjoyable anthology that remains a cut above average, and one i'd happily watch again.
3/5 or 6/10