Gwai wik (Re-Cycle)

(2006) ****

Ting -Yin is a successful writer whose just had her first novel adapted for screen. The film was so well loved that fans are anxious for her to complete her new novel Gwai wik (Re-Cycle). This is to be a ghostly tale of reincarnation. She slips off to her quiet home and begins writing. Strange things begin to happen. She sees a shadowy figure and when she goes to investigate she finds strands of long hair on the counter. She tells her friend what happened and is warned that if you write about spirits they will be awakened. She doesn't heed the warning and continues to write her story. Strange occurances continue to happen until Ting-Yin is suddenly whisked away from her reality.

She finds herself stranded in an alternate dimention. A world where all things abandoned are doomed to live for eternity. She is being taunted by some of her rejected characters when she finds 2 people willing to help her find the way back to her own world. The journey that follows is almost like a dark and disturbing version of the "Wizard of Oz" minus the ruby slippers and the flying monkeys.

The visuals in this film are intense and surreal. Like the scene pictured above that I found to be quite Escheresque.

The creatures she encounters are so strange and frightening. It's quite an odd movie altogether but still I was captivated by the macabre nature of her surroundings.


They used some real interesting visual effects that I had never seen before. There is this one
floating woman that is chasing her that really creeps me out. Maybe it's the fact that she has no face that does it. I thought it was an interesting & unique storyline and would recommend it as a must see even if it was only for the visual experience. It was another good choice for me, I think I'm on a roll.