The themes are kidnapping, ghosts, and murder—although not outright spooky, do expect a few jittery moments giving you goose bumps in small doses. Fear Factors comprises of two short films: Subconscious and Crazy Analysis. The two parts are unrelated except for the common use of an abandoned building on the hillside as a setting, and the slightly overlapping subject matter.
Subconscious is a kidnapping / murder mystery that is deceptively simple, and the same storyline is recounted through flashbacks and reflected in multiple angles by following the points of view of different characters. For a story that can be told, if done straightforwardly, in the time span of a commercial break, Mak should be credited for being able to hold the audience’s attention for half an hour—any longer would make the experience insufferable.
Crazy Analysis is the longer, more macabre, and more intriguing of the two short films. Whereas most of Subconscious takes place during broad daylight, Crazy Analysis takes a ghastly version of the same venue and calibrates the ambience to the howling winds of night. A visitor stumbles upon apparitions and ghosts—ducking knives and machetes along the way. The effect is rightfully gory and spooky, but the plotline is utterly unbelievable
and ludicrous.
In summary, the effort should not be made (nor should the price of admission be paid) to see these two acts of slow-played gore on a Zhuhai hillside. The good thing though: it’s only 87 minutes long.
Chris Lam
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