23:59

Ratings: 6.2/10

Film Class: C+

Genre: Horror

HorCom? ComHor? Or however you put it. Nope, this isn't The Ghosts Must Be Crazy. Which I did catch too, but didn't make it to my blog. Not because it was bad, it's just that I'm generally not a fan of local productions. I'm kinda contradicting myself a little, because there were a couple of movies which did tempt me - 23:59 being one of them.

I bought Kidnapper, but sad to say till now, is sitting in my DVD box collecting dust. The movie by Eric Khoo, Be With Me was one of the best local productions I caught, think there were less than 10 lines spoken in that movie.

Since I'm already on this topic, I might as well do a quick review of the local movies I've watched. The three top directors in our local scene would probably be Jack Neo, Eric Khoo and Royston Tan, in no order of popularity. There was also a pretty unheard of "new" director, Kelvin Tong, with his recent "Tua Seh Kai" (It's A Great Great Great World) which was refreshing with the star-studded cast and old school concept, but didn't quite spell out WOW. Generally, I'm not a fan of Jack Neo's movies, from Money No Enough all the way to I Not Stupid, they were all quite floppy. Royston Tan's movies are a little... how would I say it? "Off". They're not your mainstream movies and is a little "twisted" here and there.

Eric Khoo's my favourite local director with movies that are still "artistically normal". And now, Gilbert Chan, no idea where this guy's from (though 23:59 is not his debut movie) who did a fairly decent job in portraying an army horror story. The Maid by Kelvin Tong was pretty good, and for the not-so-recent, not-too-long-ago Haunted Changi which I didn't watch, I can safely assume that 23:59 is possibly one of the better local horror movies.

Rumors about a mad mother and her child haunting the army recruits at exactly 23:59 becomes reality when a new recruit seemingly witnessed them and tries to tell his best friend, only to be brushed aside as having his imagination gone wild. After dying during a road march, his best friend must uncover the secrets behind the haunting of the mad mother and child...

Hmm... even as I'm typing the sypnosis, my hairs are standing on ends. However, even though it's a horror movie, it's not that scary. Horror meter wise, probably about 5-6/10. Still there are some nostalgic scenes which gives me the creeps. *spoilers ahead* The toilets, the bunks, the chin-up bars (not like there was anyone, or anything pulling me down...)

The disfigured child reminded me of the demon-ress from Rec, with lotsa "synthetic" makeover. And the main reason why I bought this at it's orginal price was all because of the nostalgic army song the recruits sang... "Training to be soldiers, fight for..."

Mark Lee was a "bonus". And though true, Mark Lee always adds comic relief to whatever movies he starred in, he played a more serious role this time round. Don't expect any direct laugh out loud moments... just subtle humor played in a densely, creepy ambience. It's a pity there's no focus on any female leads (duh?!) but overall, 23:59 is accompanied by many outstanding performances by the relatively unknown cast.