I first met Ng Ken Kin and Leroy Low, the other two directors of "3 DOORS OF HORRORS" in March, when James Lee gathered us all for a meeting about the omnibus project. Each of us has vastly different backgrounds, Ken Kin is a veteran in the film and TV industry who had done quite a lot of short films and TV programs. Leroy is a young music video director who had done a few music videos with some of the most popular Chinese pop stars in the country during the last two years.
(As for me, I'm the obligatory "art house guy")
Ken Kin's segment is called HORROR MISSION, it is about an intern of a film shoot (played by his regular muse, actress Charlene Meng) tasked with attending a possessed actress.
Here are some of Ken Kin's works.
TONG WAH HENG (2003) is his very first short film. A heartfelt film essay showing images of an old grocery shop that his late grandfather used to work at. The place has since been demolished. This short film here is very different from his later works.
JEMPUT NAIK (2010) is part of the KL 48 HOUR FILM PROJECT 2010 (in which participants are supposed to conceive, shoot, write and edit a film within 48 hours).
THE OTHER ONE (2010) begins as a satire of workplace racial segregation often experienced in the multi-ethnic and multicultural Malaysia, then it gradually becomes a "film shoot goes wrong" film, but with a somewhat nationalistic twist. It won Best Short Film at the Filem Festival Malaysia 2011. The media, the government and most people have often define Malaysia as a country that consists of the three main races: The Bumiputera Malays, the Chinese and the Indians. We tend to overlook the other minority groups.
THE SCIENTIST (2011) is a finalist in the BMW Shorties 2011. It portrays a scientist, in a seemingly post apocalyptical world, and then, something rather unexpected happens. Hilarity ensues...?
Meanwhile, Leroy Low's segment, I MISS YOU TWO, is a ghost story set in a school. It stars Wong Jen Khai and singer Nick Chung.
Leroy, as I have mentioned before, has done numerous music videos with really good production values. His aesthetic sensibilities remind me of Taiwanese music videos. Many of these music videos are kinda narrative-based.
There is one where a man sells his kidney so that the woman he loves can do plastic surgery. It's intense and is something that I want to take lessons from (I'm sure one of them is to avoid letting a woman hug you right after you have done your operation and before she flies off, you wouldn't want to bleed to death while she is leaving... right?)
Then there's another one where a girl shows barely subdued jealousy when her best pals are getting married. There is a lot of angst and moody glances favoured by Chinese pop music videos, and then, we realize suddenly that this is a lesbian tale!
A young woman who is overwhelmed by the pressure of everyday life (problems with uptight boss, mutual angst with sad mom, teary boyfriend begging for reconciliation) goes to a restaurant and sings a duet with her pal, the restaurant owner. The dude has a good voice. The food is great, she is happy again.
Now, here's an actual narrative short film by Leroy instead of a music video. STAND BY ME (2012) is about a young man who becomes mentally disabled after an unfortunate accident, his everyday life with his mother becomes a challenge. Cheery film.
(As for me, I'm the obligatory "art house guy")
Ken Kin's segment is called HORROR MISSION, it is about an intern of a film shoot (played by his regular muse, actress Charlene Meng) tasked with attending a possessed actress.
Here are some of Ken Kin's works.
TONG WAH HENG (2003) is his very first short film. A heartfelt film essay showing images of an old grocery shop that his late grandfather used to work at. The place has since been demolished. This short film here is very different from his later works.
JEMPUT NAIK (2010) is part of the KL 48 HOUR FILM PROJECT 2010 (in which participants are supposed to conceive, shoot, write and edit a film within 48 hours).
THE OTHER ONE (2010) begins as a satire of workplace racial segregation often experienced in the multi-ethnic and multicultural Malaysia, then it gradually becomes a "film shoot goes wrong" film, but with a somewhat nationalistic twist. It won Best Short Film at the Filem Festival Malaysia 2011. The media, the government and most people have often define Malaysia as a country that consists of the three main races: The Bumiputera Malays, the Chinese and the Indians. We tend to overlook the other minority groups.
THE SCIENTIST (2011) is a finalist in the BMW Shorties 2011. It portrays a scientist, in a seemingly post apocalyptical world, and then, something rather unexpected happens. Hilarity ensues...?
Leroy, as I have mentioned before, has done numerous music videos with really good production values. His aesthetic sensibilities remind me of Taiwanese music videos. Many of these music videos are kinda narrative-based.
There is one where a man sells his kidney so that the woman he loves can do plastic surgery. It's intense and is something that I want to take lessons from (I'm sure one of them is to avoid letting a woman hug you right after you have done your operation and before she flies off, you wouldn't want to bleed to death while she is leaving... right?)
Then there's another one where a girl shows barely subdued jealousy when her best pals are getting married. There is a lot of angst and moody glances favoured by Chinese pop music videos, and then, we realize suddenly that this is a lesbian tale!
Now, here's an actual narrative short film by Leroy instead of a music video. STAND BY ME (2012) is about a young man who becomes mentally disabled after an unfortunate accident, his everyday life with his mother becomes a challenge. Cheery film.
