produce great works at a small cost?
's newly launched "Water Monster 2: Black Wood Forest" proves that it can.
This thriller produced by the Xiang brothers takes the "mountain village strange story" route. The use of folklore elements is the biggest feature of "Water Monster 2: Black Wood Forest". The story in the
film takes place in Shangshui Town, far away from the city.
Here, the villagers regarded the " water monkey ", which was hidden in the water to wait for opportunities to harm people after drowning in folklore, as a god, and called it "water monkey lord".
But not so much respect, but more fear.
Because according to locals, anyone who offends the Water Monkey Lord will inevitably provoke revenge and end badly.
, Du Jiajia ( Wang Zhener), who came to Sheung Shui Town to look for his younger brother, has witnessed the fear of the villagers from the perspective of an outsider from the moment he set foot on this land. There is a miniature shrine of Water Monkey Lord beside the road
. The offering in front of the shrine is a raw fish head surrounded by flies. Not far away, the villagers who came to "atonement" for the children because the children made mistakes.
On the way into Sheung Shui Town, Du Jiajia also encountered a strange funeral procession. In the
team, there are strangely dressed goddesses, villagers dressed as water monkeys, and statues of the dead and water monkeys placed in chairs. Every villager carrying a sedan chair wears a hideous mask on his face.
glanced over, and Du Jiajia was shocked, because his brother Du Jiahao's reporter card was in the hands of the dead. When the two sides fought each other and were about to happen, the mayor Yin Xiaotian brought people to resolve the conflict between Du Jiajia and the goddess.
Then, Du Jiajia followed Yin Xiaotian to the place where Du Jiahao lived before.
The vestibule overgrown with weeds, faintly visible figures, and the empty central hall when I look at it again, as well as the phrase "not clean" that accompanied the villagers, all made this deserted house full of weird and horrible meaning.
on the table in the room, there are still photos taken by Du Jiahao before. The relatives of the deceased in the funeral procession before suddenly appeared in one of the photos.
cabinet feet, there are clear traces of movement. Behind the cabinet, there is a hidden door leading to the backyard. And outside the back door, which was tied by a rope and covered with cobwebs, was a deep black well. There are joss sticks and offerings on the
well fence.
From the beginning of the film to here, more than ten minutes have passed. However, with the help of deep and secluded jungles, elements rich in local characteristics, negligent figures, desolate and empty houses, etc., the main creator pave the way for the horrible atmosphere.
At the same time, it also creates a "sense of distance" between Du Jiajia and Sheung Shui Town.
and the subsequent six sons , not only broke the cold silence and opened up warmth, but also the "bridge" between Du Jiajia and Sheung Shui Town. Under the guidance of
, Du Jiajia began to "enter" into Sheung Shui Town, and was also triggered by the memories buried deep in her heart, vaguely discovered the connection between herself and Sheung Shui Town, from a simple outsider to Returnees.
But the price is extremely painful. The villagers in the same frame as
and Du Jiahao in the photo just explained the origin of the reporter card to Du Jiajia, and suffered misfortune on the way back. Even his wife died after a weird figure flashed outside the window.
confided the secret to Du Jiajia's mute village girl, who became the next victim in a flash. The younger brother who was missed by Du Jiajia had already suffered misfortune.
Du Jiajia went to the black wood forest to search for the truth, and met the water monkey on a narrow road. After a fierce duel, the water monkey was injured and escaped, but Du Jiajia was arrested by the nine uncles who rushed over, to be used as a sacrifice to make amends to the "Water Monkey Lord"... Story. Lack of logic and being frightened for the sake of fright is a common problem for most "national terrorism." And "Water Monster 2: Black Wood Forest" not only has a complete story structure and a smooth narrative, but also expresses the spiritual core very carefully.
In other words, there is depth. At the beginning of the film,
borrowed from the Buddhist scriptures "all appearances are all falsehoods" as a hint, telling us that what we see in our eyes is not necessarily, not necessarily true.
The practice of treating ghosts as gods in Sheung Shui Town is another way of inverting black and white.
Therefore, is the "Water Monkey Lord" that aroused the fear of the villagers, really as cruel as the rumors? What kind of answers are hidden behind every lost life?
In Sheungshui Town, there is no uncle Jiu-gong who can't get things done. What role did
play in the whole thing with the smiling, humble and kind mayor Yin Xiaotian?
In addition to the metaphor as a guide, "Water Monster 2: Black Wood Forest" also continues another essence of this type of theme, that is, to express love with "weird".
When Du Jiajia was six years old, she was rescued from a coffin by the river by her adoptive father, but she lost her past memories. Although she has no blood relationship with the Du family, her father is kind and filial, and her brother and sister are deeply affectionate. After the death of her adoptive father, Du Jiahao became her only relative.
Because of this, even if Du Jiahao asked Du Jiajia not to look for herself in her last letter, she still took a shotgun and embarked on a dangerous family search.
In Sheung Shui Town, Du Jiajia met six orphans. After a full meal, Xiao Liuzi recognized himself as a sister. Although Du Jiajia resisted, he took care of the little six in the process of getting along. The little six also became Du Jiajia's main help in finding out the truth.
, especially because of her memory being blocked, and the forgotten past by Du Jiajia, is the deep pain in her life. When the truth surfaced, that is, when the scars were uncovered, and the bloody reality had to be faced. Every emotional line in
is finally tied back to Du Jiajia, making this character a "pillar" and supporting the whole story.
Having said that, I would like to come to everyone to see another feature of "Water Monster 2: Black Wood Forest"-the main heroine. In
's past horror and horror works, even with the protagonist's halo body, the female characters mostly appear as victims, or simply troublemakers.
But in this story, Du Jiajia became the "savior".
As a forensic doctor, Du Jiajia is meticulous and good at finding clues from humble clues and making accurate judgments.
Besides, she can fight, calm and witty.
entered the black wood forest for the first time, only with the assistance of Xiaoliuzi, gained the upper hand in the battle with the water monkey; the second time it united with the villagers and set up numerous institutions to use itself as a bait to attract the water monkey to appear , Successfully captured it. At the end of the game,
and the villain will be the winner. This kind of personal treatment is really rare in "national terror". The story of
is complete and full of atmosphere. The protagonist is brilliant, coupled with the excellent quality of the mirror photography, and the collection of many highlights, "Water Monster 2: Black Wood", has naturally become a "small cost counterattack" among netizens.
