Saat yan faan is interesting if only because it crams an awful lot of concepts that have appeared in some very effective thrillers. Its greatest fault is that those various elements do not always gel.
The story revolves around Ling, a detective who seemingly suffers from amnesia. What's worse, there is a serial killer on the loose and clues start to point towards Ling as a suspect. Is Ling somehow responsible for what is going on? Does he really suffer from amnesia or not? How is he involved exactly? The movie goes through several twists and turns, some of which are rather cool and unpredictable.
Director Chow Hin Yeung Roy goes for a feel that is reminiscent of occidental hits such as Se7en. Right from the film title, you gets loads of quick edits, sound effects and the like. Several film locations are rather interesting and it does feel like a big budget Asian movie. Unfortunately, as is par for the course in Asian thrillers, the acting is absolutely awful. Cheesy and over-dramatic doesn't even begin to describe the performances. The script is also terrible and seems to try hard to go for a Hollywood tone and fails. The whole movie would flow much better if it stayed true to its cultural roots.
As the story unfolds and we get hold of what is really going on, the acting and dialog is too weak to allow us to suspend disbelief.
We're still left with several cool ideas which might benefit from a remake of some kind, since this movie was so desperate to adopt a Hollywood feel.
