Up front let's save a lot of people some time: this is NOT A HORROR MOVIE. So if you're looking for a flick that'll make you spill your popcorn and dig your nails into the flesh of the unlucky person sitting next to you (hopefully not a total stranger), you might want to look elsewhere.
"Re-Cycle" is the quintessential "morality tale". A morality tale is typically a fantasy that makes heavy use of symbolism and allegory, often personifying human traits into characters (like the 7 deadly sins). The protagonist undergoes a surreal journey with episodic events that relate to some moral message. "Dante's Inferno", the 14th century epic poem (not to be confused with "Dante's Peak" the 1997 flick about a guy chasing a volcano), is a great example of a morality tale. And now a few centuries later we have "Re-cycle" (original Cantonese title "Gwai wik" or "Ghost Land").
The story is about a romance author Ting-Yin (Angelica Lee) who decides to write her first horror story. She is told in the beginning that writing horror stories brings out ghosts. And so the stage is set. But like I said, this is not a horror story but instead it's a dark (often scary) fantasy about Ting-Yin's descent into a bizarre, disturbing world of ghosts and creepers and AWESOME imagery.
Enough about the plot; it's the imagery I want to focus on because the plot is best left for you to experience. Initially shot in very cold, claustrophobic scenes, the film comes alive once Ting-Yin enters the new realm. From there we see grand, majestic and terrible landscapes which I can only compare to the imaginative visuals of Tarsem ("The Cell", "The Fall"), Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("City of Lost Children") and Terry Gilliam ("Brazil"). A lot was done with digital effects, but a lot was also constructed with life-size props such as the stunning abandoned amusement park with its towering, rusted ferris wheel. Side note: that scene was a recreation of a real amusement park that was demolished years ago, and like a lot of sets, it has special significance to people familiar with the original Chinese locations they depict. Me, I've never been to China, but I watched the "Making Of" featurette where they explain a lot of this stuff.
The movie carries a tense vibe, augmented with some very creepy moments which may actually make you spill your popcorn come to think of it. Then there are some absolutely poetic moments. If I had to fault this film for anything, it would be that I wanted more of the poetic moments, like the "orchard of abandoned love" deleted scene... why?? Well, I know why. Probably because they needed to keep things tense and scary for mass appeal. That comes with the business, I guess.
The message of the movie is a great one, and it applies to each and every person out there. And no, it's not just about recycling your plastic haha. Watch it and you'll find out. If the film succeeds with you as it did with me, it may make you appreciate the little things in life a little bit more. For some odd reason I feel the uncontrollable urge to go rescue a dog from an animal shelter. That's not in the movie, but at the end maybe you'll understand my point.
