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After
getting shot by a serial killer, Officer Li
is moved to the Miscellaneous department (meaning
cases that can't be put under a specific label).
Most of these cases have to do with superstitious
people believing that they are haunted, but one
thing Officer Li learns quickly is Rule number one;
there are no ghosts. But is there really a logical
explanation to everything? Officer Li is about to
find out that not everything is what it seems.
Kelvin Tong returns to the horror scene once again
after having received awful reviews for his venture
into horror comedies with Men in White. Having seen
his previous two horror efforts, The Maid and 1942,
I wasn't expecting much from Rule #1 and I was right
not to. Rule #1 is Singapore's attempt at mixing
a crime thriller with a ghost story and while it's
overall decent, it's a very generic thriller and
Kelvin Thong doesn't add much to the concept. To
tell you the truth, the movie is a bit messy and it's
difficult to get a grip on the story.
Officer Li has just been replaced to the Misc
department - a police department which handles
strange cases (most often supernatural ones, yes
it is kind of like the X-files I guess). Anyway,
his colleague tells him one important thing right
away and that's rule number one; there's no such
thing as ghosts. Well, this is just a cover-up, in
reality the world is filled with ghosts, in fact
there seems to be more dead people walking the
streets of Singapore than living people. After some
random ghostly encounters that have nothing to do
with the rest of the film, the main spirit finally
enters the picture - an evil spirit that travels
from body to body and it seems as if most of the
hosts are teenage girls. Who could this evil spirit
be and will Officer Li be able to stop him?
The basic plot in Rule #1 is indeed very generic
and it feels like we've seen it several times before.
The twists are extremely predictable and the film
is somewhat poorly constructed. There are for example
a lot of completely random scenes that have
absolutely nothing to do with the movie itself.
However, Rule #1 is still Kelvin Tong's best horror
flick to date in that it's got some mildly suspenseful
moments, a good cast, nice cinematography and even
though the story is generic, it's still entertaining
enough to draw you in. In fact, if you compare it
to other Asian supernatural crime-thrillers such as
Arang and Soul's Code, it comes out on top.
If generic thrillers with a supernatural twist is
your cup of tea, Rule #1 is worth checking out.
It's not very original and it obviously has some
issues but it's certainly watchable and I might
actually watch it again if it's shown on TV. It's
mediocre entertainment and I guess you can't ask
more from the guy who gave us The Maid and 1942.
Some minor gore, nothing worth mentioning.
A surprisingly solid score which adds to the
atmosphere. Nice work actually.
Generic and uneven, just what we've come to expect
from Singapore film maker Kelvin Thong. This guy
obviously doesn't have a creative bone in his body
but at least he's managed to make a somewhat
decent supernatural crime-thriller which will keep
you interested until the very last generic frame.
Worth checking out if this is your cup of tea.
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