Cast Member: Marco Lok

Like most martial arts movies to emerge out of Hong Kong in recent years, there are flashes of the talent involved but it’s not nearly as entertaining as it should have been.

By avoiding Hollywood histrionics or schmaltz, a well-worn plot again manages to seem fresh and deeply moving.

‘New Blood’ is a smart, efficient and alarmingly effective genre piece that sits effortlessly alongside some of the finer horror entries of the period as an unremittingly morbid and blood-curdling exercise in unadulterated terror.

Definitely a blight on Billy Chung’s eclectic cinematic oeuvre, ‘Set Up’ is a formerly shelved title that should have remained buried indefinitely.

‘The Shopaholics’ is a simple time waster that has a few effective moments, but meanders around until its uninspiring conclusion.