Unlike Hollywood, us simple Kuching folks don’t get a lot of movie premieres over here.
When it comes to hosting red-carpeted movie gala events, Kuching is probably the least considered venue among filmmakers. We don’t have a lot here to attract stars and celebrities. In fact, we are so insignificant that people always think Kuching is part of Sabah.
But just last week, our humble little town was transformed into Tinseltown as the cast and crew of the movie The Possessed descended here and made their presence felt in our backyard.
Smyth Wong, Alan Yun, Steve Yap, Amber Chia, Bjarne Wong, Manolet Garcia
If it weren’t for Bjarne Wong, people are probably still gonna think that Kuching is located inside Sabah.
Bjarne is a Kuching-born film director who made the movie “The Possessed”. It is Bjarne’s second movie after “The Legend of the Red Curse” which was widely considered a disastrous cinematic flop.
With director Bjarne Wong
I actually watched “Legend of the Red Curse” together with the Bjarne, Linus Chung and Mei Ling* at Bjarne’s house in his bedroom that one fateful night.
Four grown men in one bedroom must be every gay man’s fantasy. But don’t worry ladies, my anal virginity has escaped the experience unscathed.
Props from “Legend of the Red Curse”
The first movie “Legend of the Red Curse” was one of those movies that is so bad, it’s good. It’s so bad it even had people sending death threats to the director. That is alright, because it was not just Bjarne but everyone’s first attempt at directing a feature-length movie.
Knowing how bad the first movie was, I didn’t have much expectations walking into the cinema for his second piece of work. So it came as a surprise that I actually… enjoyed it.
The Possessed stars my longtime sweetheart Amber Chia. It is a “horror flick” featuring actors from in and out of Malaysia, and is filmed entirely in Kuching. I used the term “horror flick” loosely here because as I found out later, the movie actually isn’t really that scary at all.
Senso bar at Hilton
Sure, glaringly obvious plot holes are all over the place and the quality of acting left a lot to be desired. But watching the director putting Kuching onto the silver screen is a surreal feeling. Our humble little city was shot beautifully. Next time I pass by those places that appeared in the movie, can feel their status different already.
For a Kuching boy like me, it is a lot of fun guessing where each scene was shot. When friends we hang out with regularly suddenly appeared on the big screen as keh-leh-feh (supporting cast) speaking Cantonese, everyone bursted out laughing.
Click to watch the trailer for Possessed
Of course, it is a unfair to compare The Possessed with other big-budgeted Hollywood horror movies such as The Sixth Sense, The Village and The Spongebob Squarepants Movie.
After all, our movie-making resources and budget here is very limited.
So limited in fact that in the fight scenes, you can see the actors fighting so carefully to make sure that they don’t break any of the furniture around.
Another major MAJOR gripe I have with the movie is that all the dialogue is in Cantonese. I suspect that this decision has more to do with the marketability of the movie overseas rather than staying true to the roots of the de facto Kuching dialect. Not a lot of mainland Chinese or Hong Kong movie goers would be interested to watch the movie if it’s Hokkien right?
On the good side, Amber Chia’s acting has improved tremendously since we last saw her. The most memorable scene undoubtedly was watching Amber getting possessed by the demon.
At first, it looks like she’s trying to scratch an annoying pimple her back as she awkwardly bends here and there. Then she puts herself upside down and spins around like she’s doing ballet with her head.
Amber gets possessed. Decides to mop floor with her head.
Damn, that girl should be in Doha training our gymnasts for the 15th Asian Games.
Apart from seasoned actress Sharifah Amani, another cast member whose acting stands out from the rest is Filipino architect Manolet Garcia.
The Filipino plays a psycho who’s obsessed with Amber Chia’s character. There’s one hilarious scene in the movie where he was drooling over Amber’s photos on the wall, one hand touching her photos disgustingly, the other hand was reaching down to… almost touching his you-know-what.
Jojo was laughing so much in the cinema we thought she was possessed.
I reckon Bjarne might have better luck finding his niche making comedies instead of horror flicks.
Overall, I say the movie is very much worth watching, especially if you’re from Kuching and you’d like to see how your hometown was projected onto the big screen. For the rest, it’s best to watch this movie without too much expectations. It’s not to say that “The Possessed” is bad. It is just a lot better than most plotless B-grade Korean horror flicks.
Best of all, you get to see Amber Chia doing ballet on her head.
Have you ever seen a doppelganger?
I have seen one. miss-lashes and miss-dowager look so similar to each other it’s kinda freaky.
amber chia cant act!!
she can hardly talk properly ler!!
And some Malaysian movies can be scary too.. like pontianak harum sundal malam!!
Kenny Sia is the best la…
LoL kenny! Laughed my ass off for that ballet flick.
I was finished a guide to your benglish translator in my blog and I can get to see ur latest post in 4 am. Tell me are you still awake or you just wake up.
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###### Amber Chia Rocks #######
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Kenny sia rock also.
Wah Kennt so early in the morning post this type of post π
The trailer looked alright to me, and I didn’t know Spongebob Square Pants Movie is a horror movie :ΓΒΎ
its not ballet on her head, its breakdance! XD
which is why i went “omg amber chia can breakdance weh!” in the cinema today ^^
what the hell? amber chia in the movie? oh cmon… she cant act la.. i agree with u jagjit
how come your director friend didn’t ask u to act in it also? At least a guest appearance ma since he’s ur friend and was shot in your hometown.
I’m from penang and I know that a friend of mine was a KELEFE in LI XING JIE’s movie in penang. Although kelefe but he got to sit beside LI in a scene where they were practicing calligraphy…..
amber is malaysia’ sexiest babe ! ! !
If Kenny Sia were to direct a movie – I wouldn’t mind being a kelefe π
ai ya nothing new with this show the ghost just like doing ballet flick here and there tidak takut pun, the show just like tahi
amber may be can act in ‘3class flim’ i am sure she will famous like su chi.
bad move standing beside amber chia. now people know how very tall you are.
besides, u also lost in the plunging neckline competition to her. but, at least your’s seems to be bigger.
solli ah amber, kenny, just trying to be funny.
I was at the the shooting on a couple of the scenes for this film and was fortunate to have a drink with Manolet, Steve and Sharifah afterwards… Lovely people.
Will check out the film soon..
Anyone knows If this is coming out on DVD?
Wow, that Amber chick isn’t exactly ugly… Wonder how Bjarne got his name, because that name is from Scandinavia.
they shoud just have casted you… as the hearthrob….:)
Not from Kuching and tat movie also not shown here…
haha…
A scary movie kana say until like a comedy by you~ So cute.
they’re coming to miri too. cant believe we’re having one of those in miri. i saw the stage at Bintang last night. tiny stage. hahaha..
hahahahah… great stuff in making her look like she’s doing a headspin
Someone is stalking u man… Even caught u digging gold…. http://mrdefinite.com/?p=590
This is one of those film that is so bad that you wanna watch it just to see how bad it is. But I saw a trailer of this movie whereby two men was trying to hold down the possessed Amber Chia. Man…I sure wish I was those man, groping and touching Amber at all the interesting places. I think I’ll just go just for this particular scene π
u forgot to mention *MY* favourite artiste in the movie: HARISU.
bitch
hey i actually enjoyed this…and most of all i love amber chia…
hey, one of scenes was taken at my condo..is that cool or wad? WOOT
good try for amber chia π
but the headspin… is really funny !
i’m the stupid guys who pay RM18(9X2) for this movie! a movie with full of advertisement purposes! and really funny watching amber chia mop the floor with her hair! lousy movie!
i watched the movie and i know it’s a bit mean to say this but.. amber chia’s stalker in the movie.. i dunno y he looks a bit like kenny..
i watched the show last two days and it wasnt that good as i would expect it to be untill i realised its a local movie.so i would give a thumb up for ths movie.not too bad actually and some part of the movie is funny especially the amber chia break dance part. XD
Yeah Amber Chia is very ‘wood’ lah, like her role in the 3rd Generation. But just as in the latest Zhang Yimou film starring Jay Chou, these celebs are basically meant as crowd pullers especially in markets where their appeals are strong. I for one will definitely make my way to the cinema for ‘Possessed’, but only because I love Harisu :o).
They should have cast u as the psycho drooling over pictures of Amber’s character while reaching down to his….
KENNY HOW ABOUT U ACTING IN THE NEXT MOVIE, PERFERABLELY COMIDY ONE.
eh amber chia okie wert….
The movie reminded me awfully lot of “The Story of Emily Rose”. A girl possessed by a devil. The clips I just saw resembled of the scenes I saw in that movie. Maybe the director has watched that movie and liked it so much to use it in his film?! Well, what do i know. There are millions of horror movies which run the same theme…
Dude, in your 2nd pic, Manolet Garcia looks like you.
Doppelganger!!
hahaha the amber chia gif is so funny!! =X
ooh. ITS AMBER CHIA THE WONDER MOP !oops. i mean model
Common guys and girls. Give some chance to the director (errr i forgot his name again).If there is more budget to come by π .
Amber Chia is sexy but i really love that stunt with that hair mop.Who ever thought of that idea must be watching their maid mopping the floor or something.
kenny, your face seems rounder and chubbier than before. You had too much drink on yr bday nite?
I hate horror movies
I don’t see any similarities between Ms Lashes and Ms Dowager.Lashes has shorter nose and smaller eyes, one has longer nose and bigger eyes.
I thnk posessed has adopted the Japanese and HK film techniques. It’s very different from those local made filmsm, really… =)
Lets be realistic don’t give excuse not enough budget, first time direct a movie etc. Bjarne you not good or qualify to direct a movie you have to have a good script and directing skill. Even for TV drama you have a long way to go.I watched your first movie and what I get is a piece of SHIT. Whats that creature look like a crap not scary even a bit. As for ‘Possessed’ I don’t wanna waste my RM8 to watched a cheap production like that.Guess you have to learn from the GURU before you can come back to direct a movie.
Oh ya not fair blaming on Amber for her acting cos how an actor going to act depends on DIRECTOR.
Maybe you can ask Kenny to help you to produce a comedy cos I do see talent and potential on him.
haha, kenny, that pic of u next to the movie advert was killer funny and the ‘ballet’ part was c00L… haha, it breakdancing still exist..
Why do I feel like you’re mocking Sabah? So we’re that bad it shameful & disgusting to be associated with us? That shows how shallow you are.
i suddenly want to watch the movie… the trailer was soooooooooooooooooo cool…
i seriously hope the actors in this movie are better than the actors in THE RED CURSE.. omg i can’t believe i actually watched the red curse…
wah wah Amber pang pua liap!! sexy siah
ha?? you kena ppl who say kuching is part of sabah?
i’m from kk and i always kena ppl who say kk is part of sarawak!
i don’t understand cantonese and i don’t like to read absurd subtitles so i’m not going to watch this movie π
thanks for the review anyway.
Kenny, with no offend, Amber Chia can’t act. Period.
If it’s not because of her slutty look, she would probably still bohsia-ing in Sabah.
dont care bout the movie.. eh kenny got money borrow me or not?
i think amber chia is hot ? =P
i dont watch the movie but they told me that the time she spins her head on the floor..my fren thought that it was a “dancing” competition ?
“shuffling”?
I’m glad to see Malaysian films getting a greater share of the limelight nowadays =) though it isn’t an easy task to get the viewer’s attention with so many other movies out there in the movie battlefield. Nonetheless, credits to the director for being able to produce such a film using limited budget and resources.
*wa first time I so patriotic hahahhaa* =.=”
lol, Possessed? I just watched that movie with my friends a few hours ago in Sibu’s Cineplex. The director himself, Bjarne made a visit to the cinema and had some freebies to give away. He also said he’s a Sibuan? But you said he was born in Kuching right…
I wonder, why didn’t the rest of the cast show up… I wanna see Amber Chia! D:
yo kenny, thanks for coming to senso for prom tonight…hehe..you’re really a nice,interesting and funny guy
everyone deserves a chance!
amber chia imporved a lot-lah!!
ermm after watching the thriller suddenly i cant sleep..sigh
woah this one malaysia movie is it?
the gif image very funny lah..haha
why singapore dun have ley?
so this is a made in msia movie?
one guy in the cast is not bad looking π
Was the whole thing filmed in Kuching??? I heard that it was partially in Kuching but more in Hong Kong?
… wtf rofl
Ha!?!? Kuching isn’t in Sabah?that means all my essays are all wrong…….Nooooooooo(Darth Vader style)
Harisu didn’t go ar?
This movie is a flop! GSC & TGV have taken it off their screens. This movie should have been a porno movie and Amber Chia is one hot fucking chick!
Kenny… where can i get that kind of mopping Amber Chia .. I think this would definitely save me a lot of hassle mopping.. hahha..
as a sarawak involve in movie production, i m very happy to see that we come out with our own film, but “The Possessed” is not our own. why? most of the crews are from hk and even the post-production is done in thailand. have u seen malaysia national football team with hk, or ang-mo players inside? that’s what i mean. what the director is doin is, indirectly telling the whole world that the sarawak people who involve in film industry is not good enough. i called it “B***S**T”. we have a lot of talented ppl, but just that “Hock Star” think that by using the foreign talents, it will boost the ticket sales. sorry, it won’t happen. first, amber and harisu can’t act, even smyth who is the brother of the director, also cannot act. can’t they do a proper audition like most of the other malaysian film? ppl like me, and other sarawak ppl that go for proper film educations and experiences would very much interested in contributing to “The Posessed”, but never been approach. i was involve in “The Legend of the …….”, which we worked hard to clean-up the mess done by the director. we managed to put sound, dialog, and effects to improvise it, even it has been critised badly by the audience. it could have been worse. my suggestions is, do something u know, not simply just “tembak” blindly. working with stanley tong or knowing him only doesn’t make u a good director, so please understand this. can’t they just produce something simple, yet meaningful? we have a lot of culture here in sarawak, so why don’t make films that depicts sarawakian? at least is original, yet attractive. as for “Hock Star” and bjarne, sorry for the critics. one more thing, please stop corrupting and polluting the sarawak film industry. if u think that being the first to start it can help boost the sarawak film industry, then u r wrong. we, the sarawakian that involve in this industry have tried and learn so hard to make a good and quality film, so don’t jeorpadize us. do ur preparations and ur references properly before making a film. know what ur audience want, not what u want them to want. they r the one paying for the ticket, but for me, i won’t pay a cent to watch it. been there, done that, no more stupidity. enough of this “hock star” nonsense. i called upon sarawakian who love making good movie to not watch it. i m not against “hock star”, i am against those who make a fool out of this industry.
Kenny, Amber Chia isn’t doing ballet. She’s breakdancing.
WTH la!!!amber chia is really poor in acting.that movie is very bad also,make me wasted that rm8 for the movie ticket,fudd!!!
Hey I think the movie is totally cool…where else can you see Amber Chia moping the floor with her head. Beautiful.
“Overall, I say the movie is very much worth watching,” – WTF! If Amber knows how to act, the cows would know how to climb the tree!
Amber Chia, don’t quit your day job (whatever that is)!
That Amber Chia thing just reminds me of
a) a move out of The Matrix
b) a move out of Shalolin Soccer
That silly Amber Chia is OVER-EXPOSED!! Flip on the newspaper any day and I guarantee you can see her silly face. Same pose, same angle, same hairstyle, same make-up.. EVERYDAY. SIEN!
I really like the part when Amber got possessed and her eyes turned white.
It did not frightened me in fact it made me “sexcited’ or stim!!
My undies were wet and I don’t know how many times I went to toilet after watching the scene!!
WHAT A SHAME!
IN THIS NEW MILLENIUM, SARAWAKIAN STILL MAKE AND DELIVER SUCH AMMATURE MOVIE. I THINK THE FOOCHOW FROM SIBU ARE BEST IN CUTTING DOWN TREES AND DESTROY THE ENVIROMENT THAN MAKING MOVIES. I AM PISSED AFTER WATCHING IT!
CATPUSSY KUCHING BORN
She does a headspin! Is she possed by a gangsturrrr, yo?
lotsa comments and criticisms especially the whinning and complaints on why this lah that lah … why i wasn’t selected or called for auditions kah …. i am educated in film making and bjarne is not … hey, they’re not the best (hockstar and bjarne) but they’re making headway … if u beh kam guan, just make your own lah …. but are you more MAN that Bjarne? will you critics (the better ones) be ready to be shot and given comments? ….. haaaa …. not all, but some memang cakap besar saja ….
he IS jackie chan’s apprentice…u know…
don’t have a showing this movie at malacca mahkota
wow…magnifico
Amber has turned into an air-headed bimbo.And she rather not get paid for some of her commercials so she gets to be more famous and in the end will end up boring to everyone in m’sia.
Amber doing Breakdancing? π hahaha. Btw the preview reminds me a lot about the Exorcise or something. XD i gotta watch it.
love you tart -jc
WHEERE CAN I GET DIS MOVIE I GOOGLED IT BUT NO AVAILABILITY
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