Synopsis
In the first of a two-part film project, three short stories from acclaimed Hong Kong writer Lilian Lee are adapted for the big screen in this horror anthology.
Tales From The Dark 1
Cast
Simon Yam Yuen Qiu Maggie Shiu Felix Lok Ying-Kwan Lam Suet Jonathan Wong Ariel Chan Audrey Chan Ben Yuen Foo-Wah Ma Yu Ching Ho Sai-Man Lee Lai Kwan Leung Chi Kwong Doris Wong Joe Hu Tony Leung Ka-fai Kelly Chen Cherry Ngan Eileen Tung Oi-Ling Eddie Li Yu-Yeung Jeannie Chan Cindy Yeung Kitson Shum Au Yeung Wing Men Kwok Tze Kiu Law Yi Lam Susan Shaw Josephine Koo Mei-Wah Dada Chan Show All…
Directors
Writers
Original Writer
Editors
Cinematography
Production Design
Composer
Costume Design
Studio
Country
Primary Language
Spoken Languages
Alternative Titles
Mi li ye, 李碧華鬼魅系列:迷離夜, 李碧華鬼魅系列迷離夜, 迷離夜, 李碧华鬼魅系列：迷离夜, 鬼夜, 어둠 속의 이야기: 미리야
Genre
Releases by Date
Theatrical
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Hong KongIIB
29 Aug 2013
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Taiwan
Releases by Country
Hong Kong
11 Jul 2013
- TheatricalIIB
Taiwan
29 Aug 2013
- Theatrical
Popular reviews
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After getting disappointed by Tales from the occult cheaked out Tales from the dark and my gamble well paid. Far better stories, direction, execution this time with same hk urban horror mythology. This Anthology bought some popular faces like Simon, Lam Suet, Kelly Chen, Tony Leung Ka-fai and few more. Surprisingly the first story directed by Simon Yam and also acted by him. Simon did an excellent job with both side. First story is really well written tragic with some genuine scary and creepyness, score was great as well. Other two story was also good but couldnt care much. Overall worth watching.
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Well, here's a Hong Kong horror-anthology where as usual with these things, the quality varies from piece to piece. Tales From the Dark 1 includes three discrete stories.
Stolen Goods: A down on his luck construction-worker can't seem to keep a job. When he can't afford his humble existence anymore, he begins stealing human remains (ashes/urns) from the cemetery in hopes of getting a ransom from the surviving relatives. As it turns out, the dead aren't always as quiet as you'd think...
A Word in the Palm: Two neighboring fortune-tellers begin to see the ghost of a recently-dead schoolgirl. Together they decide to figure out why the spirit remains tethered to earth.
Jing Zhe: Strangers with personal problems visit an…
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This tried really hard to be more than just a horror film but instead failed to be scary, fun, or entertaining. All points go to the plethora of familiar faces most of whom are underused.
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Jing Zhe > A Word in the Palm > Stolen Goods
Stolen Goods, like Yam's performance, tries way too hard to be scary as it blatantly sets up images and jump scares but never becomes a cohesive whole. The premise of grave robbing is interesting but it doesn't really work as well as it should. Scariest moment in that segment is where Yam does the Gangnam style dance. No, really.
A Word in the Palm takes the horror/comedy route and it amuses in its own kooky way. Exploring the perils of young love with Scooby-Doo antics, the film charms due to Lee's light directorial touch and the charming performances from the cast; especially from Kelly Chen, adorning those coke-bottle glasses.
Jing Zhe…
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This film has some really impressive cinematography and mise en scene, as well as some impactful effects. There are moments that are visually stunning.
As with most anthologies, this one is a bit of a mixed bag. The first segment I found to be a little slow, disjointed and underwhelming.
I enjoyed the second segment the most which has a markedly different tone to the rest of the film. It's a fun and playful take on ghosts and fortune tellers that worked well for the most part. Some nice performances and it was well-paced and entertaining. At times a delight.
I was looking forward to the final segment because I'm a fan of Fruit Chan's film Dumplings as well as…
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Three amusingly quirky tales of ghostly mayhem in Hong Kong - I liked all of 'em, but I dug Chi-Ngai Lee's "A Word in the Palm" for Kelly Chen's cuteness and her giant glasses, and Fruit Chan's "Jing Zhe" for teaching me about the odd folk tradition of "villain hitting."
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Terrible horror anthology from a trio of Hong Kong film-makers which fails at being even remotely frightening or moderately entertaining.
Filled with unlikeable characters and terrible special effects, the film begins with one of the worst "short" horror films I can recall seeing. It only moderately improves with the second and third entries, but the overall effort did more to bore me to sleep than it did to elicit goosebumps or chills down my spine.
The fact that that the producers went ahead and filmed a Part 2 before the first one even screened is either a case of monumental confidence or a colossal refusal to accept reality.
1 Random Ghost Shovelling Pasta Into His Mouth for Tales From the Dark 1.
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this is why asians don’t mess around with the dead. i don’t understand why some people could get so greedy to the point they start to dig up urns or graves as well.
they’re basically looking for death.
i don’t know about the other people but as a chinese, we tend to pay respect to the dead every single year during the seventh month. it’s like halloween but we don’t play around or dress up in costumes. we would actually be a lot more conscientious when we do things or when we speak. it’s possible that anything that we said or do might offend the dead in any way.
oh, i love short horror stories. i really like how they…
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Horror anthology is probably my favorite thing ever. I do love new ideas and Asia aesthetics, it's actually one of the few Hong Kong films I've seen too in fact. But the overall execution was just a mess. The first part just tried too hard, cramming everything into an over-the-top incoherent mess. The second one was some straight up Thai soap opera stuff. And that's the point where I just stopped watching entirely. I might come back for the last entry but damn the possibility is just too thin.
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A good trio of tales, I feel like some understanding of cultural beliefs would make it richer but most enjoyable. Middle one brings some comedy relief!
