Inner Senses (2002)
Filmko Pictures Limited
Cast: Leslie Cheung, Karena Lam, Waise Lee Chi Hung, Valerie Chow, Tsui Siu Keung, Maggie Poon,
Samuel Lam, Olivia Wong, Leung Tin, Sun Li Wan, Liu Hong Dau, So Hang Shuen, Wong Shee Tong,
Lai Pui Yin, Lee Ting Fung, Jova Yuen, Tony Wong, Stanley Wong, Lee Pui Shing, Ho Pui San,
Stefan Kratz, Hugo Chim, Helda Chan, Wat Wai Kwok, Josephine Choi
Presenter: Alexander Wong Writer: Yeung Sin Ling, Lo Chi Leung, Derek Yee Music: Peter Kam
Cinematography: Venus Keung (HKSC) Art Director: Silver Cheung Editor: Kong Chi Leung (HKSE)
Producer: Derek Yee Admin. Producer: Jacob Cheung Martial Arts Director: Mars
Director: Lo Chi Leung
Genre: Drama | Horror Length: 99 minutes
"If you believe in ghosts, they will exist"
Inner Senses stars Leslie Cheung as Jim Law, a psychiatrist who is referred a patient by his
doctor friend Wilson (Waise Lee). That patient, Yan Cheung (Karena Lam) is a young woman
with her share problems- a series of bad relationships, abandonment issues with her parents,
suicidal tendencies, a leaky faucet...oh, and one other thing. She sees ghosts.
Ever since she moved into her new apartment, peculiar things keep happening. Even her
landlord (Tsui Siu Keung), is a little strange. He tells her about his wife and son, who went to
the park one day in the rain and were killed by a freak mudslide. He tells her this, cheerfully,
smiling through the pain. Then she sees their ghosts in her apartment, dripping mud. At this
point things get really scary. He's got her security deposit!!
Leslie and Karena develop a romance. Leslie starts to see ghosts, too. As a teenager, his
girlfriend was distraught over their breakup, and jumped off a building. Her ghost is stalking
him, and there ain't no restraining orders in the afterlife.
It's impossible to watch Inner Senses, with it's suicide subtext, and not think of the irony at hand
in this, Leslie Cheung's last film. With conventional horror aspects kept to a minimum, it's
more of a psychological thriller than a pure ghost story- though there are still some genuinely
spooky scenes. Cheung's character is fascinated by the human brain- its tricks, its illusions.
"I want to understand other people", he says. "Although the hardest to understand is yourself".
Inner Senses is a film with a message, one that Leslie himself unfortunately did not retain. It's
about suicide, depression, and controlling one's inner demons as much as anything; and the
serious subject matter is handled with maturity and care. The acting, music, and photography
are all good. Karena Lam is a very natural actress, and is beautiful to watch.
This was a different role for Leslie, and it's a performance, and a film, well worth viewing.
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Related viewing: The Eye (2002) Angelica Lee, Candy Lo
My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2002) Sammi Cheng, Lau Ching Wan
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