Known
as the “Hungarian Suicide Song,” Rezső Seress’s “Gloomy Sunday” has become the
stuff of urban legend, but the only suicide that can be directly linked to it
was that of its songwriter. That makes
it quite an odd choice for a producer to update for the biggest star on his
roster, but it was not entirely Hao’s idea. He had help from the devil doll
left behind in his new home. The sinister ragamuffin will be a malevolent
influence on Hao’s new family, especially his wife in Po-chih Leong’s Baby Blues (trailer here), which releases
today on DVD and VOD from Well Go USA.
Hao
and his pregnant wife Tian Qing have just purchased a spectacular new home for
a veritable song. The only drawback seems to be the homeless guy camped across
the street, who is always yelling spooky warnings. For some reason, they hardly
notice him, but she finds the creepy doll utterly charming. Unfortunately, it
seems he is a “Jimi doll,” who drove the previous owners to bad ends. Even
though accidents mysteriously follow Hao’s reworked song, now known as “The
Intruder,” the mega-popular Ying Lan digs its edginess. Everything seems to be
going right for the couple, until it is time to deliver her twins. Adam will
make it, but Jimmy will not. However, this leaves a vacuum for the Jimi doll to
fill.
Of
course, the doctors assure Hao his wife is simply suffering from postpartum
depression and perhaps he is as well. Nonetheless, he and Tian Qing’s tomboy
sister Trinket soon suspect something weirder is afoot. Eventually, they even
start paying attention to the old cat’s jibber-jabbering.
Yes,
Baby Blues owes an obvious “debt” to
the Chucky franchise, but it actually has several additional supernatural hooks
that often compete with each other. The “Gloomy Sunday” references are actually
pretty clever and cool, while the recurring twin motif is rather creepy. Yet,
all mixed together they collectively undermine what Poe called the “unity of
effect.” There are also loose ends and blind alleys all over the place. Still,
one would sort of like to see Keira Knightly and Adam Levine remake the film as
“Can a Song End Your Life.”
Beyond
the on-screen action, Baby Blues generated
considerable interest as the first film co-starring real life couple Raymond
Lam and Karena Ng. However, perhaps shrewdly, they do not share any romantic
scenes as Hao and Trinket. Without question, Ng gets the better of the deal,
proving well suited to the mettlesome sister. In contrast, Lam’s Hao is a bit
wooden, saddled with the intuition of cold porridge. At least newcomer Janelle
Sing goes nuts pretty convincingly, while Kate Tsui clearly enjoys preening
through the film as Ying Lan.
Baby Blues is also the
British-born, Los Angeles-based Leong’s first HK production in two decades. It
is odd choice of project to lure him back, but it was probably a guaranteed
money maker. There are indeed some surprisingly big names attached to this
straight forward genre outing, including Irene Wan, who makes the most of her
third act near-cameo.
As
horror films go, Baby Blues is certainly
presentable. Genre fans will appreciate the ways it tweaks various conventions,
but the killer doll effects do not meet the industry standard. Leong does not
have a particularly strong feel for the requisite mood either, but the veteran
cast knuckles down and powers through. The result is a mish-mash, but it has
its moments. For fans of HK horror, Baby
Blues is now available on DVD, BluRay, and VOD from Well Go USA.
