The Canal (2014)

The Canal: Directed by Ivan Kavanagh. With Rupert Evans, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Hannah Hoekstra, Kelly Byrne. A film archivist finds his sanity crumbling after he is given an old 16mm film reel with footage from a horrific murder that occurred in the early 1900’s.

“Inspired by Korean director Park Chan Wooku0026#39;s Revenge Trilogy, Singaporean director Sam Loh creates Angels of Vengeance Trilogy, which combines food with abused female victim turned femme fatale. Siew Lup (Roast Meat in Cantonese) is the second chapter of Angel of Vengeance Trilogy, preceding the 2015u0026#39;s first chapter, Lang Tong (Boiled Soup in Cantonese). Featuring new and young actresses, the trilogy serves to push the boundaries of sex, violence and cannibalism in Singapore film history. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSiew Lup focuses on Mia (Rebecca Chen), an ex-prostitute who was rescued from Quan (Sunny Pang), a roast meat shop owner from the pimp who terrorizes her and Miau0026#39;s mother. Mia enters a loveless marriage with Quan, which his sexual impotency leads to poor self-esteem, hence venting out his frustration through physical violence and rape on her. An encounter with Wu (Louis Wu), the owner of a funeral service company, Mia decides to live with Wu forever and leaves Quan for good. When a sinister plot of getting rid Quan and Wuu0026#39;s encounter with Xuan (Melody Low), a beautiful lady whose days are numbered due to terminal illness, Mia is out on a road of revenge and cannibalism is making its way to the roast meat shop serving unsuspecting diners. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePremiered in Singapore International Film Festival 2016 (SGIFF 2016) with a sold-out screening, Siew Lup seems promising when it comes to pushing the boundaries of graphic sex and violence on Singaporeu0026#39;s big screen. Never before did any Singaporean film-makers dare to make a film which promises large amount of carnal pleasures and bloodshed on the big screen, considered that this is a taboo which not only challenges the censorship regulations in Singapore, but also makes us question if Singaporeans are ready for such content. Hence it is no surprise Siew Lup fills the curiosity among Singaporeans to see how the country is ready to make a movie which lashes out sex and violence openly. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile graphic sex and violence is the main selling point of Siew Lup, the story line was however, needs much substantial content to strengthen up the overall presentation of the film. Though the plot seems to be easy to fill up a film with duration of only 82 minutes (5 minutes shorter than the original 87 minutes SGIFF 2016 version), there are some pointers which were left unexplained. Quanu0026#39;s attraction towards Mia and Wuu0026#39;s affair with Xuan were quickly featured without deeper explanation. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBeing a newcomer in Singapore film industry, Rebecca Chen has what it takes to portray the role of Mia: hot figures, beautiful looks. While it seems that Chenu0026#39;s Mia was a ready-made femme fatale, not much reason was given to justify her sudden change of personality and her penchant of killing her victims and turns them into roast meat. As the story develops, we can see how the people around Mia drives her to where she is: Pangu0026#39;s Quan is like a typical average Joe, whose profession and low-self esteem turned hot tempered individual, draws the attention of the audience. Not only did we see how it helps him to bring Mia into his life, but also drives her to become a femme fatale. Wu and Lowu0026#39;s respective role of Wu and Xuan serves as a fuel for Mia to seek her freedom and paving the road for revenge. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSiew Lup may not suit everybodyu0026#39;s palate, considered that it is an 82 minutes worth of sex and violence. Though the story is easy to understand and pretty straight forward, an expansion on the duration to build up the development of the story will definitely serve as a bonus to the audience, which marks a sweet and delicious end to a meal.”