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The Tenants Downstairs is a 2016 Taiwanese Black Comedy Mystery Drama film written by Giddens Ko who is also the writer and director of You Are the Apple of My Eye. The film is starred by Simon Yam, Lee Kang Sheng, Kaiser Chuang, Ivy Shao, and Sophia Li.
The story begins with a man named Mr. Chang who is interrogated by police officers. The man claimed he inherited a building with studio apartments and he rents them out to tenants. His room has screens connected to hidden cameras which he can monitor inside of each apartment. He detailed that he has eight tenants which includes Mr. Wang Ming Kai and his daughter, Ms. Chen Miu Hi, a sex worker, Mr. Chang Kuo Sheng, a gymnast teacher who is obsessed with Ms. Chen, Boyan, a geeky guy who believes he can teleport, gay couple Kuo Li and Ling Hu, and the mysterious woman named Ying Ru. But according to police officers, there is no record nor picture of that mysterious woman.
Mr. Chang told the police officers that his daily routine is to spy on his tenants closely. However, he finds Ying Ru weird because she has no interesting routines. He decided to investigate her room while she is out but she returned unexpectedly with a man. Mr. Chang hid under the bed and witnessed how Ying Ru drugged and tortured the man inside a bathtub. The landlord was so afraid at first but he decided not to call police authorities. After a few days, Ying Ru brought a woman and tortured her too. Mr. Chang talked to Ying Ru who says she wanted to break free and not be stucked. After that talk, he decided to break his mundane life and shatter his tenants' routine lives.
He started with Boyan who tricked him that he can teleport. He used him to destroy the relationship of a gay couple and manipulated them to believe that one of them was cheating. He also deceived the tenants that his own duplicate keys were missing. But the truth was he wanted the gymnast teacher to find them so he could break into Ms. Chen's apartment. He also used a mosquito coil with a love drug to increase Mr. Wang's libido toward his daughter. The results of his tricks end the lives of Mr. Wang, his daughter, and Ling Hu.
However, the police officers said that his crazy stories do not match the facts. Ms. Chen is actually married to Mr. Wang and living together with their daughter. While Mr. Chang Kuo Sheng is a homosexual and a university professor which is why he is not obsessed with Ms. Chen. Mr. Kuo Li is actually a cancer sufferer and he is taken care of by his nephew, Ling Hu. And last, Boyan is a hardworking medical student and he believes that teleportation is nonsense.
The interrogation was interrupted when they found out the true identity of the landlord. Mr. Chang was a former police officer. He undercover to enter an asylum to arrest Huang Si Lang who kidnapped and tortured school girls. Huang Si Lang was able to avoid punishment by claiming insanity. However, Mr. Chang's superior officer died unexpectedly which is why no one knew that he was still undercover in asylum. Mr. Chang experienced torture by the staffs that broke his mind. Huang Si Lang gave keys of the building where he tortured girl students including Mr. Chang's daughter Ying Ru. The wife of his former superior found the files of Mr. Chang, and she helped him to release him from the asylum. After he was released, he left the police office and went to the building. He began accepting tenants there. He also used the building to take revenge to staffs who tortured him in the asylum.
My review of this movie is 8.5/10. I like the twist of the story. Honestly, I am not a fan of horror movies. I hate them. I actually cannot stand to watch it at first but the way the story was executed kept me to stay watching it. However, until now I still remember some scenes. Damn. I regret why I watched it.
The actor is effective in portraying Mr. Chang. He really looks like a lunatic, not a trying-hard actor, that he could do crazy things to his tenants. At the end of the story, I understood where his feelings are coming from. And I hate those staffs. The way he was tortured in the asylum can break anyone's mind. I feel pity for him. I still wonder if there are people like that in reality.
In addition, I am wondering why movies of Giddens Ko are liberating.
Imdb: 5.2/10
Google Users: 74% liked this movie
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