Dream Home

Dream Home
Theatrical poster
Traditional	維多利亞壹號
Simplified	维多利亚壹号
Directed by	Pang Ho-cheung
Produced by	Pang Ho-cheung Conroy Chan Josie Ho Subi Liang
Written by	Pang Ho-cheung Derek Tsang Jimmy Wan
Starring	Josie Ho Eason Chan Derek Tsang Lawrence Chou Juno Mak Michelle Ye Norman Chui Wong Ching
Music by	Gabriele Roberto
Cinematography	Yu Lik-wai
Editing by	Wenders Li
Release date(s)	April 23, 2010 (2010-04-23) (Udine) May 13, 2010 (2010-05-13) (Hong Kong)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Cantonese[1]

Dream Home (維多利亞壹號 Wai dor lei ah yut ho, lit. Victoria No. 1)^[2][3] is a 2010 Hong Kong slasher film directed and co-written by Pang Ho-cheung.^[3] The film is the story of Cheng Lai-sheung (Josie Ho) who saves up money to buy her dream home. After the sellers decide to turn her down, she goes into a murderous frenzy.

Dream Home was originally meant to be released in October 2009 in Hong Kong but due to legal disputes between 852 Films and the director. The film premiered in Italy on April 23, 2010 and in Hong Kong on May 13. The film received mixed reviews which focused on whether or not the satirical and horrific scenes worked well together.

Plot summary

In Hong Kong, Cheng Lai-sheung (Josie Ho) works two jobs with the hope of earning enough money to buy her own apartment with a view of the Victoria Harbor.^[2][3]

Cheng eventually saves enough for her dream home when a hike in the stock market makes the owners decide to raise the price. This sends Cheng into a murderous frenzy where she attacks people who live or work in the coveted high-rise towers.^[2]

Production

Dream Home was the first feature production from Josie Ho's film financing and production studio 852 Films.^[4][5] Josie did research and found that horror films were the best selling genre for films which led to the idea of producing one. She was also influenced by the Hong Kong action film The Story of Riki proclaiming that she had "never seen such an outrageous film from Hong Kong before" and thought that "if that could be done, why can't we do the same"?^[6]

Director and writer Pang Ho-cheung worked on the script in 2007.^[5] Pang stated he wanted to write a film about the average Hong Kong citizen facing the local inflated property market.^[7] Pang searched Hong Kong to make sure that no property name matched the one in his film stating that "otherwise, we'd be in real trouble".^[5] He chose to make the story a slasher film saying that he had always loved Hollywood b-movies.^[7] The film was set to start filming March 27, 2009 in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay area.^[7] Pang believed that music and lighting were important in slasher films and hired Wong Kar-wai's regular light man Wong Chi-ming and Italian composer Gabriele Roberto.^[7] Roberto had previously worked with Pang on his film Exodus.^[8] The film includes documentary footage of protesters against the demolition of Queen's Pier in 2007.^[5]

Dream Home finished filming around May 2009.^[9] It was originally set to be released in October 2009 in Hong Kong.^[4] The film was delayed due to legal disputes between the company and director Pang Ho-cheung. Despite the dispute, Pang continued to work on post-production on the film stat that he had not "received any message telling me to stop working on it".^[4] Josie Ho stated that she pushed Pang to make the film more violent and outrageous while Pang wanted the film to be "more violent in a realistic manner".^[6] Dream Home's worldwide rights were bought by Fortissimo Films.^[10]

Release

Dream Home had its world premiere at the Far East Film Festival on April 23, 2010 in Udine, Italy.^[3][11] Two audience members vomited and one fainted during the Udine premiere.^[12] The North American premiere was at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2010.^[13] On July 25, 2010 the film had its Canadian premiere at the Fantasia Festival where the film won the Bronze audience award for "Best Asian Film".^[1][14] The film premiered in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2010 at the London FrightFest Film Festival.^[15]

The film was released in Hong Kong on May 13, 2010.^[3] The film debuted at fourth place at Hong Kong box office earning $171,351 on its first week.^[16] The film ran for six weeks in Hong Kong grossing $378,650 in total.^[17] Variety suggested that the mid-May opening date was "overshadowed by the socko B.O. of Ip Man 2".^[2] Dream Home was shown at the Sitges Film Festival where it won awards for Best Make Up FX (Vitaya Deerattakul and Andrew Lin) and Best Actress (Josie Ho).^[18] Dream Home is set for release in North America by the Independent Film Channel who will release the film theatrically and on video-on-demand in early 2011.^[19] In the United Kingdom, Network DVD have scheduled the film for a Region 2 PAL DVD release on 28 March 2011. .^[20]

Reception

The film received mixed reviews after its festival showings. Variety praised the film, describing it as a "deliciously dark take on the dog-eat-dog Hong Kong housing market...another slickly produced, femme-driven item from local multihyphenate Pang (aka Edmond Pang), with its intricate editing and dash of capitalist critique adding some gloss and a hint of topicality to the blood-soaked proceedings."^[2] After its showing at the Tribeca Film Festival, Salon.com declared it as one of the best films of whole festival.^[21] The Montreal Gazette wrote that the film was "really well done but also really gory".^[22] Screen Daily gave the film a positive review, stating that "with its clever packaging and slasher credentials, the film will be grossing out viewers on the festival circuit and home video markets for some time to come" and that "Josie Ho in the lead role is focused but a bit wooden...Nonetheless Pang's direction is tight and cinematography by Yu Lik-wai is unobtrusively effective."^[23] In New Zealand, 3 News gave the film five stars, calling it "a classy, clever film with an interesting story that is a darkly comic take on Hong Kong’s ever increasing property prices".^[24]

Film Business Asia gave the film a six out of ten rating, writing that the film "starts with a brilliant idea and has some great moments along the way but, as so often, doesn't quite manage to make all the bits cohere as the audience expects."^[3] The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review, finding that the social observation of the film is lost to the "increasingly unrealistic and grotesque splatter material."^[12] Time Out gave the film a three out of six rating, opining that it is "Rendered with tremendous style but with little narrative intrigue, it's a shame that the macabre humour gracing Dream Home's (literally) eye-popping extreme violence doesn’t extend to its portrayal of Cheng’s hardship."^[25] Kim Newman in Empire gave the film three stars out of five stating that "there's an undeniable sense of liberation in the killing frenzy, though some scenes (the asphyxiation of a pregnant woman using a vacuum cleaner attachment) will cross a line for many."^[26]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Dream Home". Fantasia Festival. http://www.fantasiafestival.com/2010/en/films/film_detail.php?id=285. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Hoeij, Boyd von (June 14, 2010). "Dream Home". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117942962.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&nid=2562. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Elley, Derek (May 14, 2010). "Dream Home (維多利亞壹號)". Film Business Asia. http://www.filmbiz.asia/reviews/dream-home. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Chu, Karen (August 31, 2009). "'Dream Home' becomes nightmare". Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/asia/hong-kong/e3i3ece09c4a5f94f5cd706e21120933662. Retrieved September 22, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Wing-sze, Lee (May 7, 2010). "It's a Madhouse" (jpg). South China Morning Post: p. C5. Archived from the original on September 23, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sxVf7QVx. Retrieved September 23, 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Josie the Killer". Time Out. April 28, 2010. http://www.timeout.com.hk/film/features/33930/josie-the-killer.html. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d} Landreth, Jonathan (March 22, 2009). "852 opens with 'Dream Home'". Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/asia/hong-kong/e3i2ded48a3101e540ba6c0dd0d5f07f5bb. Retrieved September 22, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ Pellizzari, Gianmatteo;Morana, Manuela (March 15, 2010). "World Premiere of Dream Home". FareEastFilm.com. http://www.fareastfilm.com/easyne2/LYT.aspx?Code=FEFJ&IDLYT=13308&ST=SQL&SQL=ID_Documento=2429. Retrieved September 23, 2010. 
9. ^ Mak, Clara (May 16, 2009). "Ho tries a new shock tactic". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on September 23, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5sxUo9uD0. Retrieved September 23, 2010. 
10. ^ Shackleton, Liz (May 7, 2009). "Fortissimo Films checks into Pang’s Dream Home". Screen Daily. http://www.screendaily.com/fortissimo-films-checks-into-pangs-dream-home/5000855.article. Retrieved September 23, 2010. 
11. ^ Frater, Patrick (March 16, 2010). "Udine is home to Pang's Dream". Film Business Asia. http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/udine-is-home-to-pangs-dream. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Lee, Maggie (April 29, 2010). "Dream Home -- Film Review". Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/dream-home-film-review-29548. Retrieved October 21, 2010. 
13. ^ "Dream Home". Tribeca Film Festival. http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/dream_home-film31198.html. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
14. ^ Frater, Patrick (July 30, 2010). "Asian films dominate Fantasia awards". Film Business Asia. http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/asian-films-dominate-fantasia-awards. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
15. ^ Frater, Patrick (August 13, 2010). "Dream Home takes up dual residence in UK". Film Business Asia. http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/dream-home-takes-up-dual-residence-in-uk. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
16. ^ "Hong Kong Box Office". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/hongkong/?yr=2010&wk=20&p=new. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
17. ^ "Dream Home". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/intl/?id=_fDREAMHOME01&country=HK&wk=2010W20&id=_fDREAMHOME01&p=.htm. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
18. ^ Frater, Patrick (October 17, 2010). "Asian films score at Sitges". Film Business Asia. http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/asian-films-score-at-sitges. Retrieved October 18, 2010. 
19. ^ Frater, Patrick (October 28, 2010). "Dream Home finds US niche". Film Business Asia. http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/dream-home-finds-us-niche. Retrieved October 28, 2010. 
20. ^ "Dream Home: Network DVD product page". http://www.networkdvd.net/product_info.php?products_id=1323. Retrieved February 16, 2011. 
21. ^ O'Hehir, Andrew. "Best of Tribeca: Killing for a "Dream Home"". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2010/05/04/tff_dream_home. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
22. ^ Ferguson, Liz (July 25, 2010). "Fantasia 2010: Review of Dream Home". Montreal Gazette. http://communities.canada.com/montrealgazette/blogs/thecinefiles/archive/2010/07/25/fantasia-2010-review-of-dream-home.aspx. Retrieved September 23, 2010. 
23. ^ Paquet, Darcy (May 2, 2010). "Dream Home". Screen Daily. http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-latest/dream-home/5013343.article. Retrieved September 23, 2010. 
24. ^ Rutledge, Daniel (August 13, 2010). "Dream Home review". 3 News. http://www.3news.co.nz/Dream-Home-review/tabid/418/articleID/170564/Default.aspx. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
25. ^ Lee, Edmund (May 12, 2010). "Dream Home". Time Out. http://www.timeout.com.hk/film/features/34212/dream-home.html. Retrieved September 23, 2010. 
26. ^ Newman, Kim. "Review of Dream Home". Empire. http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=137015. Retrieved December 29, 2010. 

External links

• Official website
• Dream Home at the Internet Movie Database
• Dream Home at Rotten Tomatoes