Asian Film Festival of Dallas 2009 - ‘The Beast Stalker’

In Dante Lam's The Beast Stalker, practically every character's face is weighted down by physical scars and the intense burden of some unforgettable, traumatic event.

Captain Tong (Nicholas Tse) is the intense leader of a strike force out to nab a rarely-seen crime-lord. Ann Gao (Zhang Jingchu) is a prosecuting attorney faced with a moral and ethical dilemma brought on by the crime-lord's activities, while she also deals with the grief of a recent, deeply personal loss. Hung (Nick Cheung) handles kidnappings for the crime-lord's outfit, while caring for his bedridden wife and slowly going blind due to a mysterious injury.

The film begins with an explosive raid which is quickly followed by a car chase where Tong and his men almost catch up to the crime-lord's gang. Their pursuit ends in a gut-wrenching, multiple-car collision; this accident is revisited twice, each time exposing more shocking impacts on the people involved.

After the accident, Tong is conflicted by the agonizing regret and failure he feels due to an incidental shooting; his nose bleeds when he becomes stressed, and he fights to keep his emotions in check at all times. Ann's daughter Ling (the adorable Wong Suet-Yin, who handles the grueling events of the film like a champ) is kidnapped to force the attorney to destroy evidence, and Tong's off-the-record investigation brings him face to face with Hung. Their final confrontations rely more on dramatic intensity than acutely-paced action.

Nominated for 5 Hong Kong Film Awards and winner of 2 (Nick Cheung for Best Actor and Liu Kai-Chi for Best Supporting Actor as Tong's right-hand man), The Beast Stalker is a highly entertaining mix of action and melodrama bolstered by a strong cast and production values.

Information from the festival's website