Palace Of The Damned (2013) Movie Review - A Dan's Movie Report Exclusive

Above: New Chinese Theatrical Release Poster of Palace Of The Damned




Greetings valued readers of Dan's Movie Report. Recently, the news broke in regards to the Chinese Horror film Palace of the Damned being released in China on November 17nd. The film is a Co-Production with Ace Studios and Roger Corman with Antony Szeto directing. Antony informed me that the film is being re-edited for the Chinese market, this review is for the original cut of the film which has yet to air in the U.S., hopefully that will change in 2018. Being that this is an initial review of the film, no spoilers will be given.

Reviewing Palace of the Damned is a bit like picking out a style of music that you like. I mean I love heavy metal, the louder the better ha. The film is an odd mixture of a variety of styles, ranging from ethereal Chinese Ghost Story, to action thanks to a sultry JuJu Chan.

The film has just about every element of horror, demonic possession, and tense moments, a bit disjointed, yet it does work in an odd way.The original edit is bloody and visceral, and should play decently at horror fests.

The performances in Palace Of The Damned are decent, with JuJu standing out as her character is devious and subversive. Again, even though there are some bloody scenes, compared to U.S. horror films, Palace of the Damned is a trifle tame. My favorite scene is when Peng Wei (JuJu Chan) finds out that Chan Ju Chi (Yixin Li) is betraying her in writing, um shall we say not a good idea to do this ha! Very brutal! Lessons learned, I am assuming this will never happen in real life to me, or will it hahaha! Check the photo below. Used for promotional purposes only.

Direction From Antony Szeto is good, as is the look of the film, the main issue here is budgetary constraints. On the action film Fist Of The Dragon, even with the smaller budget, the action and tighter story covered up much of the limitations of the minuscule budget. Essentially Palace Of The Damned needed more detailed effects sequences, to make the story 'pop' and stand out.

Katie Savoy leads the U.S. cast in Palace of the Damned, thus the film has English dialogue as well as Chinese. Normally, this can be a bit of a distraction, but this is far better than horrible dubbing. Katie is a wispy good actress, pragmatic in her portrayal of Rebecca, and fits the inquisitive part well.

Overall, Palace Of The Damned is a decent horror film, and should play out to audiences who are tuned into the genre. It will be interesting to see how the theatrical run in China in November pushes the film into the worldwide stage. As for a rating, a 6.5 out of 10. I would say worthy of a definite rent and purchase if you like indie horror. Be prepared for something a bit different.

Palace Of The Damned Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/palaceofthedamned/

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China Article #  http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2017-10-11/doc-ifymrqmq4169811.shtml