Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction… and sometimes nobody actually knows what the truth is!
Hong Kong cinema has always had a knack for taking a simple idea and turning it into something completely bonkers, and Unidentified Murder is a great example of that tradition. Directed by Ka Hei Kwok and Jack Chun-Kit Lee, this wonderfully offbeat comedy mystery mixes UFOs, murder, social media, scams and a 25-year-old missing-person case into one increasingly chaotic night.
The story begins with the mysterious disappearance of a young boy 25 years earlier. His two childhood friends claimed they witnessed him being taken by aliens, turning the incident into a local UFO legend. Fast forward to the present and the story has become perfect material for online content, with an influencer couple deciding to stage their own prank around the old case.
Of course, things don’t quite go according to plan. What starts as a harmless attempt to generate clicks and views quickly spirals into something much darker, involving blackmail, a potential murder and a whole lot of people who aren’t necessarily telling the truth. And just when you think you’ve worked out what’s happening, the film goes back and shows events from another character’s perspective.
And then it does it again!
What I particularly enjoyed is how Unidentified Murder manages to have some fun with the world we live in today. Influencers chasing likes, people believing everything they see online and the obsession with true crime and UFO stories all get thrown into the mix. Rather than delivering a heavy-handed message, the film simply lets the madness play out and allows us to question what we’re actually watching.
Considering the budget, Unidentified Murder is an impressive achievement. Directors Ka Hei Kwok and Jack Chun-Kit Lee show that you don’t need millions thrown at the screen to make an entertaining Hong Kong movie. Instead, they’ve concentrated on the story, the characters and keeping us guessing, and it clearly paid off.
The film has already picked up Best Screenplay from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society and the White Mulberry Award for Best Debut Film at the Far East Film Festival, recognition that shows there is plenty more going on here than its deliberately crazy premise might suggest.
It’s funny, it’s unpredictable and completely happy to embrace its own ridiculousness. More importantly, it feels like the sort of inventive, slightly mad Hong Kong film that fans of the territory’s cinema have been crying out for.
If you enjoy your Hong Kong cinema with a healthy dose of black comedy, mystery and twists that keep changing the story, this is definitely one to seek out while it’s in cinemas.
Unidentified Murder is now playing in UK cinemas.
Eastern Film Fans Rating: 4/5
A clever, chaotic and very entertaining slice of modern Hong Kong cinema. Don’t believe everything you see… especially when aliens are involved! 👽🔪
