This director is vindictive.

Chapter 92 This director is good, he gives benefits at the beginning
There are actually many reasons why unpopular schedules are caused.

The most crucial reason is that most movies with high expectations are unwilling to be released during unpopular periods, and the audience is also accustomed to the fact that there are no good movies to watch during this period, so most theaters are deserted during unpopular periods.

Although "The Shallows" is not a big production, it is eye-catching enough in this period.

The director is Chen Mo, a new and famous director who just created the box office myth of "Love Is Not Blind", and the heroine Yang Mi is a popular young actress.

More importantly, this type of movie has a large audience, and it is really rare for a big star like Yang Mi to star in a sexy movie.

Coupled with the powerful publicity, it is full of gimmicks and attractive enough, which has created this popular situation.

However, whether this hot situation can continue is still an unknown. After all, it is impossible for a movie to really rely solely on selling nudity and sexy shows to sell big box office.

This can be used to attract movie tickets from the audience in the beginning, but the subsequent performance will depend on the quality of the movie.

But anyway, this start is good enough.

In fact, the promotion of "The Shallows" is only about sexiness. There are also many details about beautiful women fighting sharks, such as using earrings and necklaces to suture wounds.

Unfortunately, this first audience obviously didn't care about these things at all.

However, the overwhelming publicity for "The Shallows" and the spontaneous publicity by the cinemas, which focused on Yang Mi's sexiness and wet temptation, made many filmmakers and critics in the industry quite disdainful of the film.

In the eyes of many of them, this is most likely another typical domestic horror film like "Far Cry" that is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Zhou Xiaobin is a columnist and film critic for Douban.com. He was invited to attend a special screening of "The Shallows" for film critics and media professionals.

However, when Zhou Xiaobin arrived at the cinema and saw the promotional poster of "The Shallows" placed in the most conspicuous position, he couldn't help but frown.

There's no other reason. As a film critic, he has seen too many promotional methods for domestic horror films. At this moment, "The Shallows" can be said to be no different from other domestic horror films except that the poster is better-looking, Yang Mi is more famous, and has a hotter figure.

"It's a typical movie that is a wolf in sheep's clothing. I really don't understand where they got the confidence to invite people like us to watch this movie?" Zhou Xiaobin couldn't help but shook his head at the two companions beside him.

Dou Qing, a full-time film critic from the Penguin Entertainment section, smiled and shook his head, saying, "I haven't even seen the movie yet. Isn't it unfair for you to make a final judgment, Old Zhou?"

"Is it worth watching this? Using such low-level means to promote and hype the film, if the quality is good, is it necessary to do this? And look at these audiences, are they watching this movie just for the movie? Aren't they all there to see Yang Mi and her body?" Zhou Xiaobin said to the crowd queuing for ticket checking.

I just heard people talking about something like, "I heard Yang Mi's scenes in this are even more extreme than in Far Cry."

"Is it true? I'll have to take a closer look!"

"hey-hey."

"hey-hey!"

Zhou Xiaobin, Dou Qing, and Bai Yue from Sohu Entertainment all looked at each other in surprise.

Zhou Xiaobin spread his hands.

At this time, Bai Yue, a full-time film critic for Sohu, lamented, "Our domestic film market is not doing well right now. More and more people are focusing on publicity and gimmicks, while ignoring the essence of film. The fact that so many bad films still sell well at the box office shows this."

"Who says it's not? When Love Is Not Blind was released, who could have thought that it could get more than 33 million at the box office? But that movie at least had something good. But this movie was full of scandals and vulgar publicity at the beginning. If the movie is really good, is it necessary to do that?" Zhou Xiaobin nodded.

"Take out all the current domestic horror films, and you will find that they are all bad! Otherwise, why are mainstream directors unwilling to make them?" Bai Yue also nodded.

Dou Qing, on the other hand, still had a slight favorable impression of Chen Mo: "That's not the case. Since his debut, Chen Mo has made two films. Mr. Vampire was an online movie, but that was only because online movie censorship was more relaxed. Love Is Not Blind was able to set off a trend of heartbreak culture, and the sharp lines in it played an indispensable role. You should watch the movie first. It's not professional to form preconceived ideas without watching the movie."

Soon, they checked their tickets and entered.

However, as soon as they entered, they were a little surprised, because the large screening room that could accommodate 500 people was almost full at this moment.

Even the front row was occupied.

"So many people?" Zhou Xiaobin was a little surprised.

"A large part of them should be ordinary audiences." Bai Yue said after looking around.

"Isn't this too exaggerated? There are so many people at the midnight show? Is it true that the pre-sale is full?" Dou Qing couldn't help but say.

"It must be true, otherwise the cinema wouldn't sell tickets for this show, and it's a 3D show." Bai Yue nodded.

After Zhou Xiaobin and the other two sat down, they all took out their lunch boxes, notebooks and pens.

This scene immediately attracted the attention of Wang Tao, who was standing nearby. He asked curiously, "Are you film critics?"

"Yes, I'm a columnist for Douban. Did you buy a ticket to get in?" Zhou Xiaobin nodded and asked.

"Yes!" Wang Tao nodded.

"Can I ask why you came to see this movie?" Zhou Xiaobin became interested.

"Hehe, of course I came here for Yang Mi. We are all men, and those who understand will understand." Wang Tao didn't feel embarrassed at all, but blinked his eyes.

Zhou Xiaobin turned his head and looked at Bai Yue.

This also made Zhou Xiaobin and the others feel even worse about the movie.

Finally the lights dimmed and the movie officially began.

After the movie opening, a huge shark head at the beginning scared everyone.

In fact, "The Shallows" is not completely 3D, but this shot is indeed a completely 3D shot.

"Poof! Holy crap! My Coke!"

"This shark is so realistic, so bloodthirsty, it scared me. No, I came here to see Yang Mi. How can a shark be so lifelike? Is this movie for real?"

"I originally thought the shark was just a gimmick, but I didn't expect it to actually exist. What a pleasant surprise!"

"Just for this opening, the ticket is worth it. Which domestic horror movie has such special effects?"

The audience was shocked by this shot, including film critics such as Zhou Xiaobin. It’s not that this shot was so scary, the main reason was that they were completely unprepared.

However, one shot cannot explain everything, but it did surprise Zhou Xiaobin, who had a preconceived bad impression of this movie.

"How is it? Is this shot okay?" Dou Qing, who always adheres to the principle of not jumping to conclusions before seeing it, asked with a smile.

"This is just the beginning. Maybe this is the most outstanding shot in this movie?" Zhou Xiaobin said stubbornly.

The plot of the movie begins quickly, and the heroine played by Yang Mi appears.

The scene suddenly became quiet, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the big screen.

After all, the vast majority of ordinary audiences at the scene came for this, not for the sharks.

The famous scene from "The Shallows" did not disappoint the LSPs. The heroine played by Yang Mi began to take off her clothes and put on a surfing suit.

Her youthful beauty and curvy S-shaped figure caught the attention of many male compatriots, and their eyes were fixed on the big screen.

When the big screen started giving all-around close-up shots of Yang Mi's front and back, all the male compatriots couldn't take their eyes off her.

Even film critics like Zhou Xiaobin are the same, not to mention Wang Tao.

He didn't know how many times he swallowed.

However, what is even more amazing is that when the heroine played by Yang Mi pulled the zipper of her surfing jacket, it was too tight and she couldn't pull it up, and it almost got stuck on her flesh to form a perfect arc, the sound of "gurgling" swallowing saliva could be heard from time to time in the quiet screening room.

Zhou Xiaobin also swallowed his saliva, then he looked around awkwardly, luckily no one noticed.

However, although he still secretly criticized these shots that showed off the body and sexiness, his body was very honest. Even he had to admit that these shots taken by Chen Mo were really something. At least, they showed off Yang Mi's most eye-catching figure to the fullest.

In fact, this shot can definitely be said to be a bonus at the beginning.

The whole process, from undressing, stretching, applying sunscreen, putting on surfing clothes to entering the water, lasts for two minutes. You can say that there is no plot in these two minutes, and you can say that these two minutes do not seem to have any role in promoting the plot, but you have to admit that in these two minutes, the camera shows the perfect figure of a young and beautiful girl from all angles.

At least, every one of the audience, especially the male audience, was watching intently.

Zhou Xiaobin and the other two looked at each other in bewilderment. Chen Mo's "The Shallows" was really too crazy. Even among domestic horror films, they didn't do it this way. It did nothing at the beginning and just showed off the actress's figure.

But judging from the reactions of other audience members, including themselves, they had to admit that this segment was indeed very attractive.

The story continues.

Chen Mo dares to say that this movie is made specifically for male compatriots, and this can be said to be fully demonstrated in the following shots.

The heroine swam and surfed for about seven or eight minutes, and the camera followed her closely, not missing any opportunity to show off her figure!

It's easy to think that this is not a horror movie, but a beauty photo album.

Zhou Xiaobin rudely wrote in his notebook: "The setup is too long, and the opening is all about showing off the body!"

At that moment, a shadow suddenly appeared on the seabed, causing the audience, who had been admiring Da Mimi's graceful figure, to tense up. Film critics like Zhou Xiaobin couldn't help but sit up straight, but it turned out to be a false alarm: it was just a group of passing dolphins!

Of course, don’t underestimate this shot. As a film critic, Zhou Xiaobin is actually looking forward to it at this moment.

Because anyone who has seen a horror movie can actually realize that this kind of "crying wolf" scene is a very common routine in such movies, and the appearance of this scene also means that the real "shark" should be appearing soon.

Of course, this kind of shot still needs to give a reasonable reason for "crying wolf" to deceive the audience again.

Then a huge whale carcass floated on the sea, and the huge shadow under Yang Mi was successfully made to appear to the audience as an intentional attempt to create an atmosphere.

The second wave of "The Wolf is Coming" has appeared.

It was obvious that ordinary audiences were deceived, but as professional film critics, Zhou Xiaobin and the other two sat upright, staring at the big screen. At this moment, even Zhou Xiaobin forgot all his disdain for the movie when he first came.

Because he suddenly discovered that the long shots at the beginning of "The Shallows", including the first shot showing the graceful figure of the heroine, were actually paving the way for the appearance of the shark later.

Simply put, just like the first shot, why are the audiences frightened? Because they are not prepared at all.

By the same token, letting everyone immerse themselves in the beauty of the heroine's perfect and sexy body will naturally make everyone relax their guard.

Sure enough, this time, when everyone thought it was just another false alarm, the shark actually appeared.

The shark really came, bit the heroine's thigh and dragged her into the sea.

In an instant, the sea water was dyed scarlet. In the scarlet sea water, Yang Mi screamed in panic and danced wildly with her limbs.

At this time, sexiness becomes worthless in front of sharks!
"What the hell, what the hell, what the hell! I was so scared. There really is a shark?"

"Fuck, that was horrible! That scene just now was like what happens in horror movies right before someone gets killed by a ghost!"

"Yes, yes, yes, he was suddenly dragged down, and then the blood dyed the sea red. It felt exactly like that!"

"Fuck! I thought the shark was just a gimmick and was so focused on admiring Yang Mi's figure that I almost died of fright! I just remembered this was a horror movie. I had been watching it as a scenic piece!"

"From the beginning of this movie, who the hell could have guessed it was a horror film? I was just drooling, I wasn't prepared at all!"

"I thought it was just like any other domestic horror movie, a false alarm that lasted until the very end, but who could have imagined it would actually happen! Holy crap!"

Many viewers were not prepared, mainly because the previous scene was too bright. It was completely different from the horror movies that everyone is familiar with, which use gloomy weather, lighting, etc. to create a scary atmosphere. This movie started with blue sky and white clouds, and beauties on the beach, so the audience never thought that a shark would really appear at this time.

So the effect is indeed good enough!

Zhou Xiaobin and the other two were also quite frightened, but compared to other spectators, they were somewhat mentally prepared.

At this moment, Zhou Xiaobin was writing quickly in a notebook.

The difference is that this time his face is full of excitement and anticipation, because although the movie has only just reached this point, it is already enough to make him take notice.

The most crucial reason was that his original expectations for the film were too low, but in the end the film gave him a pleasant surprise.

Dou Qing also wrote in the notebook: "Sunshine, beach, beautiful women, make people feel happy and calm. The sudden change in style and the appearance of sharks create a strong contrast, making the audience look forward to the next plot even more!"

In fact, as Dou Qing said, a shark appeared and the beauty was bitten, so what happened next?

Next, the heroine certainly couldn't be killed by the shark in one bite. She escaped from the shark's mouth and landed on a reef!
However, there was a hideous wound on his foot caused by a shark bite. The wound was very deep and blood kept flowing out, which made people gasp when they saw it.

But she was wearing such light clothing, what should she do? How could she stop the bleeding?

Next comes another famous scene from the movie.

She actually used her earrings and necklace to sew herself up.

Although whether this thing is reliable or not is unknown to everyone unless you are a professional, it makes people feel painful just by looking at it.

"Fuck, is this so perverted? Using earrings and necklaces to sew up wounds?"

"Nah, even a battlefield doctor wouldn't dare to be so exaggerated, let alone a medical student."

"No, this is using seawater for disinfection? What the hell is that? Fighting poison with poison?"

"Simple, this is like rubbing salt into the wound! Literally!"

"Hiss! Good fellow, absolutely great fellow, I came here to see the beauty's figure, you want to show me a beautiful woman being tortured?"

“It hurts to watch, but I love watching it!”

"Sharks don't know how to be gentle with women! They actually eat such a beautiful woman?"

"Stupid, all beings are equal in front of sharks, right? Brother Shark is awesome!"

"Oh my god, I don't even dare to go to the ocean in the summer. Damn, I'm already traumatized!"

Why do many horror movies always use beautiful women as victims? I have to say that there is a reason for this.

Deep down in their hearts, many people have a desire to destroy, a desire to destroy beautiful things.

It's just that it's usually hidden.

The scene before him was obviously extremely effective, and it could be said to be one thing after another.

Mr. Liu's performance was also a very interesting episode. The audience who recognized Liu Kaiwei were a little surprised that he could play the perverted and disgusting man so vividly.

The movie changed from the previous harmonious scenes of sunshine, beaches and beauties to a tense and exciting one.

As night falls, the sea tide begins to rise, and the heroine doesn't have much time left.

Once the sea water floods the reef, she will not be able to escape the shark's mouth!
As the moon set and the sun rose, the two surfing friends who appeared at the beginning were also ruthlessly swallowed by the shark, and Yang Mi had to start her last fight.

This is also a point to watch: how does an unarmed woman, or an injured woman, deal with the big shark?
Of course, you need to use tools.

She passed through a gathering area of ​​jellyfish and came to a nearby floating tower. After a thrilling fight, she finally killed the shark using the steel bars fixed at the bottom of the floating tower.

The beautiful girl finally defeated the giant shark, and everything was settled.

As the huge impact sound echoed in the theater's screening room, the other protagonist of the movie, a shark, hit the seabed heavily and was stabbed to death!
Although the plot is a bit outrageous, it finally has an ending.

Compared with the first half, it is obvious that the second half begins to follow the traditional routine of this type of film after Yang Mi's earrings and necklace suture the wound.

But among domestic horror films, this is already considered good enough.

After all, there are already so many things to watch, and at least the whole plot has quite a few surprises, and the plot is not messed up, which is enough.

This is what film critics such as Zhou Xiaobin are thinking at this moment.

This movie may not be so outstanding among all the movies, but among horror movies, especially domestic horror movies, it is definitely amazing!

Yes, Zhou Xiaobin, who was the least optimistic about this movie, used the adjective "stunning".

It's really like picking a general out of a group of short people. At this stage, there is really no qualified domestic thriller or horror film.

The top spot in the class was still "Far Cry" starring Yang Mi. What else can you ask for?
"It's unexpectedly good! I thought I was here just for Yang Mi's figure, so I was too embarrassed to bring my girlfriend here. I didn't expect it to be so beautiful! No doubt, I have to bring my girlfriend to see it! Hehe!"

"Director Chen Mo is pretty good. He gave the right amount of bonuses, and the movie wasn't full of gimmicks. From the moment Yang Mi got bit by the shark, the story was thrilling all the way through, and the ending was also very reasonable. It could easily outshine other domestic horror films!"

"Compared to the various screams in Far Cry, this movie at least made me nervous. The sharks scared me twice! Not bad, not bad!"

"This director is really good. He starts by giving out benefits and then starts to scare people. Tsk tsk, I'm looking forward to bringing my girlfriend to watch this scene."

"Tomorrow's midnight show, I'll bring my girlfriend to watch it, and then hehe!"

Listening to the noisy discussions, Dou Qing couldn't help but smile and asked Zhou Xiaobin, "Old Zhou, how are things going? How are you now? Have you changed?"

"Overall, it's okay. I admit I had a preconceived notion at first, but this Chen Mo does have something special. The first part seemed like a bonus for the audience, but it actually laid the groundwork. Although the second half was a bit mediocre, overall, if I were to give it a grade, it's above the passing line!"

"Is this above the passing line? Your requirements are too high, aren't they? Looking at the current domestic horror films, I think this one deserves at least one point more. I'll give it 8 points!" Dou Qing shook his head.

"Old Bai, what do you think?" They both looked at Bai Yue again.

"There are many selling points. Look at the beauty in the front and the shark in the back. Chen Mo is really good at photographing women, and the stitching of the earrings and necklace in the back is also a big selling point. Let's not talk about the ratings for now. I'm afraid this movie will be a box office hit!" Bai Yue analyzed.

"Indeed, there has always been a large audience for horror films, but due to the domestic environment, many people who want to watch them have nowhere to watch them. In addition, domestic horror films are often borderline and poorly made. Suddenly, a domestic horror film that is shot seriously and tells a serious story appears, so it is reasonable that it will be a big hit at the box office." Zhou Xiaobin said.

"Guess how much this movie will earn at the box office?"

"Far Cry made 90 million, and this one has even more selling points. If the promotion is done well, it will easily break 100 million!"

"Tsk tsk, this Chen Mo is really amazing. He just achieved his box office success not long ago, and now he's about to break another record!"

(End of this chapter)