# That Demon Within (魔警)
**That Demon Within** (魔警) is a 2014 Hong Kong psychological action-crime thriller directed by Dante Lam (林超贤), starring [Daniel Wu](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-wu) (吴彦祖) as a dutiful police officer who unknowingly saves the life of a notorious armed robber, played by Nick Cheung (张家辉), and descends into guilt and psychosis as the killer resumes his crimes[1](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within). The film premiered in the Panorama section of the 64th [Berlin International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/berlin-international-film-festival) and opened in Hong Kong on April 17, 2014[1](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within) • [2](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/2014.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Directed by Dante Lam; screenplay by Jack Ng (吴炜伦) and Lam[1](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within) • [3](https://www.screendaily.com/that-demon-within/5066476.article) |
| Leads | Daniel Wu as Constable Dave Wong (王伟业); Nick Cheung as robber Hon Kong (韩江)[1](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within) |
| Running time and rating | 112 minutes; Category IIB in Hong Kong; Cantonese[3](https://www.screendaily.com/that-demon-within/5066476.article) • [2](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/2014.pdf) |
| Premiere | 64th Berlin International Film Festival, 2014, Panorama section[1](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within) |
| Hong Kong release and gross | Opened 17/04/2014; grossed HK$17,395,364 over 42 days[2](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/2014.pdf) |
| Critical scores | 47% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (15 reviews); Metascore 51 on Metacritic (8 reviews)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/that_demon_within) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/that-demon-within/) |
| Awards | Five nominations at the 34th Hong Kong Film Awards; Recommended Film at the 21st Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards[1](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Dave Wong is a conscientious constable stationed at a busy West Kowloon hospital. During a bloody standoff after a diamond robbery, the wounded gang leader Hon Kong staggers into the emergency ward; not recognizing him, Wong donates blood and saves his life[3](https://www.screendaily.com/that-demon-within/5066476.article). Hon recovers, escapes, and returns to killing police officers and civilians, and Wong, wracked with regret, sets out to capture him personally[1](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within).
As Wong pursues Hon, dreams, hallucinations, and flashbacks mount up, and the body count rises among gangsters, family members, policemen, and civilians[3](https://www.screendaily.com/that-demon-within/5066476.article). Hon's crew, the "Gang from Hell," are followers of the Demon King, a figure from [Chinese folklore](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-folklore); they wear demon masks during robberies and hold meetings in the Kowloon Funeral Parlour, and most of its members work day jobs in the funeral industry[3](https://www.screendaily.com/that-demon-within/5066476.article) • [6](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/that-demon-within-movie-review-cinematic-flair-burns-throughout/2014/04/16/c0099ede-c0b3-11e3-bcec-b71ee10e9bc3_story.html). Wong's repressed memories center on a childhood sin involving fire, and the film offers competing explanations for his breakdown: childhood guilt and possible schizophrenia, or a supernatural curse[3](https://www.screendaily.com/that-demon-within/5066476.article) • [6](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/that-demon-within-movie-review-cinematic-flair-burns-throughout/2014/04/16/c0099ede-c0b3-11e3-bcec-b71ee10e9bc3_story.html). Near collapse, Wong resolves to finish Hon and his gang even at the cost of his own life[1](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within).
## Production and inspiration
The film was widely linked in the press to the 2006 case of Tsui Po-ko (徐步高), a Hong Kong policeman implicated in killings of fellow officers, but Dante Lam said the case was an inspiration for exploring why a person goes off the rails rather than a retelling; Daniel Wu said the filmmakers invented a new story from the question of how a policeman becomes deranged, imagining his family background, childhood, and the influence of colleagues[7](https://www.gvm.com.tw/article/26175). The Los Angeles Times described the screenplay as transforming the "irredeemable real-life dirty cop Tsui Po-ko" into the tormented hero Dave Wong[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-that-demon-within-review-20140418-story.html).
Lam made the film immediately after the sunny martial-arts hit *Unbeatable* (2013), returning to a darker register; he called it his most violent and most satisfying work[9](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2014-04-17/23514128764.shtml?from=wap). The key crew included cinematographer Kenny Tse, editor Patrick Tam, and composer Leon Ko, whose score forgoes melody for screeching solos on archaic and traditional instruments[3](https://www.screendaily.com/that-demon-within/5066476.article) • [10](https://screenanarchy.com/2014/04/hkiff-2014-review-that-demon-within-has-problems-throughout.html). Production companies included Emperor Film Production and Sil-Metropole Organisation[3](https://www.screendaily.com/that-demon-within/5066476.article).
## Release and box office
The film world-premiered at the Berlinale in February 2014 and was the closing film of the 38th Hong Kong International Film Festival[1](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within). It opened in Hong Kong on April 17, 2014, taking about HK$1.3 million on its first day to lead the daily box office ahead of *Captain America: The Winter Soldier*[11](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/news/NF1404214504/). Over the four-day Easter holiday (April 18 to 21) it earned HK$7,792,000, the top film of the holiday, for a cumulative HK$9,232,959 by April 22[12](https://mpia.org.hk/upload/file/00182/2014%E5%B9%B4%E5%BE%A9%E6%B4%BB%E7%AF%80%E9%9B%BB%E5%BD%B1%E7%A5%A8%E6%88%BF%E7%B0%A1%E5%A0%B1.pdf); its final Hong Kong gross was HK$17,395,364[2](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/2014.pdf). It opened in mainland China on April 18, 2014, and Lam reported in an interview that its mainland box office exceeded 100 million RMB[13](https://tw.news.yahoo.com/y-%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E6%89%BE%E6%8C%91%E6%88%B0%E7%B5%A6%E8%87%AA%E5%B7%B1-%E9%AD%94%E8%AD%A6-%E5%B0%8E%E6%BC%94%E6%9E%97%E8%B6%85%E8%B3%A2%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-084644525.html). China Lion Film released it in the United States on April 18, 2014, day-and-date with the Hong Kong release[14](https://www.laemmle.com/film/demon-within).
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film scored 47 percent among 15 critics, with an audience score of 40 percent[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/that_demon_within); its Metacritic Metascore was 51, based on 8 reviews[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/that-demon-within/). The New York Times's Nicolas Rapold called it "pulp done with passion" from "the veteran Hong Kong filmmaker Dante Lam"[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/that_demon_within). Variety's Maggie Lee called it Lam's darkest work to date, in which violence is "not just graphic but ugly"[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/that-demon-within/). More negative reviews included the Los Angeles Times, which faulted the film for reducing mental illness to "pedestrian psychobabble"[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-that-demon-within-review-20140418-story.html), and ScreenAnarchy, which found the plotting loose and the script increasingly preposterous despite a spirited performance from Wu[10](https://screenanarchy.com/2014/04/hkiff-2014-review-that-demon-within-has-problems-throughout.html).
In Hong Kong the film earned five nominations at the 34th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2015: Best Director (Lam), Best Actor (Wu), Best Film Editing (Patrick Tam and Poon Hung-yan's team credit of 谭家明 and 彭正熙), Best Sound Design, and Best Visual Effects[1](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within). The Hong Kong Film Critics Society named it a Recommended Film and nominated Lam and Ng for Best Screenplay[1](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within).
## Style and themes
Commentators located the film within Lam's long run of police thrillers; between 2008 and 2014 he directed six, from *The Beast Stalker* to *That Demon Within*[15](https://photogstory.com/2017/12/23/%E6%9E%97%E8%B6%85%E8%B3%A2-%E6%88%91%E4%B8%80%E7%9B%B4%E5%9C%A8%E5%B0%8B%E6%89%BE%E7%A9%BA%E9%96%93%E8%BD%89%E8%AE%8A/). Critics noted its heavy use of expressionist imagery: twisted architectural lines, saturated color contrasts in the hallucination scenes, and extensive use of funeral parlors, graveyards, and burial rituals, unusual for a Hong Kong action film[16](https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/346585.html) • [3](https://www.screendaily.com/that-demon-within/5066476.article). The [People's Daily](https://www.edgepedia.org/peoples-daily) overseas edition highlighted the Demon King mask as a cold, violent, stylized image rarely seen in Hong Kong cinema, and read the film as an inquiry into good and evil in which the policeman's pursuit of the demon becomes a descent into demonhood himself[17](https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2014-05/14/content_1427661.htm). A Hong Kong Film Critics Society citation read the film as reflecting Hong Kong identity anxiety, extending Lam's fatalistic worldview into psychological thriller territory[18](https://read01.com/47dREQ.html).
## References
1. [魔警, Emperor Motion Pictures production page](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/that-demon-within)
2. [Hong Kong Film Industry Information Compendium 2014, CreateHK](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/2014.pdf)
3. [That Demon Within review, Screen Daily (Fionnuala Halligan, 2014)](https://www.screendaily.com/that-demon-within/5066476.article)
4. [That Demon Within, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/that_demon_within)
5. [That Demon Within Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/that-demon-within/)
6. ['That Demon Within' movie review, The Washington Post (Mark Jenkins, 2014)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/that-demon-within-movie-review-cinematic-flair-burns-throughout/2014/04/16/c0099ede-c0b3-11e3-bcec-b71ee10e9bc3_story.html)
7. [《魔警》 – 作孽容易贖罪太難, 遠見雜誌](https://www.gvm.com.tw/article/26175)
8. [Review: 'Demon Within' could do without psychobabble, Los Angeles Times (Martin Tsai, 2014)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-that-demon-within-review-20140418-story.html)
9. [《魔警》7种死法50多条人命 挑战重口味, 新浪娱乐 (2014)](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2014-04-17/23514128764.shtml?from=wap)
10. [Hong Kong 2014 Review: THAT DEMON WITHIN Has Problems Throughout, ScreenAnarchy (James Marsh, 2014)](https://screenanarchy.com/2014/04/hkiff-2014-review-that-demon-within-has-problems-throughout.html)
11. [《魔警》金馬奇幻影展口碑爆棚, 開眼電影網 (2014)](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/news/NF1404214504/)
12. [2014年復活節電影票房簡報, 香港票房有限公司](https://mpia.org.hk/upload/file/00182/2014%E5%B9%B4%E5%BE%A9%E6%B4%BB%E7%AF%80%E9%9B%BB%E5%BD%B1%E7%A5%A8%E6%88%BF%E7%B0%A1%E5%A0%B1.pdf)
13. [【Y!專訪】「找挑戰給自己！」《魔警》導演林超賢專訪, Yahoo奇摩新聞 (2014)](https://tw.news.yahoo.com/y-%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E6%89%BE%E6%8C%91%E6%88%B0%E7%B5%A6%E8%87%AA%E5%B7%B1-%E9%AD%94%E8%AD%A6-%E5%B0%8E%E6%BC%94%E6%9E%97%E8%B6%85%E8%B3%A2%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-084644525.html)
14. [That Demon Within, Laemmle Theatres](https://www.laemmle.com/film/demon-within)
15. [〖電影人系列之三〗林超賢 我一直在尋找空間轉變, 顯影-PhotogStory (2017)](https://photogstory.com/2017/12/23/%E6%9E%97%E8%B6%85%E8%B3%A2-%E6%88%91%E4%B8%80%E7%9B%B4%E5%9C%A8%E5%B0%8B%E6%89%BE%E7%A9%BA%E9%96%93%E8%BD%89%E8%AE%8A/)
16. [《魔警》：林超賢的暴力美學, 香港獨立媒體 (2014)](https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/346585.html)
17. [警匪游戏 心魔争斗（观影）, 人民日报海外版 (2014)](https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2014-05/14/content_1427661.htm)
18. [權威榜單 | 第21屆香港電影評論學會大獎, 壹讀](https://read01.com/47dREQ.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Action thrillers, 2010s › Crime and vigilante thrillers*
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