163. The Film Festival Opens!

Late at night, emboldened by alcohol, Jia Wenbin finally finished watching "The Crying".

He never usually eats or drinks while watching movies, but who knew that Jia Wenbin never thought a movie could really scare him?

Even at the very end, as the simple credits rolled and photos and videos of the actual demolition site of Nanhua Private Renji Hospital appeared, Jia Wenbin still felt a sense of unreality.

Although the ending is a bit far-fetched, it feels so real, as if something might be lurking under the bed or in the closet.

Moreover, besides the suggestive scenes and horrifying visuals, the most terrifying aspect of this film is that it presents the ugliest side of human nature.

Is the real culprit the monster that can turn the dead into Walking Corpses?

No, the real culprit is the hospital director, the doctor who wanted to break the taboo.

It's fair to say that even without monsters, these people would likely have used other means to achieve their goals.

But if he asked himself honestly, if he didn't know the true consequences of this monster, and if he were in that position, possessing the technology to bring people back to life, Jia Wenbin wasn't sure if he would have done the same thing.

What is most frightening is always the human heart.

After a moment of sighing, Jia Wenbin reached out to pick up his wine glass.

He found that his hands were trembling slightly.

Only by pressing his left hand down with his right hand was Jia Wenbin able to drink the last bit of wine in his glass.

"This movie doesn't have anything particularly noteworthy in terms of plot arrangement alone, but its strength lies in the filming techniques, special effects, and atmosphere creation. It is an excellent work in the horror genre."

Having directed commercial films, Jia Wenbin doesn't possess the arrogance of an old-school filmmaker. He understands very well that there's only one standard for evaluating horror films: whether they're scary or not. If they're scary, they're good films.

Lu Ban's "Crying" is undoubtedly a very good horror film.

"It looks like this year's film festival awards are going to produce a dark horse."

For some reason, Jia Wenbin felt a sense of schadenfreude when he thought about the reactions of his colleagues and students when they saw the movie.

The Yannan University Student Film Festival, a ten-day event, opened on November 20th.

Several cinemas in Yannan will screen the film festival's entries and nominated works in rotation. Due to the special nature of these works, many independent films and student films will earn higher revenues than regular theatrical screenings, with returns reaching up to 40%.

Among them, the most anticipated work is undoubtedly "The Short Spring Nights". The director of this film, Lin Mo, is only 25 years old this year. His graduation project film "Wonderful Weekend" won the Gold Award for College Student Film at the Yannan University Student Film Festival that year. Later, he shot some commercials and short dramas. This year, he brings a big-screen movie.

This film also resonates with college students and young people. It tells the story of several friends from college who encounter various setbacks, decline, confusion, and despair after graduation, giving it a sentimental literary feel.

As for Lu Ban's "Crying," although it was mentioned in "Movie Report" before, it is a relatively professional industry magazine, and ordinary viewers don't know much about it. Those viewers who don't pay attention to online movies or watch Old Days Video Network often have a very shallow impression of Lu Ban.

The 20th, the first day of screenings.

According to the rules, movies of the same genre are shown in rotation, and the screening schedules of several movies are basically the same, with no difference.

The first scene of "The Crying" was scheduled for 9:10 PM.

This is a somewhat awkward time, because a movie ends around 11 p. m., most shopping malls are closed, and the subway is almost running its last train, which leads more people to choose the 8 p. m. showing.

Of course, there are some exceptions.

For example, Bai Qiquan from Yannan University of Technology, along with his girlfriend Pang Zhen, originally planned to buy tickets for the 8 o'clock performance of "College Entrance Examination! College Entrance Examination! College Entrance Examination!", but they didn't expect that the competition for tickets on the first day was so fierce, and there were even scalpers entering the venue, which resulted in him not being able to buy any.

After some discussion, the two decided that the only tickets they could get were for the 9 pm showing of "The Crying".

"A horror movie? You're not going to be too scared to go back to your dorm alone, are you?"

Bai Qiquan arrived at the movie theater entrance and joked with his girlfriend.

"Hehe, who was it that held my hand the whole time during the last horror movie, afraid to look at the screen?"

Pang Zhen scoffed.

There were quite a few audience members at the 9 o'clock show; the ticket hall was already filled with many people, mostly young people like them.

It's a horror movie after all, and it's shown at night, so it's only for young people looking for thrills.

"Tickets are being checked."

When it was time, the cinema staff called out, and everyone lined up.

"Do you think we're the only show here at nine o'clock?"

Bai Qiquan looked at the empty corridor ahead and felt a little guilty.

He felt that the movie theater shouldn't be so quiet.

"No way, aren't there still a lot of people waiting over there?"

Pang Zhen pointed to one side.

Bai Qiquan looked over, only to find that there was no one there.

"Where did this person come from?"

He immediately countered with a question.

"There they are, a group of people. Are they from some company? They're all wearing the same clothes. Is it a team building activity?"

Pang Zhen said earnestly.

Bai Qiquan felt a chill run down his spine, as if the people in front of and behind him were looking at him strangely.

At this point, his girlfriend couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"You were lying to me just now?"

Bai Qiquan was somewhat embarrassed.

"Will I have to take you back to your dorm later?"

Pang Zhen laughed heartily.

The two entered the movie theater and sat down. They glanced around and saw that it was full.

After the commercials, the film begins.

Bai Qiquan had seen some horror movies, but this was his first time watching one in a movie theater.

But with so many people watching together, it shouldn't be scary, right?

Bai Qiquan soon realized that he was very wrong.

For example.

For example, when he watches horror movies at home, if he encounters a scary part, he either cuts the scene, watches something else, or even fast-forwards. In any case, he can always avoid some of the scary parts.

But in the movie theater, especially next to his girlfriend, Bai Qiquan couldn't do that.

He could only stare wide-eyed as the nurse in the video walked step by step down the quiet corridor of the hospital.

Subconsciously, Bai Qiquan wanted to tighten his grip on his girlfriend's hand, which he was holding in his right hand.

But then he noticed that she was holding on even tighter.

"No, I need to muster up my courage!"

Bai Qiquan encouraged himself inwardly.

Then he saw the elderly man in the intensive care unit mechanically waving to the viewers on the other side of the camera.

In an instant, a chill surged up from his stomach, and Bai Qiquan felt the hairs on his body stand on end. He wanted to cry out, but his throat felt blocked and he couldn't make a sound. He could only hold his girlfriend's hand tightly.

At this moment, Bai Qiquan was filled with regret, extremely regretful.