Reviewed by: Inner Strength Date: 08/24/2002 Summary: Pretty good This film is without a doubt one of the strangest I have ever seen. However, strange can be good…and this is an example of that. The film is divided into 3 short stories, each very different from the next, but all about ghosts. The one thing that did impress me the most was the camera work, in fact possibly the highlight of the film itself. The stories themselves were also pretty good, except the second one (with Anita Yuen) which was a little uninteresting in comparison to the other two. Speaking of which, apart from Anita Yuen, most of the acting was very good in this. I don’t know Anita Yuen started to loose her appeal to me in the mid to late nineties, because she always started off looking to be a good actress, but somehow seemed to lose that (I see I’m not the only one to have noticed this, as another reviewer has mentioned this too I have just spotted). Story 1 - 'Coma' is about a singer (Anthony Wong) who falls into a coma, and a nurse (Veronica Yip) is able to see his spirit. Her portrail of a nurse is unintentionally hilarious though, and it's hard to believe her character sometimes. The story itself it supposed to be loosly based on the real singer Danny Chan, who really did die after being in a coma for a long time. Anyway, unlike the real story, Veronica's character discovers things about his spirit and is eventually able to bring him back from the afterlife. Story 2 - 'Braided Maiden' is based around a college, where Anita Yuen (supposed to be a student!?) plays a character who discovers a spirit in the college where she studies. Her friends distance themselves from her thinking she is mad for taking a "joke" too far, and has to deal with things on her own. Very over the top most of the time, but the story is very poor compared to the first. Story 3 - 'Photo Finish' is again supposed to be based on a "true" story. Two Cops (Tsui Kam-kong and Jordan Chan) are in a lonely road area on the look out for speeding drivers. But when their speed gun goes off, with no car, they are very confused by the fact they only see an old lady, who is really a spirit. Maybe not the most original sounding story again, but it's entertaining. For horror/ghost films, and there are a lot of them in HK after all, this is probably one of the best I ever saw, and it’s the kind of film that I will probably continue to come back to again in the future. Very dark and special lighting are plenty too, trying to make it have a spooky atmosphere at times, but it's still not quite convincing I must say. I think my rating is perhaps slightly generous, but anything less would be wrong I think. Overall for this genre, I would recommend this. Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: hchiu Date: 12/14/2000 Summary: Did "BWP" Ripoff "1am"? 3 short stories that are more creepy than scary. Plot wise they are very weak but the dialogue and acting made it worthwhile. The first story of the coma patient with Veronica Yip was good becaue of Veronica Yip. The 3rd story was ok. The 2nd story about the urban legend is the gem of the lot which compelled me to write this review. If you had seen the Blair Witch Project then you might wonder if BWP had used the idea from this movie because there are striking similarities. In 1am, the tone of realism is set in the beginning where Anita Yuen speaks into her recorder directly toward the audience trying to convince the audience that the urban legend she encountered was indeed real as she sits in a wheel chair with a broken leg, an evidence of her encounter. That same tone is set in the BWP using interviews with the locals telling their version of the "Blair Witch Legend". Anita Yuen, a psychology student, is talking into a recorder as the event unfolds drawing the audience into her nightmare. In BWP, the student filmmaker is talking into a video camera to draw the audience in. Those devices might very well be Hitchcook but the storyline is too similar. In 1am, Anita Yuen was cute and charming whereas the characters in BWP were very annoying which made most of the BWP more irritating than scary. 1am is definitely a must-see for horror fans. Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: jfierro Date: 12/21/1999 Imagine three scary stories starring first-rate actors. OK, now take away all the scary parts and you have this movie. It looks like the filmmakers spent all their time and money securing the four main stars and forgot to write a script. Other than some spirited performances by Veronica Yip, Jordan Chan, and Tsui Kam-Kong, there is nothing to recommend in this film. Anita Yuen continues to disappoint.

Reviewed by: shelly Date: 12/09/1999 Three mild ghost stories, all set in Hong Kong at variouslocations, all based to a certain extent on "real" stories, and all taking place at 1:00 AM. Veronica Yip, as a spunky nurse in a haunted hospital, made the first story watchable. But then things began seriously to drag, through 2) Anita Yuen as a stranded motorist, and 3) Jordan Chan and Tsui Kam-Kong as befuddled traffic cops. Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/08/1999 Three 'urban-legend ghost stories' set in HK. Despite the title, not all happened precisely at 1.00 AM. The stories were meant to be humorous rather than scary. Mildly entertaining film due to efforts of the stars. First story (Coma patient) - A reluctant night-duty nurse (Veronica Yip) tried to help a 'snarled' soul. Veronica is quite good but the rest of the characters weren't very interesting. Second story (Pony-tail girl) - Fong Siu-Yen (Anita Yuen), a marginal psychologist student was challenged to interview a ghost. The highlight of the story is Anita's extended monologue to a tape-recorder and her uncooperative car. (The objects actually serve as characters in this sparsely populated story). This is the only story of the lot with some success of blending humour with suspense (but not much). Third story (Speeding camera) - Traffic cop Jordan Chan and his senior partner Tsui Kam Kong were the crew of a remotely located speed camera which took 'ghostly' photographs. The duo have good chemistry together as a comic team. However, two burly men with a somewhat benign ghost is even less likely to scare than the first two stories. Rating: In order of stories: (5.0+6.0+5.5)/3 = 5.5 (5.5/10) [Reviewed by Christopher Fu]