Movie-watching is part of many people's list of holiday activities this Spring Festival.

If you expect to get some good laughs in movie theatres this year's Spring Festival, you'll probably be disappointed. Domestic Spring Festival film makers seem to have decided to shake of the image of fun-making and japery, turning instead to horror and thrillers.

Debuting today is horror film: The Matrimony. Starring Leo Lai, Rene Liu, and Fan Bingbing, the film features a triangular relationship between a man and two women, where one of the women turns out to be a ghost and seeks revenge by hiding in the body of the other woman.

Although it's a ghost film, Leo Lai says people can relate the film to their own life as well.

"Somehow we all have secrets that burden our minds. Sometimes you can find the right person to share your secrets with, and you'll feel relieved. But sometimes you choose not to tell others. And it may be those ghostly thoughts that haunt you."

Another domestic highlight is Hong Kong crime thriller Protégé by renowned director Derek Yee, and starring Andy Lau, Daniel Wu, Louis Koo and Zhang Jingchu.

The film, to be screened on St. Valentine's Day, is about an undercover cop who becomes the protégé  of a big drug trafficking boss, gradually becoming confused regarding his true self. The vivid depiction of drug addicts and drug dealers also demonstrates how drugs can destroy one's willpower and dignity. Director Derek Yee spent 8 years collecting materials in Thailand and Cambodia, interviewing police and jailed drug dealers.

"No other Hong Kong film is so close to drugs, and reveals such details about the process of growing drugs and taking drugs. Preparing for the film, I've almost become an investigative reporter."

Veteran actor Andy Lau has changed his mostly positive screen image and portrays a 'big brother' in the underworld of drugs. He says the movie brings out a positive message despite its dark theme.

"Protégé is like a book that writes about a topic and a group of people we're not familiar with. We can draw valuable lessons from it."

Apart from The Matrimony and Protégé, imported films also occupy a big part of the cinema schedule. The latest James Bond movie Casino Royale will continue to be screened. War film Flyboys will debut tomorrow, and North American box office smash hit Night at the Museum will be shown on February 14.
 
(CRI.cn February 8, 2007)