net_orders Review of Masquerade Night

Masquerade Night (2021)

Sequel Perhaps More Entertaining Than Original.

[6/10 · 30 October 2022]

Once again it's a cultural clash between hoteliers and undercover police in dealing with a serial killer who is on the hunt in a hotel. For the police, anything goes, since everyone is a suspect when trying to neutralize the murderer and any accomplices; for the hoteliers, customer, er, "guest," privacy is paramount and anything a guest desires hoteliers will strive to provide even if the former seems suspicious. The story line is super loaded with clever red-herring scenes involving 500 guests (talked a lot about, but never entirely on camera) checking in and preparing to attend a New Year's Eve masquerade bash. Perhaps the best (and certainly the most hilarious) scenes have to do with hotelier ingenuity in dealing with a billboard advertisement that is blocking a clear view of the Tokyo Tower from a guest's window. The script is a bit uneven. How the police quickly zero in on a handful of suspects when there are 500 candidates is not entirely clear. The wrap-up, fill-in-the-blank ending seems overly clever and, hence, convoluted. It also includes a mad rush to save an unconscious hotelier (in a complete change of costume) newly targeted to protect the killer's identification (or just jazz things up?). Ending scenes seem to go on and on as well as set things up for another sequel plus the possibility (yet again!) of a future romance between the hotelier and the police detective played by the costars. Direction is okay, but acting can be a bit hammy especially by those playing police characters. There is also a lot of running around for no apparent reason (perhaps some players like to jog indoors?). Cinematography and lighting are fine, but score suffers from the same pretentiousness as in the original movie. Subtitles need some serious editing to increase brevity and reduce flash-by speed. Next trip to Tokyo, I want to stay in this hotel! Viewed at a JICC Virtual J-film event. WILLIAM FLANIGAN.