The Looming Storm

A security guard is desperately trying to catch a serial killer who spreads terror in the small town where he lives. This is a cold and slow-burning psychological thriller of the kind that is seldom produced in Western countries nowadays, although one recent comparison could be David Finchers Zodiac. The Looming Storm is more about mood and atmosphere than action. Set in the late 1990s, at the advent of great societal change in China, the film uses the tension experienced in many small towns and communities to suggest an explanation of the character's behaviour. As so often in modern Chinese genre film, social commentary is weaved into the very fabric of the narrative.

Dong Yue (b. 1976) studied cinematography at the Bejing Film Academy and has worked as camera operator on a number of films in addition to directing commercials. The Looming Storm is his first feature, and won him the award for Best Artistic Achievement at the Tokyo international film festival in 2017.