2/5 stars English and Chinese are not the only murder victims in this second feature by emerging Hong Kong filmmaker Lee Cheuk-pan. Visually striking yet narratively inept, The Fallen is a twisted and flagrantly unrealistic tale of sex, drugs and gratuitous violence, set around the mayhem engulfing leaders of a powerful international criminal syndicate. The film’s style echoes that of its director’s promising debut, G Affairs ; its manipulation of colour tones, incongruous use of classical music and elliptical storytelling are all seen here. But Lee’s fondness for sensationalism backfires in this production, which, for all its visual flair, fails to engage with its characters’ inexplicable behaviours. More than 20 years after she fled from her drug kingpin father “the Don” (Melvin Wong Kam-sang), long-time drug addict Rain Fuyu (Irene Wan Bik-ha, last seen in 2016’s Love in Late Autumn ) returns to stake her claim to family leadership. She quickly develops a rapport with the 23-year-old Snow Fuyu (Hanna Chan), who believes she is the Don’s illegitimate daughter. Rain also works as a reluctant informant for the police. A power struggle is under way between syndicate elder Vulcan (Eddie Chen, proud of his sloppy command of Mandarin Chinese) and the Don’s “overseas-educated” adopted son Tempest (Kenny Kwan Chi-bun, hamming it up with unintentionally bad English), who has a strange sexual attraction to Rain. Despite her drug-induced hallucinations, the prodigal daughter manages to play both sides – but why would she do that? What ensues is an increasingly confusing tale of crystal meth production and deadly double-crossing that takes us to various corners of Asia. It has all the ingredients in place for a memorable drug-cartel thriller, but The Fallen settles for a tragic, hyperbolic portrait of evil – involving everything from child abuse to incest and necrophilia – that would make the ancient Greeks blush. Peppered with head-scratching scenes in which characters suddenly start having sex with each other for no discernible reason, Lee’s film, scripted by G Affairs assistant director Ray Young Chi-yui, displays another trait first seen in the director’s debut: a disturbing lack of respect for women. In The Fallen , you get the sense those scenes are meant less to serve the plot than to thrill. This would be a camp-movie gem if it were actually fun to watch, but instead the film falls into the abyss that is swallowing much of art-house filmmaking: The Fallen is so eager to shock with its wilful depravity, it often makes no sense. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook