I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
Our protagonist is Tom, who has weird kinky fetish for masks. The first glimpse into his bedroom shows his wall adorned with a variety of masks and throughout the film Tom wears them while out and about. He spends his days robbing people's houses with his friend and his nights wearing a mask so he can enjoy anonymous hook-ups with men he meets on apps. One night they break into an apartment to find its occupant, Lars, asleep in his underwear. Tom is intrigued by Lars as he sleeps and the homoerotic painting hanging on his bedroom wall. After leaving the apartment, Tom finds himself obsessing over Lars, and soon begins stalking him. Lars is a lecturer in university and then most of the film is about Tom stalking Lars, breaking into his apartment and just spending time there. When Lars realizes that someone has been stalking him or something, he gets locks changed. When he finds out about Tom, the duo have a very erotic sexual wrestling encounter in a park. Post which when Tom visit Lars at home, they kiss and make love. A storyline that runs parallel to Tom's stalking of Lars, is the recurring appearance of a biker whose face is obscured by his helmet. Tom begins seeing him all over town and desperately tries to find out who the man is. This is the lesser interesting of the two storylines but it helps to increase the tension and suspense that's the backbone of the film.
Although the film does a good job defining who Tom is, it never explains why he came to be so reclusive or his need for anonymity. Or his fascination for masks. But the actor who plays Tom really does a very good job of being this reclusive creep, especially in the moments he's in Lars' apartment alone and getting sexual gratification from the thrill of it. Tom, on the other hand is perfect eye candy, with his perfect chiseled body, handsome face and impressive physique. The film also offers a small, delicate peek at the gay community through its depiction of cruising and informative discussion of history. When Lars and Tom finally come to face to face, what was expected was a more furious and explosive confrontation, but what ends up happening is a very sexually-charged encounter that didn't feel authentic. I believe the idea here was to explore obsession and where it can take you keeping the film of an erotic thriller nature. This may not before everyone given it is atmospheric is nature and creepy at the same time. It plays on various thriller memes and comes up with something completely original. (5/10)
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