Netflix Synopsis: A contract killer skilled at staging lethal accidents fears he may be a victim of his own strategy when an accomplice dies in a mysterious mishap. (90 Mins)

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Views: It took me a number of years to get to watch this tense thriller from director Soi Cheang. While I have imported the majority of my collection from Hong Kong, there have just been so many other titles that I'd been dying to get my hands on before this. Thankfully, Accident popped-up on UK Netflix a couple of years ago which gave me the chance to finally see it and I must admit, I was only sorry that I had waited so long. Cheang has been working on the Hong Kong film scene for a number of decades before making his directorial debut in the late 90s, starting as an actor and assistant director on films such as Black Mask, Young And Dangerous 2, Bio-Zombie and a number of Johnnie To productions including Drug War and PTU, and I hadn't really seen much of Cheang's work as a director before I owned his amazing Dog Bite Dog soon after its release. Regardless, it was clear the guy had some talent to show and while I've still to see Shamo, Motorway, and many more of his works, I have went on to enjoy his Monkey King Trilogy and the fantastic SPL 2: A Time For Consequences over the last lot of years. With an intense score from Xavier Jamaux (who has scored a small number of films for Milkyway Productions), and stunning cinematography from Edmond Fung – who incidentally shot Dog Bite Dog and Shamo for Cheang – you can't help but get drawn-in to this intriguing world of Accident, even with its slow-burning pace. Although the film is produced by hugely celebrated director Johnnie To, it's clear that Accident carries the influences of a lot of To's movies, but director Cheang still adds enough darkness that harks back to his earlier films and brings us an often intense, violent, and dark thriller that – in my opinion – is quite underrated. Of course, as a viewer, this means stretching the imagination a little as some of the ideas involved rely on coincidences and chance – but not to a ridiculous degree – and of course at the end of the day, it's just a film after all!

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Louis Koo plays the Brain (literally) of a small but covert team of assassins who get paid to take out people, all while making it look like an accident. It may sound simple, but the team go to some lengths in their planning to pull of some convincing accidents that makes Death from Final Destination seem like a 60's Bond villain. After a brief but brutal car-crash introduction, we get to witness the skills of Koo and his team as a middle-aged business man comes to a 'pane-ful' end. Set in the tight streets of Hong Kong, he gets stuck behind a car with a flat-tyre, which is driven by Michelle Ye – a member of Koo's team. As she fumbles about while blocking the road ahead, the impatient man turns-right only to find himself hit with more obstacles that leave a large material banner draped over his front window. Having soaked some passing people in the process (after driving through a puddle), the man finds himself alone and gets out to remove the signage. He yanks hard on it, breaking the banner from its catch but, at the same time, triggers something that shatters the large window pane just above it. As the heavy shards of glass come crashing down on him, the man looks up in fear with many spectators watching – some of which are the killer team of Koo, Ye, Lam Suet and Stanley Fung Sui Fan. The next murder comes with a bit more focus, as a 'hit' is bought for a wheelchair-bound, old pawn-shop owner by his only son and minder. Its an incredibly tense set-up as Koo relies on timing, heavy rain, and his competent team in order to make it look like an accident. At the same time, we start to see how paranoid Koo is becoming, as certain events that go-on around him almost seem like he is a victim of his own strategies. As the days pass and the team abort time-and-time again, it seems that they might not be able to pull-off this murder as planned anytime soon. But as the heavens open unexpectedly, Koo quickly calls them into action which leads to the intricately planned death of the old man – and then some. I really enjoyed this moment personally, with some incredible and atmospheric night-scenes captured in floods of rain. The film starts to take a turn-for-the-worst, as plans start to go awry and Brain's paranoia kicks-in leading him to believe that he is now under threat, and a victim to someone else's planning. It all leads to one of the films more shocking moments, which shifts viewers to the edge of their seats (if it hasn't already), and keeps them there for the remainder of its running time.

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With so many surprise twists-and-turns to follow, it would be wrong of me to give too much more away, but I can tell you that Accident is most definitely worth the watch. Louis Koo gives a great performance as Brain, (as does everyone else to be honest) and definite offers up a very different character to anything else he was working on that year such as comedies like On His Majesty's Secret Service, All's Well Ends Well 2009, Poker King, and the Derek Yee produced thriller, Overheard. It was great to see Stanley Fung (from the Lucky Stars series) back in such a serious role, and while he has appeared in almost 140 films from the late 1960s, I definitely think this is one of his finest performances that saw him nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards. Although he plays a major part of Koo's team, Fung's character of Uncle is plagued with early on-set dementia which brings a serious amount of disruption to Koo's plans and a bevy of problems for all involved. Johnnie To regular and prolific Hong Kong actor Lam Suet also appears, delivering another memorable role which was one of his seven performances of the year alongside films like Storm Warriors, Shinjuku Incident, Vengeance, and Poker King alongside co-star Koo. Since he first appeared on-screen in the late 80s, Suet has went on to star in well over 260 films for many of Hong Kong's greatest film-makers and is still going strong today, appearing in films such as The Rookies, Invincible Dragon, A Home With A View, and Dynasty Warriors. While it may have its flaws, and is definitely not supposed to be the kind of film that leaves you feeling happy, Accident is well worth the watch and should definitely have gained more international attention with Hong Kong film fans – not to mention anyone one who loves a great thriller.

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Overall: A tense, atmospheric thriller, Accident is beautifully shot with an amazing score and performances from all involved!