Ris Low: She's back with a boomz

SINGAPORE - Ris Low may have fallen off the radar in the past couple of years, but her showbiz comeback is just around the corner - this time on the big screen.

The local 23-year-old dethroned beauty queen plays the lead in new local slasher flick Justice Devil, which will open here on Sept 26.

The 100-minute Mandarin movie, produced by Lion City Film Studio and directed by local film-maker Harva, is rated NC16 and slated to be shown on 15 screens under Shaw cinemas.

Its storyline is a classic bloody tale of payback.

Young mother Ellen (Low) is devastated by the senseless death of her five-year-old daughter. She decides to seek revenge on the group of murderers, led by three drug kingpins (local actors Daniel Chan, Ernest Seah and Michael Chua).

Justice Devil's trailer was released on YouTube last week and has garnered nearly 14,000 views, but it has received mixed reviews.

Netizen Iris Lim commented on YouTube: "Great plot, looks interesting... My type of film, can't wait to watch it already!"

On citizen journalism website Stomp, netizen MJPowell_SG heaped praised on Low: "After the unjustified mockery of this woman, I admire her spirit for coming back fighting. To all those who took the pleasure in making fun of her, I think Ris might have the last laugh!"

But others panned the film for being "too violent" and a "rip-off" of 1978 Hollywood cult favourite I Spit On Your Grave and commented on Low's visible weight gain.

In a phone interview with The New Paper, Harva said he "felt encouraged by the positive feedback" he had received so far.

"A few months ago, we held a test screening for family and friends of our cast and crew members; it went really well," he said.

Main inspiration

Sharing that his main inspiration for Justice Devil was popular horror franchise Saw, he assured viewers who were concerned about the film's amount of gore that "violence was kept to a minimum".

He said: "Most of the violence is suggested, there's nothing explicit."

How about Low's debut outing as a leading lady?

"She was very convincing. Her character went through many emotional ups and downs and she handled them all really well," said Harva.

He added that Low's "toughest challenge" was a scene in which her character was raped by one of the thugs.

"Ris was extremely professional, that scene was completed in two takes."

The film has no nudity, he stressed.

Equally excited about her big-screen debut is Low, who has been working as a waitress at T-ARA Cosplay Bar & Cafe since April.

She posted the trailer on her Facebook wall, along with a short note: "One year of hard work and patience, piecing bits and pieces together, and finally into a movie... Our work. Our pride and joy."

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