Facing a fork in the road, who decides whether we turn left or right? Do we even have a say in the matter or is the illusion of choice the first folly and are we puppeteered by unseen forces of destiny?

These and other unanswerable questions inform director Soi Cheang’s stylish and relentless mystery thriller Mad Fate, a densely layered narrative in which a diverse range of characters are put on a collision course in a cosmic and ever-shifting game of cat and mouse. A Veteran police inspector tries to stop an unscrupulous Serial Killer of sex workers as he keeps an eye on Siu Tung, a delivery boy with a criminal record and psychopathic tendencies. At the same time, just as an eccentric Master fortune-teller fails to save a Prostitute from a preordained calamity, he puts sanity on the line and makes it his mission to prove that fate can indeed be altered by taking Siu Tung under his wing in an effort to rid him of his murderous desires.

A morally murky meditation on the nature of good and evil and whether there is such a thing as free will, Mad Fate is a highly original, unpredictable rollercoaster ride that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. Let director Soi Cheang whisk you down the murky backstreets of Hong Kong’s bustling nightlife in a throwdown against the vicissitudes of fate and be rewarded with a visceral brew of giallo-esque thrills and delectable dark comedy.