Vic Chou delivers sophisticated performance in ‘Danger Zone’

CEBU, Philippines —  “Danger Zone”, iQiyi’s first original prison-themed Chinese-language drama series, recently debuted its next installment in Chapter II: The Silver Lining. The series stars Vic Chou, Sandrine Pinna, Wu Hsing Kuo, Christopher Lee, Berant Zhu, Tseng Jing Hua, and Teresa Daley.

Following Chapter I: In the Dark Night that earned 8.7 points (out of 10) on Chinese review website Douban, the overlapping and intertwining storylines stand in the shadows between night and day. It sees the unveiling of the identity of the mastermind that is after Vic Chou. Tseng Jing Hua also delivers a groundbreaking vicious and bloodthirsty performance that stuns even himself.

A career breakthrough for Tseng, he portrays the wealthy, self-centered Lu Chi living in his own world. Born into a rich family, Lu rarely encounters frustrations and no one stands between him and his desires.

“To bring to life this role, I removed myself from distractions, including ignoring all messages, to focus on the task,” the actor said. “I have never seen such performances from myself, especially the cold and merciless approach, so I look forward to seeing this chapter.”

Wu Hsing Kuo plays the calculative Mu Xuesong, who will oppose Sandrine Pinna as the new police Deputy Director in Chapter II. The conspiracy is set to unravel as the series unfolds.

“Danger Zone” sees psychological profiling expert Yan-dong Liang (Chou) imprisoned due to a violent abuse incident. In order to flip the case, he has an under-table deal with police captain Chong-hui Tang (Christopher Lee) and rookie officer Fei Ran (Berant Zhu). However, this decision triggers a series of lethal crises and mysteries.

In a virtual press conference attended by the cast, it was unanimously agreed that Chou has the biggest contrast regarding his on and off screen personas. While he appeared quiet and cool most of the time, off-camera he was warm and often poked fun at others.

It was also clear that a brotherly bond was formed between cast members Lee and Zhu, who play policemen in the series.

“Even though Christopher Lee shouts at me all the time in the series,” said Zhu, “I still like him a lot. We are the best partners.” To which Lee replied to by saying, “Zhu is the tag-along I can’t get rid of.”

In “Danger Zone”, Chou delivers a convincing performance as a cold and quiet criminal. Pinna, Lee and other cast members also pushed their limits in the series: Lee and Zhu had intense car chase scenes and jumped off bridges; Pinna cut her hair short for the show and performed with Wu, a renowned Peking opera master; and in contrast to his previous goody two-shoes characters, Tseng here plays a spoilt, rich, arrogant kid.

The exploration of themes around criminal sexual abuse, discovery of infant corpses, and headless female corpses were also groundbreaking aspects of this 24-episode crime thriller.