LayarHijau.com—The Chinese epic fantasy film Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force officially premiered on Thursday in London, England. The film was shown at the largest cinema in the country, BFI IMAX in London. It will be released widely starting Friday in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and other European countries.
Adapted from the 16th-century fantasy novel Fengshen Yanyi or The Investiture of the Gods, this film is the second installment of the Fengshen Trilogy and a sequel to Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms.
Continuing the story from the first film, Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force shifts its setting to the city of Xiqi. As the city comes under attack by Shang's army, led by the female warrior Deng Chanyu, Ji Fa and Jiang Ziya must unite the civilians to defend Xiqi.
This time, Yin Jiao, the eldest son of Zhou Wang who was killed in the previous film, is resurrected by drawing power from Yuanshi Tianzun and other gods from Kunlun Mountain. He returns to Earth as a three-headed, six-armed deity with blue skin and red hair, assisting Ji Fa in defending the city and its people.
In ancient Chinese culture, Yin Jiao is known as Taisaishin, the deity of the star Taisui or Jupiter. He is depicted with blue skin, red hair, and fearsome tusks. "By showcasing this image in the film, I want to demonstrate to overseas audiences that Chinese people can be incredibly imaginative," said the film's director, Wuershan, during a video interaction with the London audience, which also included actors Kris Phillip, Yosh Yushi, and other cast members.
Zhu Yang from China echoed this sentiment, stating that the visual depiction of Yin Jiao's three heads and six arms brought her own image of Chinese gods to life. "I was very impressed and proud to see how imaginative Chinese culture can be," she told China Daily.
"Additionally, I believe the use of folk songs in this film is very intricate, showcasing traditional Chinese culture," she added.
To create the folk music in the film, the composer conducted field research in Shaanxi province, Northwest China, the modern-day location of Xiqi city, studying local traditional folk music to incorporate it into the compositions.
Adam Morley, the creative industries and AI lead at Hertfordshire Futures, a business-led partnership organization, shared his thoughts on the film's visual effects. "I was incredibly impressed with the blend of visual effects, special effects, virtual production, and live action. The production design was stunning. This is a massive film and would grace our stage," he explained.
Hertfordshire is a well-known filmmaking hub in the UK, with several famous films, including Harry Potter, shot there.
Tervel Valchanov from Bulgaria also commented on the film's visual style: "What I really enjoyed was the monster models, like the Green Goblin who uses thunderstorms. They are much more akin to Eastern-style monsters, which you don't typically consider when thinking of monsters in a Western context."
The film was released in mainland China on January 29 and grossed over 700 million yuan (approximately $97 million) within just three days by January 31, according to Maoyan, one of China's leading movie ticketing platforms.