In the theater, bursts of laughter could be heard from time to time.
Many people were doubled over with laughter. Some people even spat out the popcorn in their mouths.
The whimsical comedy scenes that took the viewers by surprise also made them spit out the popcorn in their mouths.
Tang Hao had already watched it once, so he was not caught by surprise. Qin Xiangyi, sitting next to him, was laughing so hard that her entire body was trembling, and her body that would fall on him occasionally.
“It’s so funny!”
“Why is it so funny?”
She was laughing so hard that she did not dare to eat the popcorn, afraid that she would spit it out.
The hall fell silent when everyone concentrated on the action scenes. From time to time, they would exclaim in surprise.
“Wow! That zombie is so realistic! It looks like the real deal!”
“Wow! The special effects are so cool. It’s better than any random special effects house out there.”
At the climax of the movie, the audience held their breaths, fully engrossed in the plot.
The main plot was easy to follow. The story was about several Taoist masters pursuing a bloody murder and slaying demons. It was adapted from a real-life experience from the Taoist masters themselves.
That was one of the story arcs in the “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” novel. The story in the novel was already humorous, and Trendy Taoist Masters added more whimsical scenes in the script.
With the superb adding skills of the Taoist masters, the movie was endlessly exciting and hilarious. It was practically flawless.
The final part of the movie was a decisive battle. The audience could not take their eyes off the screen, and their mood fluctuated along with the exciting plot.
As the credits rolled, the audience remained captivated.
When the hall lights came on, the audience suddenly came to their senses and exclaimed loudly.
“That was amazing!”
“Is this really made by our company? It’s unbelievable!”
Everyone was excited and in disbelief.
They entered the theater without high expectations. They thought that the best result would be a passable movie of average quality.
They never expected that the movie would be so wonderful.
Was the movie really shot by a director who had never made a movie before? Furthermore, was it really completed in about three months?
Even though they did not know much about movie production, they knew that it was an incredible feat.
The audience discussed the movie excitedly.
The employees of Haotian Group were especially proud.
“That was amazing!” Qin Xiangyi exclaimed, “How could those old Taoist masters act so well? They could even win awards!”
“Ah! Right, you said before that you were in the movie. Why didn’t I see you?”
“I’m a corpse!”
Qin Xiangyi was stunned at first, but she soon burst out laughing.
“A corpse? You’re the only one who could think of that!” She gave Tang Hao a side-eye, pulled him from the seat, and walked out.
They went to watch another movie, “The Legend of Deification.”
The mood in the theater was different than the fiery atmosphere earlier. It was filled with boos and jeers.
“What the f*ck? What the hell is this?”
“What is this? Go to hell, Director!”
“Bad movie! Trash movie! And it’s in f*cking 3D too? What’s the point? This is a f*cking cash grab!”
The boos did not stop.
With the cheap special effects, the incredulous character designs, and the nonsensical plot, that was the so-called “fantasy epic.”
Tang Hao felt secondhand cringe when watching the movie, while Qin Xiangyi almost fell asleep. She closed her eyes for a while, then browsed on her phone.
Tang Hao could not bear watching the movie anymore, so he took out his phone and went online to check the reviews.
“This movie sucks! That Tian Qiuming has sunk to a new low!”
“Is the movie meant for human eyes? It’s more for pigs!”
Weibo was filled with negative comments about the movie.
Tian Qiuming was engaged in an argument with the netizens.
[All of you are trolls. Someone must’ve paid you to slander me!
[You don’t understand the movie. You’re just not at my level.]
Those were his only two points against any criticism.
A short while later, some voices came to defend Director Tian and “The Legend of Deification.”
Obviously, Tian Qiuming had paid people to do that.
He searched Weibo for “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” which only returned a few results, and they were all from Westridge.
Not many cinemas were open at midnight, and all of them had scheduled the blockbusters.
They saw through the movie with great difficulty and went to watch “Bait and Switch.”
They thought that “The Legend of Deification” was bad enough, but “Bait and Switch” had struck rock bottom.
Ten minutes into the movie, the theater was filled with boos.
Tang Hao watched it for a while and felt that he would rather gouge his eyes out.
‘How could this be called a blockbuster? There’s nothing positive about the movie other than the cast of celebrities. It’s a total waste of time.’
“Let’s go home and sleep!”
Tang Hao brought Qin Xiangyi back home.
The next morning, the internet was abuzz with discussions about the blockbuster movies.
“The Legend of Deification”, “Bait and Switch”, and the other blockbusters were all labeled as trash movies.
Meanwhile, “Potsticker Man” was surprisingly good and won a lot of praise.
As for “Mao Mountain Taoist Master”, people seemed to have forgotten it. No one talked about it, especially because it was labeled a bad movie a long time ago.
The situation began to change at about ten o’clock.
“Ah ah ah! That was so good! So wonderful! I couldn’t look away! Highly recommended!”
“I’m going to explode! It’s so good! I want to watch it again and again until I can’t!”
Posts like those mushroomed on Weibo.
The movie earned a full score on a famous movie review website.
“‘Mao Mountain Taoist Master’ is a genuine and conscientious local production.”
“Haotian Pictures, a magical company!”
Long and short reviews kept popping up.
Those positive reviews were written by people who had watched the movie.
The movie did not have many scheduled screenings, and not many people watched it at first. However, as time passed, more and more people watched it, and word-of-mouth spread.
“Look, Haotian Pictures has no sense of shame! They paid for those positive reviews. No matter what they do, they cannot change the fact that it’s a bad movie.”
A well-known film critic spoke up.
“What? Why are you trolls attacking me? What do you mean that I don’t have the right to comment about the movie if I haven’t watched it? Fine, I’m going to watch it now. When I come back, I’ll make all of you pay.”
He did not tweet any messages for the next few hours.
Eventually, he returned.
“I’m sorry, I was wrong! I apologize for my previous ignorance and recklessness!”
He apologized as soon as he came back. His attitude had transformed. He even tagged Haotian Pictures.
“@HaotianPictures, the hope of Huaxianese cinema!”
Then, he began to heap praises on Haotian Pictures and “Mao Mountain Taoist Master.”
Many people were like him. At first, they despised it, but they changed their minds after watching the movie. They did their best to support the movie.
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