Monsters lack the local touch

Over the years, filmgoers in China have griped that monsters portrayed in Chinese films look like those seen in Western movies. But things could be about to change. Deng Zhangyu reports.

After watching Zhang Yimou's film The Great Wall last week, Gu Meng was impressed by the army of Tao Tie monsters from Chinese mythology. However, he complained that the Tao Tie in Zhang's film were not "Chinese" monsters.

"They looks like Western ones with Chinese names. They have more in common with monsters from Hollywood films, such as Godzilla," says Gu, a programmer in Beijing who loves monster movies.