BEIJING, July 13 --  The much anticipated thriller "Murderer" was released in Hong Kong on Thursday. The movie is the directorial debut for Roy Chow from Hong Kong, who worked as an assistant to Oscar-winning "Brokeback Mountain" director Ang Lee.

    Director Roy Chow and actors Aaron Kwok, Janine Chang, Eddie Cheung and Josie Ho were on hand for the stellar premiere ceremony in Hong Kong.

    "Murderer" is being hailed as the Hong Kong version of the Hollywood blockbuster "Seven".

    Hong Kong entertainer Aaron Kwok plays a mentally unstable police officer turned killer. The actor acknowledged that he was so into the character that he himself suffered psychological trauma.

    Actor Aaron Kwok said, "As soon as we completed shooting, I left Hong Kong. I went to Italy to do some car racing. But when I came back to promote 'Murderer', the character became so haunting that it gave me nightmares about actually becoming a murderer. I have never experienced that before."

    Kwok said he prepared for his part by reading books about criminal psychology and meeting with psychologists.

    The star has started tackling more challenging dramatic roles in the past few years. Two of those performances earned him the best actor honours at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards.

    (Source: CCTV.com)