In 1996, Lam made his American debut with the film Maximum Risk starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. The film was not a big draw at the box office. Lam returned to Hong Kong where he shot his next film Full Alert which was budgeted at $13 million. The film was shown at film festivals in 1997 including Rotterdam and Berlin. Full Alert was nominated for five awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards and won the award for best film and best actor (Lau Ching-wan) at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. Lam followed up Full Alert the next year with The Suspect which was shot in the Philippines.O'Brien, 2003. p.173 The Suspect was not as financially successful as Full Alert, grossing around ten million less. In 1998, Variety announced that Lam would direct the film Simon Sez with Kevin Elders. Lam later only contributed to the film as a producer. Lam directed a Hong Kong production titled Victim. The film featured a supernatural storyline and had its ending changed on its Hong Kong theatrical release. Half of the release prints contained a scene stating whether or not the actor was possessed by a ghost. The other half of the movie reflected the original script and did not reveal this.
In 1996, Lam made his American debut with the film Maximum Risk starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. The film was not a big draw at the box office. Lam returned to Hong Kong where he shot his next film Full Alert which was budgeted at $13 million. The film was shown at film festivals in 1997 including Rot.terdam and Berlin. Full Alert was nominated for five awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards and won the award for best film and best actor (Lau Ching-wan) at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Lam followed up Full Alert the next year with The Suspect wh.ich was shot in the Philippines.O'Brien, 2003. p.173 The Suspect was not as financially successful as Full Alert, grossing around ten million less. In 1998, Variety announced that Lam would direct the film Simon Sez with Kevin Elders. Lam later only contributed to the film as a producer. Lam directed a Hong Kong production titled Victim The film featured a supernatural storyline and had its ending changed on its Hong Kong theatrical release. Half of the release prints contained a scene stating whether or not the actor was possessed by a ghost. The other half of the movie reflected the original script and did not reveal this.