Writer: Audrey Ker

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Watch this if you liked: “Where Got Ghost” and “Die A Violent Death”

With Halloween around the corner, it is to be expected that there will be a surplus of horror movies at this time of year. The Chinese horror genre is no exception, with its latest offering "Hong Kong Ghost Stories" touting a tagline that marks 'the return of Hong Kong horror'.

"Hong Kong Ghost Stories" is basically an omnibus of two separate stories: "Classroom" depicts strange happenings in a classroom for a new substitute teacher, while "Travel" shows a group of friends who encounter something odd and strange while on vacation.

The film attempts to scare the audience out of their wits, but the writer fails to achieve that except for the horror of bad make-up and out-of-place CG effects. What initially started as a nice build-up for good horror scenes becomes very anti-climatic with the sudden loud music and cheap scares like the 'ghost' being just someone appearing from a corner suddenly. It is either the film makers did not have enough budgets to make the effects look believable, or it is a deliberate ploy on their part to make it a little comedic.

On that note however, the film does generate plenty of laughs. From poking fun at Christianity in "Classroom" to the many jokes of a desperate single woman in "Travel", "Hong Kong Ghost Stories" delivers comedy in spades. Which really made this writer confused, is it an all-out horror film or a comedy disguised as a horror film? Perhaps that saying is rather true, "If you can't convince them, confuse them!"

If "Hong Kong Ghost Stories" is the benchmark for Hong Kong horror from now on, it would be a little disappointing as audiences would expect more especially coming from a prolific film maker such as Wong Jing. But, if seen from a different perspective, perhaps this is the new era of horror - instead of just being a full-blown scare fest; let's spruce things up with some humour!

Give this a go if you're into the 'hor-medy' genre. While the horror bits might be a little cliched or fake, the comedic bits might just make you forget that you're watching a bad horror film.

Cinema Online, 31 October 2011