Let It Ghost

Hoi Wong offers a triptych of alternative hauntings in his largely successful anthology comedy.

“Die, horny ghost!”

I’m quite fond of the anthology film: as great as it is to really immerse yourself within a world and its characters there’s something interesting in being able to see stories that might not have enough content to make a full ninety minutes, but which still might be worth telling. It allows for more experimental storytelling and lets inexperienced filmmakers learn their craft without committing to too much. There’s also the bonus that if one sucks, at least there are some backups to help. As much as love Hong Kong comedy horror scene, it’s not always the home of the finest films. Let it Ghost, however, seems promising: a collection of three short films starring young actors and upcoming stars.

The three shorts are: Haunted Prison, Haunted Industrial Building and Haunted Shopping Mall and each focuses on a different type of haunting in each case. The first, Prison stars Ling Man Lung as Lok, the lead of a crime procedural called The Incarcerated Detective. While drunkenly driving to set one night, he accidentally hits the young woman (Cheung Suet Ying) who was due to play a ghost in an episode. When he arrives on set, he finds her ready and waiting to film. Her determination to see the role through convinces the crew to keep her on.

The premise for Prison is genuinely fun and shows a side of haunting stories we don’t often see. It’ll be a theme for the whole movie going forward, but it’s most evident here. The crew happily going along, and the ghost’s insistence on playing her part makes for a great set-up, and the half-hour time the film allows it means the plot (which is hardly meaty by itself) isn’t stretched too thin. With some wonderfully goofy antics and great performances, especially by Chung, Haunted Prison throws in a few decent twists, turns and lots of enjoyable gags.

The next two are a bit more hit-and-miss. Haunted Industrial Building tells of cab driver Kwan (YouTuber So Chi Ho), whose girlfriend Milk (Ashina Kwok) is ashamed of him and wants to leave him. In an attempt to reignite the spark, he books the cheapest staycation spot in town – a weird little themed hotel run by an otaku who’s way into boys’ love manga (Creamy Yick). When Kwan and Milk turn up, she is immediately possessed by a particularly horny ghost. Eventually Kwan is so worn out that he hires his friend Fatso (Hui Yin) to excorise the spirit.

Of the three, this is the broadest in terms of humour. The idea that Milk is possessed the entire time is dicey to say the least, and there isn’t really much in terms of plot. Kwan drives people around, gets insulted by the people of Hong Kong and screws his possessed girlfriend in order to feel better. It’s perfectly serviceable, and largely stands up thanks to some great set design and a cast that understands its silly humour and tries their best to make it work.

Last there’s Haunted Shopping Mall, which sees a group of shop owners whose mall is closing down. They are the last holdovers in an abandoned centre, but feel the need to hold on as the mall is haunted by the spirit of a young girl called Kat. Fong, our main character for the segment, feels close to Kat as they were friends back when Fong was younger and could see ghosts. With the mall closed, Fong wants to do something to help her ghostly friend.

Shopping Mall isn’t scary in the slightest. I mean, none of them are really, but the short’s strength comes from the way it looks at ghosts. It sees them as wandering spirits, not necessarily cruel (though often mischievous, as a small child might be). It posits that the spirits of children are of souls who have yet to be reincarnated. It’s a surprisingly sweet and touching finale, and one that tries the least to be funny.

All in all, Let it Ghost is actually a pretty solid movie. It’s hardly great cinema, but it’s not the awkward cringe-inducing style of comedy I was expecting either. The comedy is far more subtle than I imagined. Films like this have a horrible habit of going for massive gags, over-the-top slapstick and goofy reaction shots but director Hoi Wong keeps things relatively relaxed and lets the stories speak for themselves.

Let It Ghost, despite its hacky English-language title, actually put some effort into making its stories original. It focuses on different types of hauntings and stretches the possibilities of what a ghost can do. Even the West’s most clever ghost stories end up rehashing the same few stories. The Babadook became a gay icon, sure, but it had nothing to do with its role in the actual film. Let It Ghost decides to see what other needs a spirit might have before moving on: from a desire to finish a job, to being desperately horny, to not finding the right family to reincarnate into. It’s nothing mind blowing (though I really appreciated the way the first story developed) but it’s a refreshing change of pace, and unlike so many in the genre before it, actually not horrifying to sit through.

Verdict: Pleasantly decent from start to finish, Let it Ghost has plenty of inventive ideas with even some great moments and laughs peppered throughout.

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Overall entertainment (Prison): 7.5/10
Overall entertainment (Industrial Building): 6/10
Overall entertainment (Shopping Mall): 7/10
Violence: 2/10
Sex: 4/10, all thanks to that horny, horny ghost

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Let It Ghost (2022)
Also known as: 猛鬼3寶
Cantonese

Director: Hoi Wong
Writers: Hoi Wong, Norris Wong

Ling Man Lung – Lok
Chung Suet Ying – Si Si
So Chi Ho – Kwan
Hui Yin – Fatso
Ashina Kwok – Milk Yiu
Creamy Yick – Hotelier
Angel Lam – Fong
Locker Lam – Edward
Chloe So He Yee – Ah Yi
Aaron Chow – Keung
Cancie Yu On On – Fong’s mother
Florence Law – Minij/Kat