In Love with the Dead

Year:2007
Director:Danny Pang Fat
Cast:Shawn Yue, Stephy Tang Lai-Yun, Yoka Yue, Zeng Qi Qi, Kiki Sheung Tin-Ngor, Raymond Tso Wing-Lim, Patrick Tam Yiu-Man, Ken Wong Hap-Hei
Description:
Decent
direction, half-baked story. That could be the epitaph
of the Danny Pang-Oxide Pang duo, better known to the
world as the Pang Brothers, whose work in the Asian
horror genre has gone from accomplished to uninspiring
to finally repetitive. Thankfully, the brothers are
attempting new genres with their stories, dropping the
usual "I see ghosts" plotlines for detective films , sci-fi mysteries ,
and now terminal illness dramas . However, there still has to be a horror element,
because if there wasn't, then what excuse would there
be for loud shock scares, creepy production design,
or pale, long-haired girls who look like they've not
eaten in months? In Love with the Dead, directed
by Danny Pang and produced by Pang and brother Oxide,
changes up the Pang Brothers formula, and does so in
a surprisingly involving manner. But in the end, despite
any innovations to the usual Pang tropes, it doesn't
really go anywhere, resulting in an underwhelming motion
picture. You could score some laughs, though.
Box-office princess Stephy
Tang stars as Wai, a sweet young thing afflicted with
pancreatic cancer. The prognosis is not good, with only
a 20% chance of recovery, but at least she has insanely
loving boyfriend Ming , who lives with Wai
and her little sister Ping . While Wai stays
at home in their poorly lit, borderline creepy flat,
he's out there trying to make ends meet, but his insistence
on knocking off early to race home to Wai results in
his unemployment. His new job promises to be slightly
more understanding because he's working for childhood
friend Fong , but Fong is pretty damn attractive
and apparently not so stable with her fianc� She also
had a thing for Ming back in grade school, and Wai is
well aware of it, also having attended school with the
two of them. Since she's dying, plus her condition makes
intimacy difficult, and Ming may have a chance with
a hot ing閚ue, perhaps Wai should consider some sort
of noble sacrifice in order to ease her beloved's heartbreak.
That is, before Ming is tempted into two-timing anyway.
Hold on, there's also a horror
element to add to the mix. Little Ping keeps getting
busted at school for reading horror comics, and thinks
that Wai is starting to resemble the icky drawings in
her pulpy reading material. Wai's battle with cancer
comes with the appropriate mood swings, but there are
odd details arising, including her growing disenchantment
with Western medicine , and
a growing belief in Eastern practices, including herbal
medicine and practicing qigong, or the coordination
of breathing patterns via poses and postures, AKA internal
martial arts. No, this doesn't mean Stephy Tang will
soon be kicking Shawn Yue's ass as the toughest terminal
beauty around, but she may be able to walk via her hands,
plus there may be side effects requiring the creepy
stylistic touch of the Pang Brothers. The bigger question
may be what's happening to Ming, because soon Ping starts
to think that Ming looks like the drawings in her comic
books, too. Since the title of the film is In Love
with the Dead, we can only assume that someone is
being kicked off. But is it Wai or Ming who's lacking
the pulse?
In Love with the Dead
earns points for dabbling in other genres, namely the
terminal illness romance, and Danny Pang's effort is
surprisingly accomplished. He uses very few characters,
few sets, and a maximum of breathing room , but there
is something involving in his pacing and how he slowly
digs into the characters to reveal their insecurities
and fears. The cast turns in decent performances, and
the film progresses effectively. The horror elements
are introduced quite well, creeping up slowly, and building
to a final revelation or discovery that will hopefully
make everything that came before worthwhile. These elements
do intrigue, adding anticipation to the film, and despite
the overuse of certain techniques , In Love with the Dead feels like it's
heading somewhere. The film is patient, and forces the
audience to be patient too. As the film nears its close,
it's obvious that something is definitely up, and Danny
Pang does enough to keep us around to find out.
But is the payoff worth it?
I say no, and in fact, I also call shenanigans. Thanks
to selective disclosure and an abundance of misleading
details, In Love with the Dead goes from portentous
horror-romance to red herring-filled disappointment.
When the big reveal occurs, its handling can cause giggles,
if not derisive laughter. Comedy was obviously not the
final goal of the Pang Brothers, and indeed there's
nothing truly that funny about what In Love with
the Dead reveals in its final moments. But the film
does not seduce or convince enough such that its climax
elicits the desired emotion. One can only suspect they
were looking to disturb or even horrify the audience,
but it doesn't work here. For most of the film, Pang
seems to know what he's doing, building the situations
and the tension, but when the ending rolls around, the
whole thing collapses. What's to blame here? A flimsy
story? Uninteresting characters? Too many misleading
details? Or does Pang Brothers + horror genre = not
working anymore? It's probably all of the above, and
the quickest fix may be to try something completely,
totally different. I still believe that the Pang Brothers
have the talent to do a lot more. However, given their
recent run of films, that belief has begun to waver.