Thanks to the lead protagonist who reinforces what seems like a trio of unrelated stories together in this satire about the housing problems facing Hong Kong residents, this turns out to be an unexpected heartwarming experience by the time the end credits roll. Accordingly, some poorer Hong Kong residents live with each other in small subdivided apartments within an apartment known as “coffin homes” because this little island's real estate is just too expensive for them.
The first narrative concerns Mother Leung (Susan Shaw), a rich old lady who lives in a mansion and her money-hungry daughters who are only interested in her assets by pretending to be nice to her. Saddened and angered by the state of affairs, she suddenly turns into a demon and a bloodbath soon begins. However, filmed with humor in mind, the nature of the knockabout violence pretty much sets the tone for what is to follow.
Next up we meet Jimmy Lam (Wong You Nam), a young real estate agent who has the difficult task of selling supposedly haunted properties because of their deceased owners, even though there is a huge discount attached. Furthermore, Lam is currently squatting in an apartment he is trying to sell which belongs to a dead butcher, but his ghost (Paul Che) just refuses to leave. The way they interact with the their fellow humans like some unwanted long-term roommates, the ghosts presented in this movie behave as if they are still alive.
Landlord Lam (Tai Bo) owns an apartment which he subdivides into numerous tiny cubicles and rents them out. Living in this cramped situation among the living is a resident ghost Little Keung (Li Hoi Lan) who likes to watch kung fu movies as well as haunting the occupants. The theme of how some unscrupulous but resourceful poor are able to exploit the poor and the pitiable standards of coffin homes make up the final narrative of this wacky black comedy.
Always portraying someone who is weak and pitiful, Wong You Nam brings his character to life and is perfectly cast in this sort of physical comedy. He also comes across as a lovable brother who everyone wants to protect and love, and his performance here is one that is not easily forgotten. Surprisingly wonderful is Li Hoi Lam who plays Keung, a child ghost with a sad history. All he wants to do is watch movies and eat noodle soup with fish balls. Played with a touch of sinister by Tai Bo, Landlord Lam is in fact Jimmy Lam's father who turns out to be a memorable character all round. Elsewhere, Susan Shaw and Rachel Lee both deliver consistent performances as the support team of mother and daughter. Friendly one minute and bloodthirsty the next, the presence of lengthy actor Paul Chi can be frightening, especially when wielding his huge cleaver but he can be charming at times.
Well known for depicting life in crowded Hong Kong in his movies, Fruit Chan's latest is no exception and it is full of energy and moves at a break neck pace. He touches briefly on the rich to emphasize how they become richer by exploiting the poor, nut his primary interest is obviously the working-class life and greed in general. Even though there are a fair amount of horror elements, this production is short on scary moments due to the slapstick comedy being employed throughout. However, Chan is very generous with his gore and blood pours out like a geyser when someone gets cut and in multiple colors too. In general and thanks to the special effects crew, the ghosts have an unwashed and lived in look, especially the amazingly grotesque Mother Leung and the Butcher ghost.
Fruit Chan is definitely not shy in attacking the massive housing problem in Hong Kong and it seems that the non-stooping advances of capitalism there can affect both the living and the dead. In fact, the Chinese title which means “Living with Ghosts” probably makes more sense. While some of his subplots seem confusing, nonetheless, this is a fun and strong satire with the added bonus of the supernatural and cartoonish violence and gore.
