Real-life horror
Ten years ago when horror filmmaker Cheang Pou-soi was working as a production assistant, he witnessed what he and the rest of the crew concluded could only be the antics of a mischievous ghost.
They were filming in the abandoned psychiatric hospital known as the 'High Street haunted house' in Sai Ying Pun.
A spotlight was set at the end of a corridor on the first floor. When the camera started rolling, the crew saw a person shake the light.
'We yelled at the person and he ran off to the side - just disappeared,' says Cheang. 'But later on, we discovered that there was no way for a person to escape like that, because there were no doors but only walls and a window at that far end. To go sideways he must have walked through the wall.'
The sun is shining outside the lobby cafe at Shangri-La, but hearing Cheang tell his freaky tales, I feel a cold chill down my spine.
The High Street ghost house was not the worst experience for 31-year-old Cheang. The set for his latest film, The Death Curse, was probably the scariest place he has ever been.
'We shot in a couple of buildings including a very ancient siheyuan [a traditional Chinese structure], and it was enormous, almost as big as the whole of Tsim Sha Tsui East,' he recalls.
'The entire crew had a weird feeling upon entering the area. Thus throughout the whole time we clustered together. Nobody dared to wander around, even if we were not filming.'
To calm the crew down, Cheang says that the film company invited a group of Buddhist monks to pray for them.
'Each of us was given a charm, which protected us from evil spirits. Some people might not believe in ghosts, but if performing such ceremonies help to calm people down, why not?' he says.
The Death Curse, starring pop duos Twins and Boyz, tells a tale about eight siblings born to different mothers who return to their deceased father's old house to fight for his fortune.
It is the fourth feature for Cheang, who has been directing since he was 27 years old. He made his debut with Diamond Hill in 2000. Following that were two horror movies, the acclaimed Horror Hotline ... Big Head Monster (2001), which was screened at the Milan International Film Festival, and New Blood (2002).
Although his latest offering is also a horror, Cheang says that The Death Curse is different from his previous works.
'My older works were pure horrors, but The Death Curse is much more energetic. There are comical effects seeping through the scary moments. I think it has a lot to do with the young actors. I ask them to let their emotions out instead of tensing themselves up, like I did in the past,' he says.
So what's next for Cheang? Will he continue to scare people with his horror movies?
'When I heard people tell me that three girls walked away from the cinema crying at the premiere of New Blood, I was actually quite happy as a director,' he says. 'Watching horror movies is fun. It's like going to a funfair.
'I love making films that build up the intensity and emotions, and I think horror movies are the best genre for such a purpose. To tell you the truth, my next movie will be a love story, but also a ghost story.'
It looks like Cheang has carved himself a niche as the next master of Hong Kong horror.
The Death Curse opens at cinemas on November 6.
