Recognized for his hilarious yet often accurate depictions of local idiosyncrasies that often hit a nerve with Singaporeans, funny or otherwise, celebrity director Jack Neo delivers once again with his latest offering, the genre-bending Where Got Ghost?. At the movie premiere, which took place at Golden Village VivoCity on 4 August 2009, Neo shared, “We wanted to do something different, which was why we decided to mix the two popular genres of horror and comedy, resulting in Where Got Ghost?. We always aim to be innovative in our productions and hopefully, audiences will like our new film!” Local film stalwarts such as Mark Lee, Henry Thia and Liu Qianyi star in Where Got Ghost?. The film garnered laughs aplenty from the audience with its usual dose of Hokkien jokes and puns, classics that audiences have come to expect from Neo’s offerings. The movie comprises three separate tales on supernatural encounters in everyday settings such as housing estates and temples, as well as in the forest where national servicemen train. These everyday locations help to flesh out familiar themes in local culture, such as the popularity of 4D, superstitions during the 7th month, urban legends recounted to national servicemen and even how late ancestors are worshipped in the hope of getting material blessings. If audiences are expecting a horror movie along the lines of The Ring, they will be sorely disappointed. Where Got Ghost? is a horror-comedy which combines elements from both genres, although it is more funny than it is scary. Shock tactics like sudden appearances and loud sound effects fell flat and even the special effects were found wanting in some scenes. Despite these shortcomings, Neo has remained faithful to his blockbuster recipe of using popular local comedians; familiar settings that heartlanders can relate to and Hokkien puns, to deliver a local flick that is funny, heartwarming and insightful. Think of it as a spooky version of Money No Enough. Where Got Ghost? will be released islandwide on 13 August 2009.
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