Prolific Hong Kong genre duo Danny and Oxide Pang raise their game with “In Love With the Dead,” a moody terminal-illness meller that develops into a ghost story with a “Fatal Attraction” kick. A rung above the brothers’ usual style-over-substance shockers, Danny Pang’s solo helming effort effectively injects supernatural mystery into the involving tale of a dying woman and her vulnerable b.f. Partly bucking expectations of the team’s youthful core audience, pic, toplining Shawn Yu and Stephy Tang, notched a moderate $600,000 locally late last year, but the Pang brand name assures strong ancillary.
Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, wispy 20-something Wai (Tang) is cared for by b.f. Ming (Yu) and Wai’s kid sister Ping (Zeng Qiqi), an avid horror-comic reader. Buckling under the pressure, Ming strays into the bed of Fong (newcomer Yoka Yue), his new boss and one-time schoolmate. After minimal spook quota and a tad too much stoic suffering in the first half, the elements gel nicely when guilt-wracked Ming starts wondering whether all the females in his life are from another dimension. Atmospherically shot package throws clever curveballs and is solidly performed. Tech work is tops.
