In Love with the Dead starts out as a fairly standard weepy cancer-driven drama. But as this film was directed by Danny Pang, best known for supernatural themed movies such as The Eye, you know there's a twist ready to pop out, and lo and behold, the phrase "I see dead people" soon becomes appropriate as In Love with the Dead turns into yet another Hong Kong ghost movie.

Moving on from the fluffy romantic comedies she is known for, Cantopop princess Stephy Tang here plays Wai, a young woman diagnosed with cancer. Wai's boyfriend, Ming (Shawn Yu), tries to be supportive at first, but her strange behavior soon drives him back to an old flame, Ting (Yu Yung-Yung). Now, since I am a good little reviewer, I won't reveal the (cue overly dramatic music) big twist that pops up near the end of the film, but let's just say that soon Wai isn't the only one dealing with death.

While ghost-themed movies (spurned on the success of pictures like Paranormal Activity) have been more of a recent phenomenon in America, they are a long-standing sub-genre in Hong Kong, with literally dozens (if not hundreds) of these types of films produced over the years, being a favorite of producers who are looking to make a quick buck, as they are cheap to produce and local audiences still having a taste for them. If you haven't seen too many of this sort of picture, you may get more enjoyment, but most well-versed viewers out there have seen this sort of thing done before and done better.

To his credit, Danny Pang does get some good performances out of his lead actors and creates some suitably spooky atmosphere at points. But the dependence on the (da da dum) big twist, and the way Pang gets there, is so obvious and contrived, it makes it looks as if he's taking the audience for a bunch of dummies that need everything spoon-fed to them. Style and panache can only get you so far. When the core elements of a film fail to deliver, especially one like this that hinges on a particular gimmick that's been successfully employed previously elsewhere, it makes the picture fail as a whole.

RATING: 4.5