How come everyone here looks like they've just seen a ghost? Well, that might be misleading because sometimes they can put a smile on your face too, Dead Talents Society (鬼才之道 in Chinese) being a prime example of such phenomenon. Mixing comedy with supernatural horror, this Taiwanese picture is set in the afterlife where ghosts remain on Earth haunting humans. We meet a newbie ghost, literally referred to as ''Newbie'' and portrayed by Gingle Wang, who died recently as a young woman and is now facing the possibility of vanishing for good unless she manages to have a career as a ghost performer. Her problem? She's severely untalented and lacking a purpose. Helping her in this last-ditch effort to find a calling are her friend Camilla (Bai Bai), phantom talent agent Makoto (Chen Bo-Lin) and his previously famous client Catherine (Sandrine Pinna) as the latter two are also trying to save their reputation and talent agency.
What director and co-writer John Hsu presents along with this premise is a ticking clock element since Newbie only has a month to correct her course. Said dilemma comes with hits and misses, the editing rhythms (by editors Shieh Meng-Ju and Wawa Chiang) in the first half of the movie being the main flaw, demanding a lot of patience from viewers. The story does admittedly feature both influencer and YouTube culture, but even taking that in consideration, the frenetic cutting is pretty incomprehensible when it's utilised during basic dialogue scenes and comedic bits. It's trying way too hard to make ''DTS'' feel exciting and engaging and it just ends up feeling false instead, which is a shame because the filmmakers and cast are otherwise tapping into something real.
Carrying you through these initial rough patches is the outrageously charming ensemble since you get the sense that Wang, Bai, Chen and Pinna are genuinely having fun delivering the morbidly clever humour while getting to play in the sandbox of wacky horror mayhem where you get to see some strong special effects work blending together with great makeup and hair designs. All the visual gags are extremely entertaining on that front and goes to show how good the movie looks overall, Lore Shih's costume design and Wang Chih Chen's production design also contributing to that success alongside the effects.
Slowly but surely, Hsu and co-writer Tsai Kun-Lin begin to get to the heart of the film once things get less hectic and characters get chances to breathe in the second half. Here is when we get the wonderful blend of screwball comedy, horror and a surprisingly large amount of sweetness that somehow grounds the story and gets you invested in the inner workings of the group. These filmmakers seem to relish a chance to comment on tropes and gags found in their cinematic influences before taking a few left turns, finding out why the word ''life'' is in afterlife and what to do with that life.
Newbie's arc is very endearing as she's on the relatable quest of self-discovery; Wang also displays Newbie's insecurity, regret and growth delicately. Makoto and Catherine aren't one-dimensional either like they could be in a much worse film, which is why their goals and interplay are consequential too. Most of all perhaps, this is a film about friendship and general sense of belonging, knowing that you're being seen and accepted as the person that you are, even if you're not always feeling okay.
Sincerity can indeed be scary but in a funny, spooky and enthralling horror comedy vehicle such as this, it's a winning trait because it generates empathy. Despite being part of those specific genres, you don't have to choose between having a good time and feeling all warm and fuzzy when you can do it all so well. The vibes of DTS are truly immaculate and that is something that you need to appreciate while you can before you vanish from existence.
Smileys: Tone, makeup
Frowneys: Editing
Spoiler alert: poetry didn't end up being Newbie's talent as far as we know.
3.5/5
Where to watch:
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