Hungry Ghost Diner

I had to bother to create an account to give my review of this terribly produced movie. There were only four of us at the Saturday afternoon seating in the cinema, which says a lot.

The movie was so melodramatic that I literally dozed off at some point. The movie was not scary, not funny and had a really poor storyline. Basically, it just depicted the late family members returning to the house during the 7th month. The open ending seems slated for another season of Hungry Ghost Diner 2 (really gutsy).

I would not have rated even one star but had to in order to review it. I demand my two hours of my life back.

I always say Malaysia has no short supply of talented storytellers. I'm so glad to have finally witnessed We Jun's feature debut. This a fantastic and well-made film, probably one of the few Malaysian films displaying a very authentic slice of Malaysian life.

Interestingly, this is a Chinese language film which is NOT released during the typical Chinese New Year season. It's very clear to see this is a very personal film, of complex family relationships while exploring the not-oft talk about cultural elements of the Hungry Ghost Festival. I had laughs and tears all throughout this film and was absolutely invested in Bonnie's journey in figuring out the madness of her circumstances.

Props to Yoke who appears in every scene with so much presence, you don't sense a single false note from her first lead role performance. The supporting acts are perfectly cast and especially a joy to watch is Eric Chen who plays the father. The quiet and stoic father I think most of us will recognise in our lives.

I also liked the choice of the lighting and slower frame rate ala Wong Kar Wai during certain scenes in the ghost world. Tan Teck Zee, who is one of Malaysia's leading cinematographers, works his magic here.

This independent film is sorely needed in our Malaysian film landscape. It's not your typical Hollywood film which follows a formulaic view of a hero and high stakes. There are some minor pacing and tonal issues but We Jun navigates us confidently in this intimate film of family, filial piety, loss and redemption with so much charm, humour, and heart. I especially appreciate his choice to show a beautiful aspect of Malaysian life, with our code-switching in spoken languages from Cantonese to Hakka to Malay to broken English that we hear every day.

We need more films telling more stories from our very many ethnic groups in Malaysia, sharing our rich culture. This film is one for the ages in our Malaysian film archives.

First thing's first: even though the name has "ghost" in it, it's far from being a run-of-the-mill horror flick. I was honestly surprised at how heartwarming the movie ended up being.

Between the Hungry Ghost Festival "celebrations" and the dynamics between Bonnie and her father, the film certainly shows a side of life as a Chinese Malaysian that you don't typically see on the big screen.

Docked a few points because I found myself a bit confused on the plot and the music choice at some points, it definitely left me feeling a little dazed and I feel like I would need to rewatch the movie to "get it".

However, I am still glad I caught this movie in the cinema. For what it's worth, I understood everything even though I don't speak much Chinese dialects, and I enjoyed some of the comedic bits that truly seemed to come out of nowhere. I would love to see more movies like this in the cinema!

Jarring tonal inconsistencies, excruciatingly slow pacing, uninspired thematic execution, one-dimensional characters, paper-thin character dynamics, painfully awkward dialogue, embarrassingly flat attempts of humour, weirdly-placed score and soundtracks, with a plot as hollow as vacuum, this is without a doubt the biggest disappointment I have had this year. It hit a new low for the worst film I have seen this year.

There are good ideas. The foundation is there. I can see some vision from the director. But the execution completely fumbled the bag. From the disjointed story structure to plot threads that crashed and burned, this was woefully misguided and ill-constructed.

Honestly, this was painful to sit through. I have never been so irritated by a movie before. I was literally fighting the urge to walk out of the screening.

An underrated gem that reflects what Malaysian cinema does best. This is a slice of life film with heart, not a horror film despite the title and Chinese cultural event it revolves around.

If you're Malaysian Chinese, many of the scenes may evoke familiarity and nostalgia. The smell of burning hell money offerings, the feel of a mom and pop kopitiam (loved the funny posters in the background) and the rojakness of local lexicon - I felt seen hearing Hokkien, Cantonese and Hakka dialogue. The stuffy stiff upper lip Chinese dad-disconnected daughter dynamic was also relatable.

Sincere performances from the leads with some nicely thrown in comic relief. Worth a watch, sapot lokal.