[View more photos of the Film Commencement Ceremony below!]
Following the success of 23:59, an army ghost story which has garnered over SGD$1.5 million in the local box office last year, director Gilbert Chan has got an opportunity to direct yet another horror movie, GHOST CHILD 《鬼仔》, revolving around a mythical spirit in the Malay mythology.
And Mediacorp Artiste, Chen Han Wei, who is the director’s first choice for this movie, pretty much gave us the creeps earlier at the film commencement ceremony and press conference held at Goodwood Park Hotel.
“I’m borne in the Ghost Month, and we’ll be shooting this movie in the Ghost Month. The feeling is actually quite scary. What’s more, we’re shooting it in the middle of the night.” Han Wei talked about taking up GHOST CHILD. “(But) I believe if we take this seriously, all the ghosts will help us with it.”
The Ghost Month this year falls on Friday, 17 August 2012 and last until Saturday, 15 September 2012. It is widely believed in the Chinese Tradition that during the lunar 7th month, the Hell gates will open and allow the ‘hungry ghosts’ in the netherworld to come to the mortal world to ‘eat and drink’. It is advised not to spit and be disrespectful and speak recklessly, especially at night.
As though a matter of fact, Han Wei continued, “Actually, ‘they’ also want us to shoot a good movie for them to watch.”
(Image - from Left: Chen Han Wei, director Gilbert Chan, Jayley Woo and Carmen Soo)
Han Wei also shared a little of his own personal experience with a Toyol (Ghost Child). “I have a bit of the sixth sense since I was young, and had seen a ‘Ghost Child’ before. I thank the priest for helping me understand certain things. My mum had a miscarriage back then and the priest says that its ‘spirit’ has been living in the house ever since. Now ‘it’ is about 40+ years old. So, in the way, I actually have some experience prior to this role.”
The 43-year-old actor also believes that there will be ‘something’ bizarre going on during the production. “We might have some strange feeling or not sure what’s exactly going on at times. So everyone, the production crew, cast and director, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid because I’m there.” When the emcee, Junwei noticed a worried look on the director’s face, Han Wei added, “There’s no need for worry. I believe if we do our part well, the response of the movie will be good.”
(Image - From Left: Scriptwriter Tan Fong Cheng, Carmen Soo, Chen Han Wei, Jayley Woo and director Gilbert Chan)
In the movie, Han Wei plays the role of Choon, who re-marries an Indonesian woman (Carmen Soo) in her 30s shortly after the death of his wife. His 16-year-old daughter, Kim (Jayley Woo) suddenly has to deal with a new mother in addition to her grief of just losing her own mother. Co-incidentally, a series of mysterious and terrifying incidents take place when Choon brings his woman back home.
Whether the strange happenings have anything to do with Choon’s new wife or dead wife, we will have to wait till March 2013 to find out.
Three main reasons why you should look forward to Ghost Child 《鬼仔》 in March 2013.
1) It’s Chen Han Wei’s first time filming a movie. The Mediacorp artiste has been acting since 1988. If you like his performance on the TV and are certain of his acting talents, will you not want to catch him on the big screen? Besides, he’s the important lead actor which is set to carry the movie! Given his association with the ‘extraordinary’, it’ll be interesting to see him in Ghost Child!
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2) First local movie revolving on a Toyol, a mythical spirit in the Malay mythology of South-East Asia (notably Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore). It is sometimes called the "Gui Kia" in Hokkien. According to Wikipedia, it is a small child spirit invoked by a Dukun (Indonesian shaman) or Pawang (Malay witch doctor) from a dead human fetus using black magic.
Come on, this topic is eerie. It could be like watching an extended scary ‘Incredible Tales’ story on the big screen! And horror movie lovers can expect a lot more scare scenes from GHOST CHILD! Director Gilbert Chan points out that the script they have for Ghost Child, has the potential to be a lot scarier than 23:59. “We have specially designed them to be more relevant to us, like the things that could happen in our house.”
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3) The script of GHOST CHILD 《鬼仔》 is not from 23:59 writer-director Gilbert Chan, but Tan Fong Cheng 陈封侦, a producer who has previously worked with director Eric Khoo. Eric Khoo himself has been keeping a close watch on the script and had made several tweaks in the process. Although it’s Fong Cheng’s first attempt, the current script draws praises from those, who had seen it.
“Fong Cheng, being a first time writer, did a fantastic job. I remembered when I first wrote a script, this (Fong Cheng’s) is many miles better than mine!” Gilbert shared his thoughts on the script of GHOST CHILD. “When I read the script, I felt engaged. I felt this could be something that is really different and really scary. At the same time, there’s a lot of character development so I felt it was a very strong story to begin with and I’m very intrigued by it.”
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