‘Dead Talents Society’ (鬼才之道) Review: John Hsu Crafts a Hilarious and Deeply Referential Ghost Story with a Big Heart | TIFF

After the critical and commercial success of Detention, it was only a matter of time before Taiwanese filmmaker John Hsu would visit ghosts again. But unlike his previous film, which was based on a dark chapter in Taiwanese political history, Dead Talents Society veers straight into the wacky and absurd, with an ensemble cast consisting entirely of spectral misfits. The result is a delightful cross somewhere between Beetlejuice and Monsters, Inc., but now with an East Asian horror twist.

The film wastes no time in introducing its world to us. Ghosts are real, and they are everywhere. Also, there’s a whole cultural thing where they have to scare living people in order to stick around. It turns out, being dead can be way worse than being alive. This is because even in the afterlife, ghosts have a ticking clock of their own. Naturally over time, ghosts will fade – a result of their living family forgetting them and moving on. The only thing that can keep them around is if they carry a “haunter’s license.” Yes, if you can show that you do a great job at regularly scaring up living people, you get to hang out a little longer.

This is where Hsu unapologetically references (and celebrates) a wide variety of Asian horror tropes. One ghost specializes in haunting a mountain. One ghost would haunt a building. One would wander in a tunnel and scare drivers. Naturally, the most successful ghosts in this world – the celebrities, so to speak – take on the most classic urban legends. After all, they are much more effective when it comes to word of mouth, as it sparks curiosity, skepticism, and engagement from living people.

Naturally, in our culture of nightly talk show hosts and award ceremonies, the two biggest celebrities are going to be rivals. The first is Catherine (Sandrine Pinna), a household ghost name for haunting the famous Lucky Hotel, but has now become a bit of a has-been. That is because her former prodigy Jessica (Yao Yi Ti) has revolutionized the “scaring business” by embracing digital media, with her flawless approach being the classic cursed video.

And then we have our lead character, who throughout the film is just referred to as Newbie or Rookie (Gingle Wang). Have you ever seen those mildly scary videos where it’s just a park swing casually moving on its own? That’s our Newbie. That’s her just sitting there and going about her day. When we first meet her in the film, she’s already been dead for a while. However, when she begins to fade, she realizes she has 30 days left to scare someone. And just like that, down the rabbit hole she goes into this chaotic competitive world, where it seems like even when you’re dead, you’re still in a race to get ahead and to get noticed.

For the get-go, Dead Talents Society sets out to make countless references and jokes to Asian horror cinema. Everywhere you look, the film is poking fun at some trope we’ve seen before. This bit is from The Ring. That bit is from The Grudge. There’s even a nod to the Thai horror film Shutter, where it managed to take the most shocking twist from that movie and turned it into a silly gag here. There are endless laughs to be had, all in service of showing why we love horror movies and why it’s such a vast community. But in terms of story, these references play more than just a checklist of nods. They are written into the story as strategies and personas that ghosts must rely on in order to survive. In other words, they’re hustling even in death! By grouping all the horror cliches together into one room and spreading them across personalities, Hsu effectively created his horror-themed “America’s Got Talent.” 

The jokes come lightning fast, thanks to the film’s stylistic editing and a large ensemble of dysfunctional dead people. Wang brings a heavy weight into her performance as Newbie, that is also balanced beautifully with the more comedic roles. Constantly making the same face over and over and delivering her lines with a rather monotone voice, Wang is hilariously deadpan. Accompanying her is Pinna as the prideful Catherine, who at first seems rude and mean, but we come to learn she has a soft side. Assisting Catherine is Makoto (Chen Bo-Lin), a ghost who is literally “too handsome” to scare people so instead works behind the scenes to help set up Catherine (and our newly recruited Newbie) for the perfect scare. And then we can’t forget Yao Yi Ti as Jessica, who effectively channels Regina George in every scene she’s in. Together, the cast makes Dead Talents Society feel like that one kooky Halloween night ride that you just wanna go on over and over again.

But hidden underneath all the jokes and winks lies a truly moving story about expectations and self-worth. When it comes to the characters’ strategies, personas, and brands, Hsu smartly presents them all through the lens of media consumption. Most of the film is framed via late night shows or news network text and banners. There is always something being reported on and some ghost being talked about. Who’s the ghost of the week that we’re all talking about right now? Let’s see if they’re still relevant next week. Oh, but first, a word from our sponsor! It’s not an exaggeration when I said that these ghosts are hustling. Even when they’re dead, “life” is a race. It’s a constant sense of pressure put on you. You’ve got to have people talking about you. You’ve got to be acknowledged for your achievements. For your talents. You’ve got to be seen. It’s a very tiring way of life that feels all-too-real in Asian culture.

This is perhaps the film’s secret ingredient. Hsu remembers to take a break from the laughs and remind us again that these ghosts were once humans, who all had normal lives before things suddenly ended for them. He understands that if we’re going to have a film about dead people, we need to talk about death and loss, and how that leads to things like grief, regret, and the value of a person’s life. How do these ghosts reckon with their new situation? How do they reflect on the time they’ve been alive? Do they now think differently about who they are? These contemplative ideas, coupled with the loveliest dysfunctional group ever, help bring together a sense of progress and hope. Even in death, it seems like these ghosts can still learn something. With a little bit of hope and love, they can become more at peace with themselves.

The Mandarin title for the film reads 鬼才之道. Roughly translated, it means “the way of ghosts,” with “way” meaning one’s path – like in “way of life.” But there’s a second meaning in the title, because when spoken out loud, the Mandarin characters are homophones. They sound the same as 鬼才知道, which translates to “a ghost will know,” with a subtle implication that ONLY ghosts will know. And therein lies many of John Hsu’s heartfelt messages: Don’t lose your way. Know that you are always worth something and that you matter. That you are enough. Know that now, not when you’re dead and gone, when it’s too late. Because life goes on, with or without you. Live now and fully so that on the day you die, there won’t be any regrets. As Don Hertzfeldt once said, now is the envy of all of the dead.

After all the laughing and howling and applauding, I found myself crying profusely by the end of the film. Through his characters, John Hsu tapped into an Asian experience that I understood wholeheartedly. I felt like he reached out and told me that it’s gonna be okay, and there is so much to do while we’re still around. Dead Talents Society is the most wholesome horror movie I’ve ever seen. Never did I expect to see horror have this much joy, yet here we are. For a movie filled with dead people everywhere, I walked out with tears on my face, feeling so alive.

Grade: A

This review is from the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. There is no U.S. distribution for Dead Talents Society (鬼才之道) at this time.