Office yau gwai

The Hong Kong filmmakers does it again with another hair-raising horror movie, where three stories are loosely connected together, and all the events take place at an office building.

In the first story, investor firm employee Pat (Karen Mok) has been reassigned the night-shift at work and encounters some skin-crawling paranormal activities coming from the copy room and the bathroom. This will surely give you some fright, making you wonder what out-of-this-world events might occur at the office late at night.

In the second story, greedy executive Richard Lee (Jordan Chan) forces veteran employee Mary Ho (Lan Law) into retirement. When a group of co-workers went out to celebrate Mary's last day with the office, a car accident claims their lives. Afterward, their ghosts return to the office to do some unfinished business. This story will probably make you get angry at office politics, as you are asked to sympathize with the workers. Another freaky story done with a good moral message attached to it.

In the third story, computer game programmer Ken (Stephen Fung) runs into a mysterious woman dressed in white in an elevator on his first day on the job. He stays clear of her, fearing that she might be spirit. However, he unknowingly steps into a trap set by a co-worker, whose intentions are not of this world. This story will make you yearn for a vampire or ghost buster of some sorts, as I felt the evil ghost gets its way too much in the story. It would have been nice to see some ghost-busting action instead of seeing humans getting hurt by these baddies.

Overall, though, it's not a bad horror movie. It's pretty nicely done with some good acting, great special effects and an above average grade on the creepiness factor.

Grade B-

HAUNTED OFFICE continues the Hong Kong love affair (or is that cashing in?) of all things ghosts and pretty young ladies with the ability to see ghosts. In this case, Qi Shu and Karen Mok brackets a 3-episode movie all set in a haunted office building. The movie is a number of clever twists, and even the reason for the hauntings gets a thumbs up for being logical -- in the sense that the deaths weren't random, not that the ghost stories make sense.

Of the three, Karen Mok's bathroom shenanigans was the weakest, with Qi Shu's last story being the most effective. The middle story, about a greedy executive who gets his just desserts, is also rather entertaining.

All in all, one of the better horror outings from Hong Kong.

6 out of 10.