Sitges 2024: Clever Ghost Comedy ‘Dead Talents Society’ from Taiwan
by Alex Billington
October 16, 2024
How do you reinvent movies about ghosts? This is how. One of my favorite discoveries from the 2024 Sitges Film Festival is this delightfully kooky, hilarious, charming, clever film from Taiwan called Dead Talents Society. It can be labeled as a horror comedy, but it’s so much more than just that. This first premiered at the 2024 Taipei Film Festival in Taiwan earlier this year, then screened at TIFF and Fantastic Fest before sliding into Sitges. It’s another one of these indie gems films that I’m glad I took the time to watch, because amidst so many mediocre and forgettable horror films in 2024 (sorry but too many of them are awful), this one really stands out. Directed by John Hsu, Dead Talents Society is a bit of a Beetlejuice remix – it’s not the only new Beetlejuice movie this year! Ghosts are the main characters – people who have died in horrible ways who haunt the living despite not being seen by them. However, the film is light and fun and witty, and what makes it great is it progresses to places I was not expecting at all, reminding us that we can be better.
Directed by John Hsu as his second feature after 2019’s Detention, and co-written by John Hsu and Kun-Lin Tsai, Dead Talents Society already opened in Taiwan cinemas earlier this year. The concept is a bit complex. The main characters are ghosts and most of the film takes places within their “realm” of existence – humans that are alive can’t see them, but the ghosts also still occupy the world of the living. Most of them participate in a game where they must come up with the most spectacular, horrifying scares which cause even the most un-scareable living humans to freak out – bringing fame and glory to the ghost world. One young Taiwanese woman played by actress Gingle Wang doesn’t really care about all of this, until she’s told she must scare the living or vanish forever from the afterlife. She’s recruited by a goofy talent scout ghost, played by Bo-lin Chen, and partners with a mega-famous veteran with a signature hotel room scare, played by the stunning Sandrine Pinna, to save herself from vanishing. The twist is that she’s not really good at scaring anyone, and although she tries, she starts to realize it isn’t worth it. Popularity is overrated. It’s an astonishing push back against a society that demands every kid be the best at something then grow up to the be the greatest.
I always admire films that dare to say something bold and take a stance against a taboo topic, successfully commenting on something that is broken in society with an endearing and meaningful story. Dead Talents Society achieves all of that and even goes above-and-beyond. The film has a playful, upbeat vibe that almost clashes with the scary supernatural realm it takes place in. However, at the same time it carefully progresses into an especially intelligent criticism of the obsession with popularity and success. It’s not easy to comment on this, especially in Asia where there is even more pressure from parents to become successful doctors or lawyers or whatever, and not end up sounding preachy or obvious. But this film is as far from preachy as any can be, because it’s intertwined with this highly entertaining horror genre story of ghosts and scaring the living and the art of haunting people and so on. I am profoundly impressed by how delicately it mixes this commentary within this storytelling. The second half has some surprising twists and turns, that aren’t about making viewers think “wow”, they’re more about making sure story has more value. Hsu and co-writer Kun-Lin Tsai successfully avoid any cliche by surprising us with actually nuanced, thoughtful narrative choices.
At the end of it all, the most valuable lesson from Dead Talents Society is that popularity can really be an unhealthy obsession and that we don’t all need to chase it. In fact, it’s probably easier if none of us do. Some can’t help themselves, but everyone else will feel better simply living their lives in whatever ways bring joy and happiness to them. I was so deeply moved by this film, it will stick with me for a long time beyond the festival. Best of all – it’s hilarious. There’s one joke about coriander that made me laugh so hard I almost fell out of my chair. Everyone needs a few good laughs and this has plenty. It will keep you smiling and giggling while reminding us to stop chasing what isn’t worth it. An indie film creation that deserves to be a global hit.
Alex’s Sitges 2024 Rating: 9 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
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