Why one would watch it: Because it is directed by Jack Neo, a Singaporean director/actor who is brilliant in capturing the lives of Singaporeans and sometimes Malaysians in his movies, typically known to be excellent in sometimes choking tears and laughter out of you in quick succession and sometimes leaving you feeling guilty at the end of the movie. Oh, and the movies he directs are damn funny.
What to keep an eye out for: In this movie, err… nothing. Just sit back and enjoy it. Oh yeah, there is one scene that can give you a jolt, kids may get nightmares, or they may laugh their butts off. Oh, and if you don’t speak Hokkien, most of the humour may be lost in translation.
Spoilers-filled Review: Do not read if you intend to watch the movie.
Where got ghost better translated as I don't see a ghost, do you?Anyways, the three stories told are Roadside got Ghost, Forest got Ghost and House got Ghost. The first story is about three swindlers who try to scam unknowing lottery buyers into parting with their winnings.
The idea is actually quite fascinating. And brilliant!
The swindlers randomly call up 9999 people and under the pretence that a diety gave them winning numbers to give to these people, the swindlers will give each of them one of the 9999 possible combinations of 4D numbers to buy. If that person wins, then they are donate 20% of the winnings to the diety aka swindlers.
It’s a win-win situation.
If one of the winners refuse to pay up, they, for example, drop potted plants on the lottery buyers to scare them into thinking that the diety is angry with them for backing out of their promise of parting with the 20% commission. It’s so devilish, it almost worked, until the head of the swindlers got a call from someone also playing the same game. You have to watch the movie to know how this ends.
I was a bit disappointed as some details of the story did not make sense but who am I to question the script writer eh?
The second story tells about two soldiers who were on national service training in the jungles of Singapore. I didn’t realize Singapore had jungles… never mind. Anyways, one skinny talkative soldier got paired up with another chubbier and not so bright soldier in their run through the forest. During the briefing they were told about a thousand times to not take shortcuts.
Take a guess at what they did.
They got hopelessly lost, bumped into ‘something’ while pooping in the jungle (clear view of their bottoms in that shot – they need to work out a little) and got directions from a plump and innocent-looking girl who lives nearby. Torrential rain forced them to seek shelter at the girl’s home where one of the soldiers tries to take a peek at the girl taking a shower, only to see something else through the key hole.
Halfway through the movie, you start asking yourself is the girl a ghost or not? See the climax of the movie for an answer to all the questions in this story. It’s a bit long if you ask me but Nan (skinny soldier) really gets people cracking with much of his BS.
And I’m not very impressed with the CG used but hey, who am I to criticize the level of technology used in SE Asian films these days?
The third story is an extension of the previous movie, Money Not Enough II. Yeah the one about the three brothers that only their mother can love. The movie picks up right after the mother’s death. The three brothers and their families got together for a reunion.
Before dinner, they burnt joss sticks for their deceased mother, each complaining to their mother that money (their income) is still not enough.
Later, each brother gets dreams where their dead mother comes back to either haunt or visit them eerily. I can’t tell the difference but I wouldn’t want to visit my kids the way the mother did, would scare them to death. Or is that the real reason behind it all?
Hmm… Anyways, the two younger brothers, scared silly with the frequent dreams (or nightmares, whichever way you see it) forces the eldest brother to put their mother’s tablet at a temple.
*A tablet is a physical prayer piece that belongs to a deceased, their names and date of death inscribed onto the surface. Descendents pray to the tablet as a sign of respect. The tablet can be placed at home or at a temple.
In the movie, strange things were happening to the eldest brother when he sent the tablet to the temple. He then calls up the two brothers who just told him he was dreaming and the three of them set off to meet with a KL businessman who can help them settle their financial problems.
On the way, they see their mother again. And we find out why the mother has been ‘visitng’ them all this while.
It’s a heartfelt one, this story. This one won’t leave you crying but it’s a heartwarming story nonetheless. Nan, the soldier makes his second appearance in this story.
After the movie: It’s not really one of his great works but since it is Jack Neo’s first attempt at a horror comedy, I guess it’s a good try. Singaporeans are known to be great horror story-tellers; I deduced this from the millions of Singaporean horror tale books found in the shelves of Malaysian bookstores. I never read even one book from the whole franchise though.
Don’t think I would start any time soon.
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