Horror and romance are generally not compatible, but Beijing-born filmmaker Teng Huatao and China’s Huayi Brothers have created a match made in heaven, or so they say.

Set within the framework of a Chinese ghost film to its credit, The Matrimony boasts stars, story and special effects aplenty. “In the past there were never really any high-end ghost movies, despite their popularity with both audiences and critics,” says Teng. “They were mostly small budget films with simple stories.”

Indeed, the film promises to be a sensory extravaganza, with sound effects and visuals processed in Shanghai by Hong Kong-based Chibi Digital Vision (Dragon Tiger Gate). “For ghost and horror movies,” explains Teng,” the soundtrack is essential – if you turn off the sound you won’t think it’s horrifying at all.”

The emphasis on dazzle may seem a bit of a surprise for audiences familiar with the young director’s best known work, the art-house flick One Hundred (2001). For one thing, this latest work is definitely aimed at the mainstream. Set in the 1930s, a period that Teng says “was a bizarre time that fits the story”, The Matrimony was shot in Shanghai (at the former Dong Feng Hotel, next to Three on the Bund and the Science Hall on Nanchang Road).

The plot concerns a secret Shen Junchu (Leon Lai Ming) keeps from his wife Sansan (Rene Liu): in the attic of their home is a locked room which she is forbidden to enter. Unable to restrain her curiosity, she opens the door and finds a restless ghost, her husband’s former girlfriend Xu Manli (Fan Bingbing), who’s still desperately looking for love.

Implausible? Yes, but not within the context of the Chinese ghost genre. Compared to Western horror conventions, this is a whole different world – one where ghosts are not necessarily evil and scary, but coexist on the same plane as the living.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2007 issue