SYNOPSIS:
Three stories that all take place in the same office building intertwine. Annually, it is said that nine people will die in this office building and no one knows the reason...until now.

REVIEW:
First off, if you do decide to get this dvd, DO NOT read the summary on the back of the case [the Deltamac DVD]. It tells everything. Thankfully, I didn't read it until after watching the movie so even though many of the scares can be seen coming a mile away, there were still quite a few surprises in this decent film that seemingly came out of nowhere.

Haunted Office is unique in that it contains three separate stories that all take place in the same office building. Each story has a different set of characters and a distinct style of direction. Call it "Three lite." Because of the style of the film, I'm going to do separate reviews for each of the three stories.

First up is Karen Mok's story. This is the first story we're introduced to and also the most uninteresting one. Even so, it still packs a surprising amount of scares. Since the main focus of this segment is primarily on Karen Mok's character (as opposed to the other two stories, which have multiple characters), she's got a lot to carry on her shoulders. She does a good job or the most part, but Karen cannot save this segment from being slightly boring. This story is mainly about people dying, and thus, contains little originality.

Next is Jordan Chan's storyline. This one is perhaps my favorite, if only because it often delves into Evil Dead-style black comedy. I always liked Jordan Chan and he plays a jerk of a boss here who pretty much steps on all his workers. The comedy comes into play with the appearence of Law Lan, who has seemingly been in every Hong Kong horror movie ever, and involves an eyeball and a glass of coffee. I'm not gonna ruin it, but the scene in which Jordan puts these eyedrops in to see the ghosts' true selves in his office is pretty hilarious, whether it was meant to be or not. Because the focus of this storyline isn't so much showing people dying left and right like the first segment, it comes off as being a lot more interesting and, at times, quite humorous.

The third storyline, which also caps off the movie, is focused on Stephen Fung's romance with Shu Qi's enigmatic character. This one is the heart of the movie and also serves to explain to us the mystery of the office building's strange deaths. Stephen Fung does a good job with the material and proves, yet again, to be a likeable lead. The twist involving his character almost seems like the twist from Shadow, another ghost movie starring Stephen Fung. Shu Qi's always welcome in any movie if you ask me, but here she seems to be playing almost the exact same character she played in Visible Secret.

The directing is overall pretty good. With three directors credited, my guess is that one did a segment each. The directors being Marco Mak (always a plus in my book), Bowie Lau (who I'm not familiar with), and Not A Woman (please...don't ask me why this person chose that name and why I see it so often). There are a few good special effects here and there that spice things up a bit. However, the film is definitely a B-movie, with the production values (or lack of) showing quite often. Even so, I'd put Haunted Office up there with the likes of low-budget fare like The Stewardess starring Sam Lee and Sleeping With the Dead starring Jordan Chan.

DVD SPECS:
Deltamac
Region 0
Letterboxed
Languages: Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1, Cantonese/Mandarin DD 2.0
Subtitles: Chinese Traditional/Simplified, English
Extras: Trailer for Haunted Office

Transfer:
Looking at the transfer, you'd never know that this movie was made in 2002. Deltamac's transfers tend to leave a lot to be desired, and Haunted Office is no different. The transfer itself is really clean, with minimal specs and no grain, but what really hurts is the fact that the image is overly soft. Everything looks faded and blacks are never black, but more of a dark brown. Disappointing, but then again I didn't expect Mei Ah quality here.

Sound:
Thankfully, the Dolby Digital track is pretty good. The surrounds are used a lot, surprisingly, and everything sounds nice. I'm glad that the movie wasn't dubbed in postproduction, as most Hong Kong low-budget films seem to be these days.

Extras:
Well, well, well...what have we here? A trailer. One trailer for the film. That is it. Did I just see a tumbleweed roll past?

OVERALL:
By no means a great film, Haunted Office exceeds at giving the audience some chills, be it cheap or otherwise. Definitely not a must-see, but if you're into HK horror, the DVD is cheap enough that it would be worth getting to see the film's interesting concept of three storylines put into effect.