Tales from the Occult

Hong Kong loves a good horror anthology, but they often struggle to put out straightforward horror flicks. Tales from the Occult is a decent enough attempt, but none of the shorts are truly scary and the slight decline in quality throughout made me question the order of the shorts.

The first short follows a young girl as she moves into her new flat, which triggers an old trauma. The second one digs up the history of a burnt-down mall trying to reopen, while the final film is about an internet novelist who develops paranoia through writing about gruesome murders.

The first short builds up the tension quite well but has some iffy effects that take away from the experience. The second short has an interesting premise but struggles to connect it with the fun finale, and the third short tries to mix in some lighter elements, which work against the horror vibe. Not bad, but also not the best of its kind.