Hell Bank Presents: Running Ghost (2020) [บรรยายไทย]

Upon his death in the real world, Wong (Wong Yu Nam) finds himself in a weird afterlife where he’s presented with the opportunity to regain his lost memories of his death. Tasking with doing so by competing in a strange competition and finishing the tasks assigned to him, he seems clueless until taking help in the form of Ling (Cecilia So), an outcast like he was who is capable of helping him with his goals. As they attempt to help him win the girl of his dreams Bo Yee (Venus Wong), a special wrinkle in the competition forces him to make a tough choice in order to save himself and his friends.

“Running Ghost” isn’t bad but does have some big issues. One of the biggest drawbacks is Nate Ki, Situ Bi and Wang Cai’s story which is exceptionally confusing and convoluted. The central premise of the game show-like treatment of Hell with the idea of winning reincarnation through the successful completion of grisly tasks works fine but is a hard sell. Particularly since the film drops us into this scenario with no warning or build-up and then goes through the beginning stages of the game with contestants we never get to know or see again. To get immediately thrust into this atmosphere like that is quite jarring and takes the viewer a while to understand what’s going on, especially since the rules of the game aren’t any clearer as it goes on with the contestants forced to know what to do without any instructions. Since Wong has the guide based on how new to the game he is, it’s easy to assume the rest of the contestants don’t, so the audience is lost as a result.

After getting past that rough start, though, “Running Ghosts” becomes incredibly fun. As expected, the mileage on the comedy will be entirely dependent on the viewer who can conceivably grow tired of Wong’s scaredy-cat wimp routine. That can make the film run on for long stretches of time without much to get into as the reliance on these gags being funny is what sells “Running Ghosts” for the most part. Building a quirky friendship between him and Missy on their quest is fine but the real meat is built off the failed scare attempts that require counseling or soul-searching conversations afterward. The gags are based on the traditional genre tropes of ghosts jumping out of dark hallways or when someone’s back is turned, yet the way he manages to inadvertently screw up the intended scenario only to succeed in the loosest sense of the goal is quite funny. The reactions to their interactions since Wong’s still a ghost also manages to generate some fun moments, and the constant attempts at throwing jokes or physical comedy on-screen for this come off quite nicely.

Where “Running Ghosts” really begins to shine is in the finale. With the revelation about his true intention in the competition, the story arc of Wong’s growth into a productive and proactive figure comes together with the result of the competition that’s been ongoing the entire time. Since the twist is quite easy to figure out, this leaves an impressive amount of kinetic action where Wong has to protect Ling from the more overt tactics that are attempted on her. Featuring some flashy action and special effects in this confrontation sequence, the emotional resolution is quite enjoyable, much like the uplifting epilogue that gives this a nice, heartwarming conclusion. This all makes for a fun time once you get past the few issues.

A fun and high-energy comedy that’s not too scary, “Running Ghost” offers some enjoyable elements so long as you can get past the quick way it starts up. Take a look if you’re into more comedy than horror in your films or just intrigued by this one, while viewers who are more into the darker genre films instead of this comedy-heavy style might not like this.