Cantonese: Yau ling yan gaan II: Gwai mei yan gaan
Mandarin: You ling ren jian II: Gui wei ren gian
English: Spirits Among Humans II: Ghost Flavour Among Humans

Abe Kwong Man-wai (best known for co-producing and co-writing such horror hits as THOU SHALT NOT SWEAR and THE THIRD FULL MOON) directed this mostly unrelated follow-up to last year's hit (reviewed in issue #76), with Ann Hui On-wah serving only as producer this time out. The bliss of newlyweds Jack (Eason Chan Yik-shun) and Ching (Jo Kuk Tso-lam) is dashed when the former is critically injured one evening by a hit-and-run driver. He surprises his doctors by making a swift recovery and is soon discharged from the hospital. However, Jack now finds himself plagued with an inexplicable side effect, experiencing horrific visions of a female suicide victim every time he sneezes. This and other strange occurrences leave him wondering if the apartment he and Ching recently moved into is haunted. On top of this, Ching is now behaving quite strangely, sitting immobile like a zombie and writing the character for "dead" hundreds of times on a piece of paper. Things quickly go from bad to much worse, as the girl begins displaying pronounced signs of possession. Unsure of what to do, Jack and old friend September (Cherrie Ying Choi-yi) follow Ching one day and discover that there is a great deal about her past that she has never revealed, including an old boyfriend who committed suicide.

The prior installment garnered a great deal of publicity when MTR officials objected to a poster showing Jo Kuk made up as a ghost. In deference to their complaints, Media Asia even cut the sequence in question out of the picture, though Kuk could still be seen in the trailer and on the DVD cover. While the MTR's claim that Kuk would frighten their riders sounds ludicrous, she does look eerily captivating in the make-up and Media Asia decided to go the opposite route this time by making her apparition the sequel's selling point. While not as compellingly crafted as its forerunner, this remains an accomplished production with some agreeably creepy moments and the plot twists will likely find favor with those who relished the surprises offered by the original. The story again references THE SIXTH SENSE and, like many Asian horror movies these days, there are visual nods to THE RING. Fortunately, the romance at the heart of the picture is as persuasive as that found in part 1 and Kwong makes superb use of Kuk (who can wonderfully impart both earthy beauty and otherworldly evil with only slight variations in angle and lighting) in her various close-ups. Sheila Chan Sak-lan, Roger Kwok Chun-on, and David Lee Wai-sheung also appear, and Helena Law Lan has a cameo in the role she has became famous for.

Mega Star #MS/DVD/410/HK (Hong Kong label) Sync Sound Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS) and Dubbed Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1) Language Tracks Optional Subtitles In English and Chinese (Traditional or Simplified) 12 Chapters Illustrated In the Menu With Stills Enhanced for 16:9 Displays Letterboxed (1.80:1) Coded for ALL Regions Macrovision Encoded 97 Minutes Contains mild horror and mature themes

DVD menu courtesy Mega Star.

VISIBLE SECRET II is available at Poker Industries.