A young woman who can tell the exact time of death of the people she encounters; three adults from different parts of the world who have shared a single consciousness since their respective traumas 16 years ago; a naked, white-skinned monster of a man who lurks behind everyone’s impending demise as if he’s the Grim Reaper himself… There are certainly enough intrigues to go around in this feature debut by writer-director Chris Chow (who previously scripted the Jet Li-starring Fearless and the rather messy Blood: The Last Vampire), a Twilight Zone-ish supernatural mystery undermined by an insipid cast, inadequate production values and an over-reliance on cheap thrills; it plays like an okay TV pilot.

Ever since she lost her father (Roy Werner) as a child, Kate (Leslie-Anne Huff) has incurred the ability to predict death. Intent on finding out about the afterlife, the burger joint waitress approaches a customer (Anthony Chaput) one night, asking him to give her a sign from the other side after his death in a few hours. When the call comes, however, it turns out to be Eason Chan speaking perfect English – scary indeed. The action will then move to Hong Kong, where time will stop, childhood demons will be extinguished, and Strawberry Cliff will interest no one but Chan’s biggest fans. Should all the blame be attributed to Kate’s heart defect at birth, which means that she ‘wasn’t supposed to live’? (A doctor tells her: “You shouldn’t be alive!”) Her movie, ironically, is very dead indeed.

Edmund Lee

Dir Chris Chow, category IIA, 118 mins, opens on Dec 1