INTERVIEW: Dream Home director Ho-Cheung Pang drops by!

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

Ho-Cheung Pang’s “chick maims all in the name of securing a flat in Hong Kong” jamboree of mayhem DREAM HOME (READ MY REVIEW HERE) is presently available On Demand via IFC Midnight (find it at Comcast, Cox, Cablevision, Time Warner, and Bright House). The film stars the lovely and talented Josie Ho who also produced and should please the gorehounds of the world. Director Ho-Cheung Pang recently dropped by the site to answer a couple of questions about his “totally out there” movie and here’s what came out of it!

Ho-Cheung Pang Interview

It’s said that Dream Home was based on a true story; how true is that statement?

It’s the truth that many people would like to buy a flat in Hong Kong. But the plot and killing scenes are fictitious.

What was the creative spark that stimulated you enough to make you want to tell this story?

Dream Home was inspired by my own experience. In 2008, I was having dinner with Raymond Phathanavirangoon who is the co-producer of Dream Home. We complained that the property prices were so high and many people still were able to buy the flats. Perhaps the people have done unspeakable and illegal business before they buy their own flats? And that’s where the story started to grow.

You co-wrote the screenplay with Kwok Cheung Tsang and Chi-Man Wan. Did you find it challenging in terms of your creative process to share writing duties with two other gentlemen? How did you structure the writing of the piece?

Since Derek and Jimmy are not the die-hard fans of horror movies, they needed to study and understand the specific rules of horror movies in a short period. In this case, they were just like the students to take the intensive course before examination. It was more efficient when we brainstormed in designing the killing scenes.

The film can almost be perceived as two movies rolled up into one. It’s a satirical social commentary and an over the top slasher at the same time. A tricky formula. What was your angle to manage to deliver a narrative that works as a whole?

I don’t think both genres cannot combine together, there are many B-grade slasher films are reflecting social problems, they also satirizes and criticizes indeed. In my opinion, there is no difficulty in putting these two elements into one; it can be described as a blend of critique with slasher genre.

Your story is told in a fragmented and non linear fashion. What made you decide to take that route? What do you think it brought to the narrative that a linear fashion wouldn’t have?

It is because I have considered as a view of slasher fan, those audience will be impatient and anxious to wait for killing scenes. This is always a typical dilemma in shasher. So I cannot handle this film like any other drama patterns. I want audience to enjoy watching the whole journey with me. At the end this is a slasher. Therefore, I decided to tell the story in a non-linear narrative fashion when I start writing the script. I tried to weave the killing and violent scenes in almost every ten minutes in the film.

What would you say was the most challenging obstacle you encountered while shooting? And how did you overcome it?

I think the most challenging one is the CG company which the investor hired who lacked experience in applying the CG effects in those killing scenes. Hence, the editor and I gave them many photos of real killing scenes for their reference. We kept revising the injury shots, we made it look real finally.

Josie Ho’s character did despicable things in the film; yet at the same time we were asked to feel sympathy for her. What did you focus on to balance that and make it work?

Although the character(Cheng Lai-sheung) in this film was trying to come up with the most bloody protest against the property developers who continuously inflate Hong Kong’s housing market, I weaved her childhood flashbacks into the film that made the audience understand why she became a psycho and feel sympathy for her. I would like to portray the craziness and compression of emotion in this city, and how a normal, ordinary person slowly deviates from sanity when she grows up. Actually, we don’t need to study how a girl can kill eleven people in one night. There is man cannot even capable to kill a girl. Anything can happen in this world.

Word has it that Josie Ho and yourself had some conflicts as to the final cut of the film. How true were those reports and are you happy with the cut that you have now?

When we finished the first cut, the investor certainly had some opinions and comments on it. As this was the first time for them in producing film, they may not understand the routine in film post-production. Since the sound effects, color grading, music and CG effects haven’t been completed in this rough cut, the investor can’t imagine what the film will be based on this version. What I can say is, the version has been shown in theatre is the director’s cut under my 100% control.

A Dream Home Part 2. Feasible if this one makes enough money? Would that even interest you or are you done with it?

I think the story is ended and no need to make part 2 anymore.

What’s next for you as writer/ director? Anything for us to look forward to?

I will shoot a romantic drama in Beijing this year. Actually, I really want to do film shooting outside Hong Kong. This is an opportunity for me to try.

Lastly; what type of horror picture would you be interested in doing next, if any?

If possible, I would like to make a film about vampires or curse in future.

Thanks for your time bro!