Filming began today on Taiwanese director Lester Hsi’s horror film, “Phantom”, billed by Taiwan government agency TAICCA earlier this year as “the first Asian horror film to fuse Eastern occult rituals with the concept of the Invisible Man”. Filming is scheduled to wrap by Lunar New Year in February.

Produced by D-Day Pictures (“The Bridge Curse”) with investment from Sky Films, the Chinese-language “Phantom” is about social worker Lin You-mo, who, as part of a trauma counselling unit, becomes involved in a series of mysterious deaths. As she investigates, she uncovers secret rituals, hidden wartime experiments, and a sealed cave tied to a dark history.

“Phantom”, starring Thai-Taiwanese actress/singer Methika Jiranorraphat (“Mad Unicorn”) and Rhydian Vaughan, was announced in May at the Cannes Film Festival.

Mokster Films is handling international sales. Hsi said in the publicity material that he wanted to “explore not just ghosts or monsters, but the invisible forces that exist in our society, our history, and deep within our own fears”. Theatrical distribution has been confirmed in seven Southeast Asian markets, including Indonesia and Malaysia.