Scary moments from Keeper Of Darkness’ Amber Kuo and Nick Cheung

To most, the sea can be a source of calm and relaxation. But for Amber Kuo, it’s a pretty scary place.

“It gives me the sense that, once you go in, you won’t be able to get out,” revealed the 29-year-old Taiwanese Mandopop singer-actress during a phone interview last month in the lead-up to her new movie, the horror flick Keeper Of Darkness, which opens on Thursday.

Thankfully, her role in Hong Kong actor-turned-director Nick Cheung’s sophomore directorial project was simply that of a female ghost and not of a water spirit. “I think I will be scared to death (of that role). If I can act as the person who gets scared by the spirit, I might be able to do better,” Kuo quipped, in Mandarin.

Ironically enough, her co-star and director Cheung is helming a movie about the very thing that scares him the most — although he has never had real-life encounters just yet.

In fact, nothing strange happened on the set of Keeper Of Darkness, unless you count his own antics — Cheung admitted he would go around making sudden movements or noises to spook his cast. “When you have people feeling scared, then you can get the right atmosphere. We were making a horror film, after all. We were quite unlucky nothing supernatural occurred, actually,” the 47-year-old joked, in a separate phone interview.

Despite his fear of ghosts, it’s Cheung’s second movie centred around a horror theme, after last year’s Hungry Ghost Ritual. What’s with the fascination?

Supernatural films evoke emotions in people, he explained. “Fight scenes in an action film give you a sense of satisfaction, while horror films give you thrill and anticipation. This electrifying feeling is something I wish to give to the audience,” he said.

Still, this movie is probably his last foray into horror. If he gets another shot at directing, it will be an action film.

“I prefer something that has MSG, for a stronger taste,” he joked.

Meanwhile, Kuo, who took a step back from her music career three years ago to focus on acting, is going back to her roots. Her last album, Hear, There And Everywhere came out in 2012 and she has a new one slated for next month.

As for Keeper Of Darkness, her ghostly role also plays on relationships: As the dead girlfriend of Chueng’s lead character, a tattooed, white-haired exorcist, she is unable to let go and follows him around decades after her death.

What about Kuo’s own take on real-life romantic relationships?

“Cheating and betrayal is definitely something I won’t be able to accept,” she said. “But, sometimes, if you are unable to leave someone, you just can’t. So it depends on who the person is.”

Incidentally, she had ended her three-year-relationship with actor Tony Yang last March and described her current relationship status as “a blank space”.

As for her criteria on the ideal man, Kuo said she has none, adding that such lists would put pressure on the person.

“But if I can meet someone who can make me feel like I can sacrifice everything for him, that would be quite special,” she added.

When asked if she would take the initiative to pursue a man she has taken a liking to, Kuo unhesitatingly said she would — if he has shown some interest.

“If I sense something, I’d do certain things to get close to him, such as finding the opportunity to be next to him, or getting to know his friends and family. Wait, actually, that sounds a little scary!” she said with a laugh. “But it’s just to let him know my feelings.”

“If I don’t (take the initiative), he’d just end up being another person’s boyfriend,” she added, sassily.

Keeper Of Darkness opens in cinemas on Nov 26.