Taoist Horror ‘Phantom’ Unveiled by Taiwan’s D-Day Pictures, Singapore’s Mokster Films at Cannes Film Market

Taiwan-based production banner D-Day Pictures and Singapore’s Mokster Films have teamed on “Phantom,” an Eastern Taoist-infused take on the “Invisible Man” concept, unveiled at this year’s Cannes Film Market.

Helmed by D-Day founder Lester Hsi, who previously scored box office success with “The Bridge Curse” and its sequel “The Bridge Curse: Ritual,” the horror film will be produced by Fiona Hu (“Black & White: The Dawn Of Justice”) with Mokster Films’ Nelson Mok (“Red Thread”) also on board. The project marks Mokster’s debut as a producer while the company will also handle international sales duties.

The film follows social worker Youmo who, after being reassigned to a trauma unit, uncovers a series of mysterious deaths linked to eerie phenomena including phantom footsteps and unseen forces. Her investigation reveals forbidden rituals and buried wartime secrets connected to a sealed cave, with supernatural forces closing in around her.

“With ‘Phantom,’ I wanted to explore the terror of what we can’t see, not just as ghosts or monsters, but as the unseen forces in our society, our history and our own minds,” says director Hsi.

Mok adds, “This film is about the fear that lingers in silence, in forgotten places, and in the systems we take for granted. By grounding the story in Taoist philosophy and historical trauma, we’re telling a horror that feels both intimate and unsettling.”

The project marks another step in D-Day Pictures’ growing slate since the company was founded in 2021 by Hsi, following his breakout success with “The Bridge Curse” in 2020. The company develops and produces Mandarin-language IP and recently expanded into investment in Asian film and television projects with commercial crossover potential.

“Phantom” will aim for a theatrical release in 2026.