Directed by Wei-Hao Cheng, Marry My Dead Body is a light-hearted supernatural mystery film. It brings them together traditional Taiwanese custom and queer romance in a humorous way. Police officer Wu Ming-Han was a dedicated cop, but he was often blinded by homophobia. Even though the LGBTQIA+ community is legally recognized in Taiwan, Wu Ming-Han continued to hurl abuse at gay men. One morning during police duty, he picked up a red envelope, and a group of elderly women gathered around him and congratulated him. Posthumous marriage is a common custom in Taiwan, and a red envelope is used to choose the partner in case the deceased did not have someone in their life. Wu Ming-Han was asked to marry a dead guy named Mao Pang-Yu, but he was not interested in the proposal. As he walked away, the women warned of the bad luck that would follow him from then on.
Spoiler Alert
Plot Summary: What Is The Film About?
While Wu Ming-Han did not believe in superstition, he could not deny that misfortune was following him wherever he went. Soon after rejecting the proposal, he met with an accident and a demotion. He was transferred to another precinct, and he struggled to cope with the changes. He decided to marry the ghost of Mao Pang-Yu in the hopes of turning around his luck. Pang-Yu’s grandmother was overjoyed when Wu Ming-Han stated his decision. The wedding successfully took place even though Pang-Yu’s father was against the marriage. On the wedding night, Ming-Han could sense the presence of a ghost, and he finally met Pang-Yu. The ghost demanded to be referred to as “husband,” and when Ming-Han refused, he was treated in the worst possible way. Ming-Han realized that he had no choice but to fulfill the wishes of his ghost husband. Marrying Ming-Han was not something Pang-Yu wanted, but he was also not complaining.
Pang-Yu’s first demand was for Ming-Han to contribute to the causes he stood for. After agreeing to make a monthly donation to a climate change organization, Ming-Han had to find an adopter for Pang-Yu’s pet dog, Junior Mao. Eventually, Ming-Han started looking after Junior Mao, and his second wish was also fulfilled. Next, Ming-Han visited Pang-Yu’s grandmother for lunch. She was deeply attached to her grandson and always supported him in every decision he made. Somehow, Ming-Han’s presence helped her feel more at peace. Pang-Yu convinced Ming-Han to unlock his phone and delete all the compromising pictures he had of his boyfriend.
After deleting all the pictures, Ming-Han walked up to Chen Chia-Hao’s apartment. He was Pang-Yu’s boyfriend, and Pang-Yu wanted him to move on and build a better life for himself. Upon reaching Chia Hao’s apartment, they realized that he had already moved on and was living with another man. It was soul-crushing for Pang-Yu, but he kept it cool. While most of his wishes were fulfilled, there was something that was stopping him from reincarnating. Ming-Han soon found out that Pang-Yu died in a hit-and-run case, and his father believed that someone influential was trying to cover the tracks. He handed Ming-Han all the evidence he had and hoped that there was a greater purpose behind Ming-Han marrying his son.
Who Was The Precinct Mole?
Pang-Yu was recording himself when the accident occurred, and the video proved that the man who drove over him walked up to him and left the crime scene immediately. The man could have tried to save Pang-Yu, but he did not. The surveillance footage was deleted by the influential man involved in the case, and therefore the only option was to rely on the video footage taken by the cars parked around the area. Ming-Han identified one of the cars, but he soon found out that A-kao died in police custody. He followed the other car that was present at the time of the hit-and-run case. The man turned out to be Hsiao-ma, the right-hand man of mafia boss Lin Hsiao-yuan. Since Ming-Han was part of the drug bust case, he was allowed to return to the precinct until the case was solved. The police planned on busting a warehouse, and Ming-Han happily joined the operation.
While Ming-Han and the rest of the team waited for Lin Tzu-Ching’s signal, Pang-Yu entered the warehouse and informed Ming-Han that the gangsters were getting rid of the drugs. By the time the police entered the warehouse, all the drugs had been removed. It was a failed operation, and Tzu-Ching blamed Ming-Han for approaching before she signaled. Ming-Han lost hope in solving Pang-Yu’s case, and he handed over the video evidence of the hit-and-run case to Tzu-Ching. He added that he had an informant who helped him get information on Hsiao-Yuan. Tzu-Ching immediately informed their chief about it. Yung-Kang questioned Ming-Han about his informant, and all he could say was that the person in question was killed by the gangsters after the warehouse incident.
The police deduced that there was a mole in the precinct when Hsiao-yuan went missing from his house. Yung-Kang was confident that Ming-Han was the one passing information, and he was suspended immediately. Later, Pang-Yu conducted his own investigation and found out that Yung-Kang was in contact with Hsiao-Yuan. Ming-Han arrived at the location Pang-Yu mentioned, and he questioned Yung-Kang about his involvement. He soon found out that Yung-Kang was not the mole; it was Tzu-Ching all along. Tzu-Ching’s mother died due to a drug overdose, and Hsiao-Yuan was her supplier and friend. Tzu-Ching’s hatred towards him never died, and she decided to win his confidence and betray him at the last minute. She collected all the money lying around and left Hsiao-Yuan in a bleeding condition.
Who Was Behind The Hit-And-Run Case?
When Tzu-Ching confronted Hsiao-Yuan, it was revealed to us that the leader of the gang himself was behind the hit-and-run case. She was the one who deleted all the surveillance footage and pretended to be on Hsiao-Yuan’s team to win his trust. She finally avenged her mother’s death and was ready to leave town with all the money she had collected. Before going away, she left the keys to the handcuffs she had tied Ming-Han and Yung-Kang with. She did not have any enmity with the police; she did what was needed to fulfill her life’s purpose. What followed was a fight between Hsiao-Yuan’s men and the police. Pang-Yu helped the police by possessing Hsiao-Yuan’s men. But unfortunately, Ming-Han was shot by Hsiao-Yuan. Yung-Kang shot the boss dead and got Ming-Han into an ambulance.
Before going into cardiac arrest, Ming-Han expressed his love and admiration for Pang-Yu. He assumed that marrying a ghost would be the worst decision of his life, but in the end, it was Pang-Yu who helped him become a better person. All his life, he had been homophobic, but after getting to know Pang-Yu, he realized how wrong he was to judge a person for their sexual preference. Unknowingly, he had gotten used to Pang-Yu’s presence. Pang-Yu used the little strength that he had to possess all the drivers stuck in the traffic jam and clear the path for the ambulance to pass. It was Pang-Yu’s love for Ming-Han that helped save his life. The moment Ming-Han came to his senses, he searched for Pang-Yu. He noticed that Pang-Yu’s condition had deteriorated.
Why Was Mr. Mao Against His Son’s Decision To Marry?
During Marry My Dead Body’s ending, Pang-Yu’s father came to visit Ming-Han. He was grateful to his son-in-law for getting to the bottom of the hit-and-run case. Ming-Han was certain that the only thing holding Pang-Yu back was the unsolved misunderstanding between him and his father. Ming-Han asked him to say all that he could not say to his son the day he died. Mr. Mao was a little hesitant at first, but he ended up apologizing to his son for arguing with him minutes before the accident. That night, during dinner, Pang-Yu told his father that he intended on marrying Chia-Hao. Mr. Mao was dead against his decision, and Pang-Yu left the house heartbroken. Mr. Mao finally revealed why he was against the match. While he could never truly accept his son’s sexuality, it was after his mother defended Pang-Yu that he changed his mind. He realized he was making a mistake by not accepting Pang-Yu for who he was, and he decided to make up for it. He carried food for Pang-Yu and Chia-Hao and waited outside Chia-Hao’s apartment, only to find out that his son’s boyfriend was with another man.
After finding out that Chia-Hao was cheating on Pang-Yu, he refused to allow his son to marry him. His only regret was that he could not tell Pang-Yu the truth. Even though their last conversation was bitter, Mr. Mao’s confession healed Pang-Yu, and he was finally able to reincarnate. Mr. Mao accepted Ming-Han as his son, and though the ghost of Pang-Yu was long gone, Ming-Han continued to stay in touch with Pang-Yu’s family. Ming-Han has also become an advocate of gay marriage, going by the stickers used on his sipper bottle. Pang-Yu had changed his life in an unimaginable way, and no matter what, he would continue to remain an important part of it.
