Portrayal of ghosts in films are closely tied to their relationship with the city or buildings in which they ‘appear’ in. Generally, they act as foils to living characters, and help illustrate the latter’s relationship to their living environment. Their method and means of appearance also highlight their cultural significance in the city that the film is set, and are likely to reveal the nuances of urbanisation in specific eras.
Depending on the director’s vision or plot context, their ‘haunting’ helps to visualise the unseen, and in turn, encourages viewers to prioritise the tension created between the living and the dead over the legitimacy of their existence. More often than not, their existence highlights the inherent ‘ghostliness’ of cities and the people living within it, and are personifications of their cultural symbolism as opposed to acting according to their own agency. Furthermore, their presence in films often connotes the uncanny and supernatural, both elements that filmmakers manipulate in abundance to strengthen or justify their unusual perspective in portraying the city
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It is enjoyable to read your in-depth analysis of ghost films. The ghost films in Hong Kong, to some extent, demonstrate the “disappearance” put forward by Abbas and the uncertainty/anxiety towards the political and cultural hybridity. I would suggest framing your analysis based on Abbas’ writing since the ghost films (handover trilogy) analyzed by Cheung is firmly related to Hong Kong’s identity and political transition. Figuring out how ghost serves as a metaphor for highlighting Hong Kong’s “stay” and “gone” would be very fascinating. Besides, adding more analysis of space/architecture and filmic techniques will largely strengthen your analysis.