Movielogr
A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
Directed by Ching Siu-Tung
Twitter Facebook Google+Overview
A naïve young tax collector for the imperial government winds up spending the night in a haunted temple. There he falls in love with a beautiful woman who, unfortunately, is dead. With the aid of a powerful Daoist Swordsman, he must defeat undead hordes, overcome a sinister Tree Demoness, and descend to the pits of hell, to fight for the spirit he loves.
Rated NR | Length 96 minutes
Actors
Leslie Cheung | Joey Wong | Wu Ma | Lau Siu-Ming | Lam Wai | Sit Chi-Lun | David Wu | Wong Jing | Chiang Kam | Huang Ha | Sze Mei-Yee | Yeung Yau-Cheung
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08/12/2014 | TV | DVD | Owned | 7 stars |
| (Average) 7 stars |
Viewing Notes
Fascinating that a film like this was such a huge hit during its time (and spawned two sequels and a Cat3 spoof series). First half feels a lot like Evil Dead then it goes into full on HK horror weirdness. Wasn’t expecting the tongue and tentacle tree monster. Actually didn’t realize this was such a wild horror film with all the practical FX and creature designs. The main villain goes full Biolante.
Only dawned on me tonight as I finished up the last half hour that I selected to view this last night as a distraction from the horrible news about Robin Williams. A HK ghost story couldn’t be farther from that world. However, it occurred to me as I watched a babyfaced Leslie Cheung and what a tremendous talent he was during his early years… how sad I am that he is no longer with us because he took his life in 2003 for the same reasons that Robin Williams is no longer with us.
Weird coincidence to choose this film as a distraction only to have me thinking even more about the turn of events that cause someone to take their own life. Leslie Cheung was equally as beloved in Hong Kong having a long and rich career as a pop idol and both dramatic and comedic acting. I was devastated when he took his life. All of that came back with this news of Robin Williams.
I mention all of this simply because I couldn’t not think about this while viewing this film, a cult classic. By that I mean to say it was difficult to focus on the story and film. I like the movie but will need to revisit under better circumstances to fully appreciate it. I do like Joey Wang and didn’t realize that she was in a ton of films over a 10 year run. Wu-Ma is also great and sadly also passed away earlier this year.
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