A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)

Please don't spend money on this.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

After going through some reviews, I feel the need to differentiate Liao Zhai from Wuxia and (Western and Japanese)Fantasy. The awareness of Liao Zhai among audiences is far, far from enough, which partly explains why this film doesn't meet expectation from some people. This film is loosely based on a short story from Liao Zhai, which is a collection of nearly 500 strange tales dated back to 17th century, serving to implicitly criticize human society. Unlike many ghost stories, Liao Zhai portrays most ghosts as likable and humane females, and has underdog scholars(author's class stand), ridiculous government officials as well as feudal principles as recurring themes. Although the story line has been changed, this film hasn't depart from the core of Liao Zhai, mocking brain scattered officials, revealing heartless stall-keepers and crowds. Its attitude is fully exposed through lines of the Taoist:"I hate dealing with people, so I hid in this temple." "Ridiculous. I don't want to be a man, but Hsiao Tsing wants reincarnation. I don't understand all this nonsense!" "In these times, an unlucky man may fare worse than a ghost. " Those who thought it was Wuxia may find the supernatural elements corny; those who thought it was a fantasy may find it structurally and cinematically timid. With all that said, Liao Zhai as a film genre might never become phenomenal, mostly due to its own limitation. In the nihilist moment of depression and quiet anger, scholars like the author of Liao Zhai had never detected the crux of the problems nor come up with effective solutions, just like the last feudalism of China itself.Hopefully, a brief look into Liao Zhai betters your understanding!

This influential classic of the Hong Kong fantastic cinema is one of the most pleasing I've watched from that country, a funny, fast-paced, atmospheric and exciting romp through a haunted world which expertly mixes together a tragic love affair (between man and ghost, a theme that has swamped Chinese cinema ever since this hit first came out), some fine martial arts swordplay, horror and expertly-played comic relief to the hilt. It's an entertaining and genuinely likable movie which has something for everyone and offers all the exotic magic and fantasy you could want from an eastern movie like this.Sure, the first half is a little slow, but this is only so that the characters can be built up (yes, there are real characters here to like, not just action figures). There are the three main stars - Leslie Cheung, who shines as the young and innocent taxman drawn into events beyond his comprehension; Wu Ma as the sarcastic, world-weary swordsman Yen giving an excellent performance and stealing his scenes, and Joey Wong, who fits the bill perfectly as the ethereal love interest Lit Sin Seen. The comedy is enjoyable without being laboured and there are lots of slapstick antics to help take your mind off the thin plot, which serves as a basis for lots of visual delights.This is a film where murky stop-motion corpses slither and stir in ruined temples to great spooky effect; where bodies return to life and have to be burned apart by magical bolts. Men are menaced by gigantic killer tongues (great effect, forget that crappy Spanish comedy KILLER TONGUE - this is how it should be done), men battle demons with colourful bolts and heads roll aplenty. Then there's the tentacled slimy monster that the tongue turns into, a macabre skull-lined inn (that's some furnishing design), a portal into Hell (simple but good special effect), the frightening Black Lord who attacks with slime, tentacles and weirdo flying heads all over and the final battle in Hell which is excellently staged and a convincing depiction of a netherworld with it. The budget is high enough that you never question what's up on screen and there's a poetic, almost lyrical aspect behind the frenetic action which makes it a strong and influential movie in the genre. Superior stuff.

A Chinese Ghost Story is the first of a trend of supernatural horror/thriller/romance/martial arts/comedy films made in Hong Kong. It was incredibly successful in Asia and is one of the most iconic Hong Kong films ever made, easily up there with films such as A Better Tomorrow and Infernal Affairs. It's hard to review a film that's already received so much praise and accolades and not let that cloud your judgment but with that said, this is a really fun movie!The plot follows a timid debt collector by the name of Ning Choi-San, whose job requires him to travel to rural areas around ancient China. He arrives at a town but fails to find a place to stay so resorts to staying in a deserted temple, where he finds the beautiful, seductive ghost named Nip Siu-Sin, who he eventually falls in love with.What works about A Chinese Ghost Story is its blend of horror, romance, action, and comedy. Hong Kong films are notorious for being uneven in tone, they often blend a bunch of different tones in one movie. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't but here, it completely works. We have the over-the-top horror, the extremely sappy romance, stylized action, and tongue-in-cheek humor and they all compliment each other extremely well. The reason it works is because everything feels consistently exaggerated and blown out of proportion. If we went from realistic, human drama to over-the-top horror, the change in tone would feel very abrupt but since everything feels very over-the-top and unrealistic, it feels like you're just being immersed into the film's world. The film's romance is extremely sappy and melodramatic but it works because the story IS a melodrama. The concept itself is very melodramatic in the first place so the filmmakers just went with it and made it as sincere as possible. The actors do it with the utmost passion that you can't you help but appreciate them for it. The romantic moments in the film are often very funny and affectionate and even touching on a few occasions. You can get away with a lot of silly stuff in your movies if you do it with sincerity and this film is a perfect example of that. The action is very creative and fun to watch throughout and the horror, while not exactly scary, makes you feel like a kid again while watching it with the goofy-looking creatures, foggy scenery, and overall spooky atmosphere, it's all good fun. The comedy is probably gonna be the most divisive thing for Western audiences. Hong Kong Cinema has a very BROAD sense of humor that won't necessarily appeal to everyone but I myself, found it amusing throughout and it never goes overboard, it always comes organically into the script and it never feels disruptive of the overall flow of the film.The cast is surprisingly effective in this zany, over-the-top world created by Ching Siu-Tung and Tsui Hark. Leslie Cheung plays Ning Choi- San as a bumbling bafoon who makes a complete fool out of himself in every scene and we love him for it. Cheung is very funny throughout but he also handles himself well in the dramatic elements, his love for Nip Siu-Sin is incredibly genuine and heartfelt. Joey Wang is incredibly sexy as Nip Siu-Sin but also a believable sympathetic side as well. But for me, the biggest scene stealer is Wu Ma as swordsman Yip Chik-Ha. His character is fascinating throughout as his motives are very opaque and confusing throughout and we don't really know how to feel about him. But he's also shown to be a bada$$ swordsman and a sympathetic character as he's a loner who doesn't belong in neither the world of the living or the dead. The rest of the cast is good too, although Lau Siu-Ming does look a little goofy as the tree demon but that's about it as far as complaints go in the acting department.Lastly, this is a pretty well-made film for an 80's Hong Kong production. The cinematography has a great, spooky look to it with a lot of blue backlighting for the night-time scenes and the camera-work is very inventine and dynamic with a lot of effective POV's for the tree demon. The special effects, while a bit cheesy and fake today, are nonetheless, really cool to look at and fun to watch. Overall, A Chinese Ghost Story is a over-the-top fun with a sappy yet sincere romance, fun action, spooky horror, amusing comedy, an effective cast, and solid production values. 8/10

I first saw this film when it was transmitted around 1988 by the BBC when I was working on UK's 2000AD. My pal Steve Parkhouse recorded it on VHS and sent it to me. Up till this point, I'd really only seen the Shaw Bros kung fu movies, with their harsh lighting (so audience could see the moves clearly), so it was a revelation to me to see something that looked like it had been lit by Ridley Scott coming out of Hong Kong. This was also my first exposure to the movies of Tsui Hark (pronounced, apparently, "Choy Huk").Yet for all the smoky, back-lit exteriors and ambitious special effects (Stop-motion? In a Hong Kong Movie?) at the heart of Chinese GHOST STORY lies a simple and moving love story, made all the more real by the outstanding acting talent of Leslie Cheung (what a tragic, tragic waste of a life!) and the beauty and elegance of Joey Wong. Granted Joey is gorgeous, but it's her balletic hand gestures that give her character an unattainable eroticism that's hard to analyse. And though Joey is now almost 20 years older (gawd, which of us isn't?) this will always be the enduring image of that actress.Some reviewers here have said that the film is simplistic and lacks any surprises, but they're missing the fact that this movie was based on a famous Chinese story written by Pu Songling around 1700! That's a bit like complaining that Romeo and Juliet has a predictable ending and just copies WEST SIDE STORY. For me, Chinese GHOST STORY is the quintessential romantic tale. It has high tragedy, because we know that Chio Sin and Sin Seen can never be together. It's about becoming mature, for none of us can mature until we've experienced great loss. It's about sacrifice, for sacrifice is an essential component of True Love. And the comedy stylings of Wu Ma don't hurt a bit, either.Enjoy Chinese GHOST STORY by trying not to view it through a filter of Western culture and you'll get on with it just fine.