The Dead and the Deadly (1982)

Memorable, crazy movie

Expected more

best movie i've ever seen.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

This is a fun and captivating horror-comedy from Hong Kong that stars martial arts legend Sammo Hung as Wah Li, who helps run a funeral service with his colleagues and his great-uncle, Yee. When the body of his friend, Ma Lun Chio, is brought back in the village, Wah Li is suspicious of his supposed death at such a young age and the intentions of his supposed pregnant wife.This movie has a good balance of horror and comedy that keeps the plot's momentum going strong, and showcases many impressive martial arts moves from the actors, including that of Sammo Hung and director Ma Wu, who also plays the part of Ma Lun Chio. The plot of Wah Li investigating the supposed death of his friend is an attention grabber that leads to even more intriguing stuff when the plot delves into creepy scenes involving wicked priests, ghosts and the hell police.This movie also stars actor Lam Ching-Ying in his first ever role playing the "Vampire-Busting" Tao Priest, which he would go on to reprise in many different character incarnations in later horror-comedies, most notably in the Mr. Vampire film series. Rounding up the main cast is actress Cherie Chung, who plays the kind yet ferocious fiancée of Sammo Hung's character.Overall, it's one of the best ghost comedies from Hong Kong and is one I would watch repeatedly. It has just the right amount of horror, comedy and drama blended in together to make a very entertaining film.Grade A

This film is just hilarious and definitely worth the two times me and my little sister have stayed up to watch it at three in the morning (or whatever daft time Channel 4 - UK tv channel - have put it on at). My only wish is that I could get a couple of copies of it on video so that me and my sister could watch it whenever we wanted for the rest of our lives. This film is excellent and if it's on a tv near you...WATCH IT!!!!

Bonkers chop-socky that is part satire of ludicrous Hong Kong supernatural martial arts films, and part brilliant example of how it should be done. A rare wheeze that actually does have something for everyone:Excellent slapstick comedy - the hero is pompous and fat, not lithe and Jackie Chan-like; getting into daft, self-generated scrapes, he is kicked about by every one, and guards a dead friend who isn't really dead in an hilarious scene that has him fending off curious gold thieves. He is repeatedly buffeted by otherworldly menaces, first his mischievous friend, then Satan's minions, who turn him into a lime-covered bug.Action - Choreographed with great skill, played mostly for laughs, but there is one sequence - the friend's murder - that is filmed with rare beauty.Horror - Again, mostly comic, with a remarkable use of somewhat cheap special effects.Historical costume drama - not very precise, but the costumes and set-design are an immense, guilty, Orientalist pleasure.Satire - under all the laughs is a serious study of repressive social and gender codes, and the last scene is spectacularly subversive in its implications.

What the hell is this all about? Here's a choice cut of dialogue "you have to catch him, then wrap him in, turn around, (whispers) a sanitary towel!" What? I think that they make these things up as they go along!