A Chinese Ghost Story- Cult Film Review
Back in the early 90s, Hong Kong cinema (as well as much of world cinema) was still quite niche, cult and difficult to find in England. You'd get the occasional Bruce Lee movie on television and that was about it. I knew Bruce Lee through Enter the Dragon but that was it, my knowledge of the wider genre was very slim. That changed as Channel 4 (and later cable channels) started to show anime, manga and Asian Cinema more frequently and when Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a worldwide smash the floodgates opened. I may be misremembering but I think I was introduced to this film through Channel 4 or by a close friend who was a huge Jackie Chan fan before he became a 'name' in the West with the success of Rush Hour. However, by whatever means, A Chinese Ghost Story was one of the first HK films I saw and I fell in love with it, purchasing the Hong Kong Legends DVD for the then princely sum of £20 years later (that’s in the early 00s mind you so that’s mega expensive!)
Later I would realise that, whilst incredibly beautifully shot with sumptuous costumes and detailed sets, the film was a sum of the genre parts rather than a truly innovative picture. Another earlier Tsui Hark picture, Zu: Warriors of the Mountain (which I also purchased later, again by HKL) did a lot of what is shown here however, at the time I didn't mind as I didn't know any better and even now it doesn't bother me as the tale of a lowly, down on his luck tax collector falling in love with a spirit and trying to save her cursed soul still captivates me. The leads, played by Leslie Cheung and Joey Wong, are both wonderful with Cheung being awkwardly endearing whilst Wong playing all coyly seductive striking a magnificent chemistry. The swordsman, played by Ma Wu is amazing and his drunken rap is hilariously bad but purposefully so.
The wu xia string kung fu on show is sumptuously shot and the sight of flapping white veils against the dark blue nighttime sets is gorgeous and sets the appropriate spooky mood. The stop motion human husks look cheaply produced but with the tight budget this production no-doubt had, I can't complain as Director Hark makes them creepy and effective to the whole story. The last half an hour is just plain bat crazy with a evil bad who controls trees and has a giant slimy tongue, a trip to the ghost world and a battle to end all battles with the undead.
For those looking for some old fashioned fun horror, A Chinese Ghost Story is great watch, especially as all 3 movies are now on Amazon Prime.