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Leslie Cheung and Joey Wong in A Chinese Ghost Story |
Cast: Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, Wu Ma, Lau Siu-ming, Lam Wai, Xue Zhilun, Wong Jing, David Wu. Screenplay: Yuen Kai-chi, based on stories by Pu Songling. Cinematography: Poon Hang-sang, Sander Lee Kar-ko, Tom Lau Moon-tong, Wong Wing-hang. Production design: Yee Chung-man. Film editing: David Wu. Music: Romeo Diaz, James Wong.
I hadn't expected a Chinese ghost story, or rather a film with that title (the original Chinese title translates as The Ethereal Spirit of a Beauty), to be so funny. But Chiung Siu-tung's frenetic melange of horror tropes, legend, slapstick, martial arts, and satire is just that, thanks to a charming comic performance by Leslie Cheung. He plays a novice tax collector trying to do his job in a village and meeting more than the usual resistance. Forced to spend the night in an abandoned temple, he encounters a beautiful young woman (Joey Wong) and a Taoist priest (Wu Ma). The latter informs him that the young woman is a ghost, but his infatuation persists. It turns out that she's under the control of a tree demon from whom her soul can only be freed if he disinters her remains and takes them to safety. He and the priest set out to do that, but the tree demon, who possesses, among other powers, a threatening tongue, puts up a fight. There are other spirits to be dealt with, too, including a horde of the undead. The barrage of special effects fortunately never overwhelms the performers.