Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980)
(AKA "Spooky Encounters")
Director: Sammo Hung
Cast:
Plot: Courageous Cheung (Sammo Hung) is a pedicab driver in a small rural town who likes to boast of being afraid of nothing. His friends are always putting him to the test and he manages to bluff his way through their tricks. When Cheung comes home early one day he finds evidence that his wife (Leung Suet-Mei) is having an affair. Unknown to Cheung the affair is with his boss, Master Tam (Huang Ha). To protect himself from Cheung’s anger, Master Tam plots to use black magic to dispose of Cheung, and this starts off a battle of supernatural powers between two brothers, one good (Chung Faat), and one bad (Peter Chan), with the prize being Courageous Cheung’s life.
Review: It is so easy to see why this film is so highly regarded and has become a cult classic all around the world. This has the perfect blend of comedy, horror and action. We get marvellously choreographed kung fu mixed with vampires, zombies and ghosts, and all done with a keen sense of fun. This is another film directed by Sammo Hung that has gone on to be imitated many times over. Comedy/horror and kung fu/horror had been done before, but never had the three been so perfectly blended giving equal emphasis to all aspects. This film literally paved the way for the “Mr Vampire” series of films, and a sequence where Courageous Cheung’s hand becomes possessed was probably the inspiration for a similar scene in Sam Raimi’s “The Evil Dead 2”.
There are so many memorable characters performed extremely well by a talented cast. Chung Faat is superb as the slightly eccentric Taoist who only believes that magic should be used for good. Chung Faat also manages to get one exceptionally good stick fight in against his evil brother, played with relish by Peter Chan in what is probably his best ever screen role. The battle of the wizards finale has some great stunts but still manages to have some humorous moments between the two actors.
Lam Ching Ying’s Police Inspector is also inspired. He comes across as a fearless and strict leader, but he is really just putting on a brave front and is desperate to be seen as a strong role model by his men. One of my favourite scenes has him forced to look inside a coffin so that he does not loose face in front of his men who are all to frightened to look. Courageous Cheung is actually hiding in the coffin, but the Police Inspector has been told there is a rotting corpse inside. Not wishing to see or smell such a thing he only pretends to look, so with his back to his men he puts his face over the opened coffin. With his eyes completely closed and his face screwed up in an attempt to keep out any foul smells he goes through the motions only of looking inside. Courageous Cheung’s open eyed and open mouthed shock expression looking up at the Police Inspector is a complete contrast. This is a moment of true comedy genius that is guaranteed to get a laugh. The Tea House scene also gives Lam Ching Ying a chance to show some of his excellent martial arts skills. A very short sequence of fighting for him, but every second is pure gold.
Sammo’s handling of the visual comedy throughout the film is nothing short of masterful. The scenes at the old temple with the vampire in the coffin are great, especially the one where Courageous Cheung is dangling upside down as the vampire searches for him. The later scene of copycat with the zombie is another comic highlight, ending with a brick to Courageous Cheung’s groin. (Ouch!) For me, though, it is the action that makes this stand head and shoulders above other films in this sub genre. Sammo was assisted by Yuen Biao, Lam Ching Ying and Billy Chan when creating the intricate choreography that fills the movie. Yuen Biao does not appear as an actor here, but he doubles for some of the more acrobatic movements in the fight scenes. Sammo’s agility is also amazing, especially in the Tea House scenes where he tumbles and dives over tables to get away from his attackers.
The final twenty minutes sees the combination of supernatural duelling and intricate fighting pushed to the extreme as the two warring brothers use Master Tam and Courageous Cheung like puppets, filling them with various spirits to enhance their fighting skills. The fiery end to the fight has one of the most impressive stunts I have seen in a Hong Kong film from this period.
The film ends with one of the most memorable shock scenes of Sammo’s long career. I won’t go into too much detail as I don’t want to spoil it for any first time viewers, but I will say that if I was in Courageous Cheung’s position, and after all that he had been put through, I may well have reacted the same way.
This ranks up there, not just as one of Sammo Hung’s greatest achievements as a film maker, but as one of the best films to come out of Hong Kong. The budget for this film may not have been that high, but the results are out of this world, which is pretty apt for a supernatural action comedy. If you haven’t managed to see this one yet, I suggest you do so as soon as possible……. And if you have seen it, but not for a while, do yourself a favour and give this genuine cult classic another viewing.
Rating: 5/5
Director: Sammo Hung
Cast:
Plot: Courageous Cheung (Sammo Hung) is a pedicab driver in a small rural town who likes to boast of being afraid of nothing. His friends are always putting him to the test and he manages to bluff his way through their tricks. When Cheung comes home early one day he finds evidence that his wife (Leung Suet-Mei) is having an affair. Unknown to Cheung the affair is with his boss, Master Tam (Huang Ha). To protect himself from Cheung’s anger, Master Tam plots to use black magic to dispose of Cheung, and this starts off a battle of supernatural powers between two brothers, one good (Chung Faat), and one bad (Peter Chan), with the prize being Courageous Cheung’s life.
Review: It is so easy to see why this film is so highly regarded and has become a cult classic all around the world. This has the perfect blend of comedy, horror and action. We get marvellously choreographed kung fu mixed with vampires, zombies and ghosts, and all done with a keen sense of fun. This is another film directed by Sammo Hung that has gone on to be imitated many times over. Comedy/horror and kung fu/horror had been done before, but never had the three been so perfectly blended giving equal emphasis to all aspects. This film literally paved the way for the “Mr Vampire” series of films, and a sequence where Courageous Cheung’s hand becomes possessed was probably the inspiration for a similar scene in Sam Raimi’s “The Evil Dead 2”.
There are so many memorable characters performed extremely well by a talented cast. Chung Faat is superb as the slightly eccentric Taoist who only believes that magic should be used for good. Chung Faat also manages to get one exceptionally good stick fight in against his evil brother, played with relish by Peter Chan in what is probably his best ever screen role. The battle of the wizards finale has some great stunts but still manages to have some humorous moments between the two actors.
Lam Ching Ying’s Police Inspector is also inspired. He comes across as a fearless and strict leader, but he is really just putting on a brave front and is desperate to be seen as a strong role model by his men. One of my favourite scenes has him forced to look inside a coffin so that he does not loose face in front of his men who are all to frightened to look. Courageous Cheung is actually hiding in the coffin, but the Police Inspector has been told there is a rotting corpse inside. Not wishing to see or smell such a thing he only pretends to look, so with his back to his men he puts his face over the opened coffin. With his eyes completely closed and his face screwed up in an attempt to keep out any foul smells he goes through the motions only of looking inside. Courageous Cheung’s open eyed and open mouthed shock expression looking up at the Police Inspector is a complete contrast. This is a moment of true comedy genius that is guaranteed to get a laugh. The Tea House scene also gives Lam Ching Ying a chance to show some of his excellent martial arts skills. A very short sequence of fighting for him, but every second is pure gold.
Sammo’s handling of the visual comedy throughout the film is nothing short of masterful. The scenes at the old temple with the vampire in the coffin are great, especially the one where Courageous Cheung is dangling upside down as the vampire searches for him. The later scene of copycat with the zombie is another comic highlight, ending with a brick to Courageous Cheung’s groin. (Ouch!) For me, though, it is the action that makes this stand head and shoulders above other films in this sub genre. Sammo was assisted by Yuen Biao, Lam Ching Ying and Billy Chan when creating the intricate choreography that fills the movie. Yuen Biao does not appear as an actor here, but he doubles for some of the more acrobatic movements in the fight scenes. Sammo’s agility is also amazing, especially in the Tea House scenes where he tumbles and dives over tables to get away from his attackers.
The final twenty minutes sees the combination of supernatural duelling and intricate fighting pushed to the extreme as the two warring brothers use Master Tam and Courageous Cheung like puppets, filling them with various spirits to enhance their fighting skills. The fiery end to the fight has one of the most impressive stunts I have seen in a Hong Kong film from this period.
The film ends with one of the most memorable shock scenes of Sammo’s long career. I won’t go into too much detail as I don’t want to spoil it for any first time viewers, but I will say that if I was in Courageous Cheung’s position, and after all that he had been put through, I may well have reacted the same way.
This ranks up there, not just as one of Sammo Hung’s greatest achievements as a film maker, but as one of the best films to come out of Hong Kong. The budget for this film may not have been that high, but the results are out of this world, which is pretty apt for a supernatural action comedy. If you haven’t managed to see this one yet, I suggest you do so as soon as possible……. And if you have seen it, but not for a while, do yourself a favour and give this genuine cult classic another viewing.
Rating: 5/5
Review by D. M.
Photos by Klara
Photos by Klara
For bigger pictures please click on thumbnails
For more photos visit the Encounters of the Spooky Kind Photo Album