Truly Dreadful Film

Nice effects though.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Sammo Hung stars in one of his first Hong Kong horror movies, where he plays Bold Cheung, a villager who is on the run from an evil master who wants him dead so he could marry his unfaithful wife and from a corrupted inspector who believes Cheung murdered his wife (he was framed for it). Two dueling Taoist Priests fight over Cheung's fate.There are plenty of nicely choreographed and sword-wielding Kung-Fu action and a freaky-executed Chinese vampire, who was controlled by the evil priest to do Cheung in. These two are the most exciting elements of the film. However, a large part of the movie stretches too long: Towards the beginning of the film, there is a demon who nearly captures Cheung through a portal in a mirror; however, this scene has nothing to do with the plot and it looks as if the demon scene was just thrown in for good measure. It strays from the story in what is a long and dragged out movie. Too much preaching from the characters added unnecessary plot elements and did make this movie boring at times, contributed by an unremarkable music score. The climax was also, I think, a little overkill.If you are a hardcore fan of Kung-Fu movies and wouldn't mind watching a long, dragged out movie, than give this film a try. Otherwise, there are plenty of other horror, ghost and fantasy movies from Hong Kong that are more entertaining.Grade D+

Oh I love 'Mr Vampire (1985)', so how could I not fall for 'Spooky Encounters' in what people call the prototype of the Hong Kong sub-genre; horror, comedy and martial arts rolled into one. It's genius. Inspired. And non-stop fun. Really the tripped-out blend would be hard to pull off, but star/writer/director Sammo Hung does an adeptly magnificent job combining them in a satisfying manner. No doubts, that this film has some influences' on other horror films. Sam Raimi's 'Evil Dead' Trilogy? I can see it. The comically bumbling, but gallant protagonist (amusingly acted by Hung) sticks out with its familiarities to Ash. The confrontations with the supernatural are exaggeratedly humorous with its free-flowing slapstick and psychical gags. The scenes of possessed rotting corpses and jumping Chinese vampires in combat and that of our protagonist's arm having a mind of its own are highly enjoyable in their spectacularly crafted set-pieces. Kung-fu choreography is that of high level with its timing, pacing and overall rhythm. Never skips a beat, as the outstanding camera-work characteristically frames every shot in a prolific and kinetic fashion. The story tells of poor worker Bold Cheung as he encounters many unusual, spooky situations when he gets caught up in a bet to stay a night in a haunted temple, but along the way he's getting close to discovering that his wife is having an with affair with his boss. The material is a jumble, but creative storm of hybrid ideas. Adventurous, cheeky and ghastly. Scripting holds up well, as it compels with its charm and fruitful quips. The witchcraft side isn't particularly horrifying, not even eerie because the humour mostly takes centre stage, but it's definitely pleasurably offbeat. But what stands out, and leaves an impression is the way they go about ending it. POW! Hung's high octane direction is thick on atmosphere, uncanny sound FX, playful score, vivid art-direction and splendidly wonderful looking (yep even though macabre corpses) make-up and special effects. Brightly animated performances by Ha Wong, Dick Wei, Ching-Ying Lam, Fat Chung, Lung Chan and Suet-Moi Leung lend well too. Growing up watching the magically crazy 70's Japanese TV series 'Monkey Magic' was where it all started for me, and I don't see myself ever falling out of interest. If you're getting bored with the recent same-old clutter coming out of modern Asian horror cinema, all you have to do is go back and delve into these early Eastern fixtures for some blistering thrills and tasty laughs.

After an official is nearly caught sleeping with a woman by her husband, he hires a greedy sorcerer to do away with the not-so-courageous man. Corpses hop, kung fu fighters are possessed, and all manner of spooky, supernatural action occurs. Sammo Hung stars in his definitive homage to the tales of horror that he enjoyed in his youth. Encounter of the Spooky Kind is a cult classic filled with terrific kung fu action, vampires, zombies, sorcerer duels of magic, and one of the most memorable endings in kung fu genre history.Sammo is Courageous Cheung, a pedicab driver in a rural community who is known around town as the man who fears nothing. Well, this is proved false before the opening credits finish when he endures a particularly frightening nightmare of flesh-eating zombies. But, that's just the beginning of his run-ins with the supernatural. His friends decide to pull a scary prank on him that results in a ghastly ghost joining in on the fun. The plot finally kicks in when Cheung comes home early one day to find his wife in bed with another man. It turns out to be Master Tam, a prominent citizen who is also a regular client of Cheung. He escapes before Cheung can identify him and decides Cheung must die to keep this activity a secret. Tam hires a greedy master of witchcraft named Chin Hoi (Peter Chan) to kill Cheung without arising suspicions. Chin Hoi's accomplice (Wu Ma) bets Cheung to stay locked in a broken down temple for one night where a corpse resides. With advice from Lau (Chang Ti Chiang), Chin Hoi's brother, Cheung survives two fierce nights in the temple. Later, a plot by Master Tam to frame Cheung for murder fails to succeed after he escapes by hiding out in a funeral home. Even an attempt to take control of Cheung's body using voodoo is foiled by Lau. Finally, both Master Tam and Cheung become pawns in a vicious battle of the sorcerers as the two brothers square off in a final, fiery confrontation.

if they sold hilarity on a stick, it would be called Spooky Encounters! Sammo Hung plays "Courageous Chueng" in this great chinese vampire/ghost and all around general supernatural movie of DOOM! Sammo gives us PLENTY of great kung fu, and even becomes possessed as the monkey king!as always, sifu is in here, but strangely enough, he doesent play taoist priest here, hes chief inspector! but dont despair, in the sequel, he plays the charecter we all know and love. too bad i havent seen it yet!If you like the Mr. Vampire series, be sure to grab this one too.