Encounter of the Spooky Kind (1980)

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

An excellent combination of martial arts, comedy and horror, this outstanding film helped pave the way for the comedy/horror genre that filled Hong Kong production studios in the '80s and '90s. All of the clichés and fun elements of the genre are present and correct in this nicely-budgeted romp, which doesn't let up from the word go. Our guide and hero through the film is the one and only Sammo Hung, here on top form as both star and director. As the star, Hung puts in a great and funny performance, his comedy skills (mostly acting terrified of the dead) matched by his superior martial arts abilities, ably demonstrated in lots of cool fight scenes. As a director, Hung is in his element and delivers a colourful, exciting, never-lets-up comic book style romp.The plot takes in all kinds of bizarre characters and situations, there's even a guy with a huge hairy mole on his cheek which seems to be the stand for every '70s kung fu flick. Intense set-pieces include nights spent in a haunted temple, jailbreaks, plus the rip-roaring climax which involves the classic duel of wizards and tons of non-stop action. The martial arts sequences are fantastic, especially a fight scene in a restaurant where Hung uses a bench to protect him from razor-sharp swords, and the finale, where Hung and his opponents are possessed by gods and perform superhuman techniques (anyone who doesn't chuckle at Hung's "monkey god" style has to be dead, or possessed).As well as the action, ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND fulfils its horror quota by including lots of bizarre situations and horrific moments. From the opening shots of zombies tearing open Hung's leg to the spectacular duel between the wizards, this is extreme stuff. Ghosts come out of mirrors and kill people and Sammo's own arm is possessed by evil (two ideas later borrowed by Sam Raimi in his EVIL DEAD II). Elsewhere we have bizarre and complex magic rituals complete with on-screen chicken death (shocking) and some hilarious mumbo-jumbo gobbledegook that the evil magician chants. It doesn't make sense but it sounds great. The film features a great slapstick sequence involving a zombie who copies Sammo's every move, and a hopping corpse which is raised from the dead to attack our hero. It's just like KUGN FU ZOMBIE, but with a decent budget.The main strength of the movie is through the sheer dynamism of Hung and his cohorts and the inventiveness of the scenes. Something new and original is happening in every shot, you sit spellbound watching the events play out and it's one of those films you have to sit through in one go, no time for tea breaks or snacks in between. Possession, zombies, magic duels, and even a few voodoo dolls thrown into the mix make this a killer of a film. Check out the final shot, a real adrenaline burst that will make you stand up out of your chair and cheer our hero on. A great slice of Hong Kong escapism and one of the best out there.

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+

"Hung plays Chang, a town bumpkin who unwittingly is drawn into the realm of the supernatural after a trick by his buddies goes awry and conjures up a zombie. His cheating wife takes note and, with her lover, attempts to kill Chang by duping him into repeatedly staying the night in a haunted cemetery, where he must face a powerful zombie. Eventually, he enlists the help of a friendly white (good) wizard to try and help him get rid of the zombies once and for all.One of the first successful attempts at combining martial arts with horror, Encounters of the Spooky Kind is a classic in the genre that helped pave the way for such popular movies as the Mr. Vampire series. It should be noted though that the HK definition of horror is a bit different than here in the West. The zombies (or vampires, depending on the interpretation) look and act (at least to Western standards) weird, hopping about in a kind of dead man's dance. As such, the horror aspects of the movie probably aren't as strong to me as they may be to others. But the film does succeed in creating some excellent action pieces. The finale, which has Hung and the wizard teaming up to defeat a dark wizard and his demon is a textbook example of the genre and quite exciting to watch."

The first real successful horror feature in Hong Kong to mix action with horror. Even though there were similar films before this like The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, it was this movie that laid the groundwork for many future horror films in Hong Kong. Gui Da Gui/Encounters of the Spooky Kind(1980) sports a physical incredible performance from Sammo Hung Kam Bo as Courageous Cheung. The special effects are some of the best ever seen in a Hong Kong film. Sammo excells in the role of writer, star, and director. The fight sequences involving the Inspector and his men are wonderfully choreographed. Influenced many American filmmakers including Sam Raimi. Sam Raimi uses scenes from this film as inspiration for Evil Dead(1983) and Evil Dead 2(1987). Courageous Cheung is a model for the character ofAsh in the Evil Dead films. Gui Da Gui/Encounters of the Spooky Kind(1980) along with Eastern Condors(1987), Pedicab Driver(1989), and Prodigal Son(1983) are my favorite films by the director.