The Spooky and the Supernatural

Encounter of the Spooky Kind

Dir: Sammo Hung
Scrs: Sammo Hung, Wong Ying
Prod Co: Golden Harvest
Cast: Sammo Hung, Fat Chung, Chan Lung (aka Peter Chan), Wong Har (aka Huang Ha), Lam Ching-ying
1980 | Colour | DCP | Cantonese | Chi & Eng Subtitles | 103min

Sammo Hung’s Encounters of the Spooky Kind pioneered a uniquely Hong Kong sub-genre blending action comedy with ghostly thrills, which became popular in the 1980s. The film was the debut production of Hung’s new Golden Harvest–backed company formed in 1979. Apart from directing the film and penning the script, Hung also stars as Cheung, a boisterous horse-cart driver who constantly brags about his bravery. His friends enjoy pranking him with fake ghosts, but Cheung soon finds himself confronted by the real thing. After discovering his wife’s affair, her lover hires a Taoist priest, Chin, to eliminate Cheung using supernatural means. Another priest Hui, appalled by Chin’s willingness to do anything for money, steps in to help Cheung fight back.

What follows is a spectacular battle as the rival priests employ different mystical means and eventually summon an array of deities. Cheung becomes the vessel for these mythical beings, leading to a dazzling final showdown that weaves Chinese folklore into riotous action. The film showcases a wide mix of supernatural traditions, Chinese and Western alike, while reminding us that human greed is often more frightening than any ghost. Alongside Hung’s charismatic performance, Lam Ching-ying adds wonderful energy as the ancient sheriff pursuing Cheung, foreshadowing his later fame in Taoist priest roles in vampire films in the same sub-genre.

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