Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1981)
Starring and directed by action movie legend Sammo Hung, it was Encounters of the Spooky Kind that almost single handedly reinvented the action-horror genre in Hong Kong cinema. Watching the Hong Kong Legends excellent remastered DVD edition it’s hard to believe, in fact, that the film is now over twenty-five years old…in fact it pre-dates the hopping vampires of that other cult classic Mr Vampire by several years. The HKL copy includes an extensive English language interview with Sammo Hung, a restoration featurette, excellent audio commentary by Bey Logan and is presented in the original Cantonese with remastered English subtitles.
The success of the film as a whole is undoubtedly down to the fact that it delivers on several levels. For horror fans there are some genuinely creepy moments with numerous revived zombies and vampires; Hung’s comic timing is spot on as usual – the scene in which a zombie mimics his every move is almost Chaplin-esque; and the martial arts scenes, of course, are stunning. Sammo Hung may not look like an obvious choice as a kung fu maestro yet in spite of his large size his display of martial arts skills in the very long closing battle scene in which he is possessed by a series of Chinese deities is amazing - his possession by the monkey god in particular stands out as a demonstration of Hung’s sheer acting and physical ability.
Fans of the Mr Vampire series will also spot Lam Ching Ling in the role of a local law man on Sammo Hung’s trail.
A must for fans of Hong Kong action movies and its supernatural or, rather, spooky sub-genre!
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