This is a fantastic Hong Kong film in which a poor scholar meets a female ghost after taking refuge in an old, abandoned temple. The ghost is forced to seduce men and trap them for her master, an evil tree devil, to feed upon.
Set in ancient China, this movie is fast-paced and full of action scenes and surprises, which does not drag on the plot. There is a good bit of drama and romance (between the scholar and ghost), mixed in with some comedy and horror scenes (from the tree devil). To top it off, the film has a beautiful music score composed by James Wong and features two songs sung by Sally Yeh and the film's leading protagonist, Leslie Cheung. Mu Wa plays the daring swordsman and Joey Wang plays the beautiful and tragic ghost.
My only issues (very minor) are that the movie seems too fast-paced at times, especially in some of the action sequences. And, it appears that some bits of comedy are forced into certain scenes to lighten up what is supposed to be a dramatic story. Other than that, this movie is an outstanding source of entertainment (with all the magic spells, enchanting spirits, creepy demons, enthralling heroic action and unending journeys) and is one of the more popular movies made in Hong Kong, bringing you back to the nostalgia of the movies in the 1980s, which is, in my opinion, the best decade of films made in HK.
Grade A
Set in ancient China, this movie is fast-paced and full of action scenes and surprises, which does not drag on the plot. There is a good bit of drama and romance (between the scholar and ghost), mixed in with some comedy and horror scenes (from the tree devil). To top it off, the film has a beautiful music score composed by James Wong and features two songs sung by Sally Yeh and the film's leading protagonist, Leslie Cheung. Mu Wa plays the daring swordsman and Joey Wang plays the beautiful and tragic ghost.
My only issues (very minor) are that the movie seems too fast-paced at times, especially in some of the action sequences. And, it appears that some bits of comedy are forced into certain scenes to lighten up what is supposed to be a dramatic story. Other than that, this movie is an outstanding source of entertainment (with all the magic spells, enchanting spirits, creepy demons, enthralling heroic action and unending journeys) and is one of the more popular movies made in Hong Kong, bringing you back to the nostalgia of the movies in the 1980s, which is, in my opinion, the best decade of films made in HK.
Grade A