A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
Ning Tsai-Shen, a humble tax collector, arrives in a small town to carry out his work. Unsurprisingly... (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Siu-Tung Ching
Written By: Kai-Chi Yun, Songling Pu
Starring: Jing Wong, Wu Ma, Elvis Tsui, Joey Wang, Leslie Cheung, Siu-Ming Lau, Wai Lam, Kam Chiang, Ha Huang, Dawei Hu, Zhilun Xue, Yau Cheung Yeung
Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Action, Horror
Franchise: A Chinese Ghost Story
AKAs: Sien nui yau wan, Sinnui yauwan
Country: Hong Kong
Where to Stream
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A Chinese Ghost Story belongs to 25 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 232 stars)
2. Psychotronic Film and Video Guides (collaborative: moderated by Gregzilla - 40 stars)
3. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (collaborative: moderated by Aron Ericson - 16 stars)
4. Doubling The Canon (collaborative - 13 stars)
5. Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See (public: jimmyjazz - 11 stars)
6. Asian Horror (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 6 stars)
7. Hong Kong Film Awards' List of The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 6 stars)
8. List: Taschen (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 6 stars)
9. Doubling The Canon (2010 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 5 stars)
10. Remade (collaborative: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer - 4 stars)
11. LoveHKFilm: The Best 200 Hong Kong Films Ever (public: edkrak - 3 stars)
12. China (collaborative: moderated by djross - 2 stars)
13. Based on a Short Story (collaborative: moderated by jmarkthespot - 2 stars)
14. DtC Doubling the Canon 2022 Nominees (collaborative: moderated by lineuphere - 2 stars)
15. TheEndOfCinema - 30 Essential Wuxia Films (public: Nroo - 2 stars)
16. Doubling the Canon (2011 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 1 star)
17. Doubling the Canon (2012 update) (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 1 star)
18. gork movies to get (public: gork - 1 star)
19. Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival's 100 Greatest Chinese-Language Films (public: Dr.N0 - 1 star)
20. Grande Prémio Fantasporto (collaborative: moderated by iceblox)
21. 1001 Movies You Must See (and I have) (public: donkeyjelly)
22. Edgar Wright's 1000 Favorite Movies (public: coldesser)
23. Edgar 256 (public: caffe)
24. Forrest Watch List (public: ForrestQ)
25. koronamalina (public: ptkw)
Browse the full list of collections
| Date | User | Rating | |
| Aug 22, 2022 |  |
jeff_v | 70 64th |
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Good fantasy martial arts horror comedy romance.
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| Jun 11, 2022 |  |
Scrib | 50 14th |
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A Chinese Ghost Story can quickly be summed up as a whimsical fantasy romance, and you can do the math on what that looks like when the origin is Hong Kong and the decade is the 1980s. On paper, this seemed like something bizarre enough for me to enjoy on an ironic level, but instead I just felt like my brain was being assaulted.
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| Apr 19, 2022 |  |
Heliophage | 88 97th |
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A film with all the hallmarks of the ever-hot 80s Hong Kong horror comedy genre, with more polish (and budget) than most, and a sweet little romantic core that proves a sturdy enough frame to build everything around.
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| Nov 12, 2021 |  |
glumpy_99 | 56 14th |
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I'll admit to a personal bias against the broader strokes of 80s fantasy horror, as well as the overly emotive performance styles of Asian cinema, both of which leave me cold and are the bread-and-butter of this film; that being said, the ghosts and monsters are imaginatively conceived, Leslie Cheung is a likably "nebbish" lead and folk-lore of the ghosts themselves is interesting enough. Probably better suited for genre hounds.
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| Feb 19, 2021 |  |
MargusTa | 100 98th |
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Ghost stories can be even romantic. This action backed movie has everything. Beside the love story fighting with monsters is here the next best thing. Someway my favorite movie from 1980's.
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| Oct 02, 2020 |  |
ribcage | 83 82nd |
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Siu-Tung Ching has taken Raimi’s energy and enthusiasm and heavily branded it with Chinese aesthetics and this is AMAZING. Plenty of FOG, plenty of spooky establishing shots, creepy ghouls, gruesome tongue demons, wild camera movements… I can go on and on. Decapitations, tentacles, blood, songs, fog, laughs, campy 80s effects done well, seduction, allure, love, imagination — what more could you want? It’ absurd. It’s amazing. It should be seen by way more people.
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| Feb 19, 2020 |  |
julesfmb | 67 72nd |
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Leslie Cheung is really annoying here. Besides that, it's a lot of fun.
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| May 26, 2019 |  |
lofisofi | 57 55th |
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strange, fun, but not likely to leave a lasting impression
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| Aug 16, 2015 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 83 72nd |
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Pretty fun mix of martial arts, horror and romance that doesn't wear out its welcome.
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| Oct 10, 2014 |  |
SirRobbie | 80 81st |
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I agree, it does resemble Evil Dead in a weird way. Loved it!
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| Apr 20, 2014 | glm01 | 80 64th |
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80.000
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| Sep 11, 2012 |  |
eCitizen | 80 83rd |
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This is a ghost story with lots of cheesy special effects, but you can't help but love the telling of it. A good hearted, almost inept public official goes to a village to help with their desperate water shortage. Little does he know there is a nest of demon ghosts. His good heart leads him, along with a few spirit masters, to save them. This is a love story, with big pot holes, but it has enough outrageous nonsense, pretty girls and sappy love story elements to keep you interested to the end.
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| Jun 05, 2012 | Coheed | 100 97th |
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An utter beautiful and delirious film, folk legends blurring with the best of the 1980s aesthetic of Hong Kong cinema to create a standout of that era of the region's film output. That it manages to feel like the Evil Dead 2 and then outdo it in its unadulterated energy is a cherry on top.
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| Jul 01, 2011 | glm | 79 63rd |
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78.500
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| Apr 19, 2009 |  |
empiremag | 4 71st |
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"Blending every genre under the sun into a film that feels like a permanent sugar rush, this action horror classic was perfecting wire-fu long before Western audiences knew what it was. Not every Hong Kong movie is like this; that's a shame."
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| Apr 17, 2009 |  |
nilkynarfy | 85 86th |
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Supremely watchable fantasy/horror/kung-fu/romantic comedy/musical that is a must see for Evil Dead 2 fans, or anyone in general.
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| Mar 23, 2009 | moviesinhell | 88 85th |
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While a love story at heart, this kinetic tale also incorporates subversive humor, copious swordplay, horrific FX, and even scattered musical interludes, as when swordsman Wu performs what amounts to a Taoist version of "My Way".
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| Aug 14, 2007 |  |
Moribunny | 55 44th |
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Cute.
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| Aug 14, 2007 |  |
yilb | 60 58th |
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Insane.
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| Mar 31, 2007 |  |
Stain | 90 86th |
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Exciting, weird, romantic, funny. Definitely worth time and a bit of trouble
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| Average Percentile 62.5% from 315 Ratings |  |