Customer Reviews

Spooky Encounters

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This title was produced in 1980 and other than how old Samo looks its not very dated looking. The dvd transfer is good and the sound is surprising there are a few scratches on the print (minor)and the only english is the subtitles. Now this film takes a little while to get rolling but by the last 1/3 you are completely engaged. The story of the dueling voodoo priest brothers is excellent as is the fight choreograhpy and performance by director/star Samo H. If you are a fan of HK cinema check this one out I was very pleased with it and can't wait for the sequel. Oh by the way the box says 89 mins but its really 99 mins long and oh my that last ten minutes.

Man!!!!This movie blew me away when i first saw it, just everything about it from start to finish it's just insane.
I thought when I saw it the first time I would just put it with my other dvd's. But it only got better with the second viewing.
This is the movie that made realize that Sammo Hung is the s***.
That's not to say that I did'nt know he was before, but this only solidifies it.I remember seeing a clip of this movie when i was little, ever since i've been looking for it but i did'nt know the name of it. Now that i've found it and i'm never lettin' it go. I miss movies like this, very inventive, great choreography I SAID IT BEFORE I'LL SAY IT AGAIN SAMMO HUNG IS THE BEST .But anyway like everyone else said the ending is just crazy.
Crazy in a good way, I dare anybody, genre fan or not to watch this movie and not like it. You show the person who does'nt like
this movie even a little i'll show you a freakin' psycho.
It don't get better than this. I've got nothin' else to say I love it. By the way is there anybody out there that wants to talk kung fu with me please let me know. I'm at (...)
Peace.

Funny, exciting. This 1980 movie really changed the HK movie industry which up to that year had never combined horror with kungfu comedy. This movie spawned numerous imitations and the successful Mr. Vampire and Chinese Ghost Story series. Samo Hung still looks young and in a good shape really shines. The plot is about a man framed for murder of his wife because his wife has an affair with a rich man. The rich man hired a sorcerer to kill Samo Hung. Samo got helped by another sorcerer. The fight scenes are terrific and the DVD is quite good as well. Highly recommended. This movie along with the first Mr. Vampire are really the best of the genre. For you who never experienced HK horror, comedy, kungfu movie this is the one to start with.

This movie is pretty awesome but it does take a while to get into. The DVD transfer is very good, as are the action sequences and special effects. Lots of zombie, ghost and magic fighting scenes. If you like the genre, you should like this movie enough to buy this DVD. I watched it twice the week I got it and really liked it the second time. You just have to get over the long plot developement scenes between the action. These plot scenes are really not that bad, though. All of the fight scenes are spectacular especially the final one. Interesting sidenote: the movie opens with the intense music from Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". You then realize that this music is actually Chinese in origin, not hollywood film scoring.

With another ghost! This film is a true classic amongst Hong Kong action films. With an impressive blend of well-choreographed martial arts and distinctly Eastern horror themes, Encounter of the Spooky Kind (the original chinese title can be loosely translated as "Ghost vs. Ghost") still holds its place as a Chinese classic despite its somewhat dated special effects. Sammo Hung plays Cheung, a rustic with a reputation for unmatched bravery in the face of supernatural horrors. When an elder "warlock" (the closest Western title available) is hired to murder Cheung, the martial arts come out to play. When a conscientious *younger warlock decides to aid Cheung, the ghosts then join the fray! This film is very well crafted, and showcases Hung's abilities as a director well before his introduction to Western screens. As one of the few celebrated actors well trained in the martial arts, Hung's performance in this film was enough to keep me searching for a copy since the film's debut so many years ago. While this version does feature a dubbed soundtrack, the voice-overs are done reasonably well. This widescreen edition has the original film well restored for the most part, with a few noticeable exceptions in one of the fight scenes. An easy recommendation for fans of the Hong Kong action section in their video stores!

*trivia: the two "warlocks" address each other as "brother" because they trained under the same teacher. Not because they are related. :^)

"Spooky Encounters" (aka Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind; 1981) is a seminal work in the hybrid genre of Hong Kong comedy/kung fu/horror films. While this had been done before by the Shaw Brother's "The Spiritual Boxer" (1975), "The Spiritual Boxer Part II" (1979) and Lo Wei's unsuccessful "Spiritual Kung Fu" (1978), "Spooky Encounters" is the film most causal in the formative kyonsi (hopping vampires) craze of the 1980s with "Mr. Vampire" (1985) as the best example of that subgenre with its plethora of sequels. It was directed by and stars Sammo Hung Kam-Bo ("Warrior's Two" and "The Prodigal Son" who would also produce "Mr. Vampire") during the golden age of Golden Harvest and was the first film under Sammo's Bo Ho Films Company.

Sammo stars as Bold Cheung an affable courageous not-so-bright cuckold who works for Mr. Tam (I am not quite sure what Cheung does though). However, Tam is cheating with Cheung's wife and Cheung came awfully close to finding the two together; however, he did find a shoe that was left behind. Since Tam, who is going to run for mayor, does not want any scandal he decides to employ the services of a black-magic Taoist named Chin Hoi to murder Bold Cheung. Luckily his brother-in-witchcraft Tsui (Chung Faat who is also in Sammo's "Prodigal Son" and "Magnificent Butcher") is astonished he will breaks the rules of the sect (the four rules are: must not be greedy, must not kill, must not insult our god and must not behave badly) and goes off to help Cheung.

Tsui's first good deed is to help Cheung survive a bet with an employee of Tam (played by the ubiquitous Wu Ma) to spend a night in a haunted place that looks like a giant storage shed. It houses a kyonsi - an undead vampire/zombie that is stiff, has to hop to get around, can suck blood through its long fingernails (does not happen here) and has good kung fu skills for some reason. Cheung being a bit of a dullard gets talked into staying two nights. Obviously this does not work so Mr. Tam ends up framing Cheung for the murder of his wife though no body is found. Now Sammo has the law after him led by the Inspector (Lam Ching-Ying) as well as the supernatural sorcerer.

There is not much to complain about in this film. The few annoyances with the movie is the episodic structure the film takes on in the beginning and the underutilization of Lam Ching-Ying ("Mr. Vampire") fighting especially since he is credited as an action director. Also, the very ending is quite unsuspecting (not necessarily for Hong Kong aficionados) and seemed a bit excessive and hard to watch (for those who have not seen it I will not spoil it, it even startled me the second time I watched the movie). You also might not appreciate the film if you like chickens (unless you like exploding ones). There is also some mention of animal killing though nothing is shown (except for the chickens).

The strengths of the film are many. Sammo is in the best shape of his life during the early 80s. He does look slightly corpulent but his kung fu and movement appears effortlessly and adroit (a big difference to how he would appear in the late 80s and beyond). I did notice he was doubled in a few scenes like when he was transformed into the Monkey King, he does not do some of the swinging movements, but for most he was not doubled. There are a couple of classic fight scenes with the tea house bit where Cheung loses control of his arm to the evil Taoist and takes on the tavern (I do not think it influenced Evil Dead II though you never know) and the excellent showdown at the Longevity Inn where Cheung is transformed into the Monkey King and has to fight the Dragon Slayer. In those fights Sammo does some great fighting with a bench in the first and a spear in the second. The whole finale I found quite entertaining with the dueling Taoists. Sammo's direction was also strongest in the 80s where he uses hand-held cameras to great use and has nice composition within frames. He does overuse undercranking in this movie though he tends to do that a lot in his films (as well as most Hong Kong films during that period). His best asset as a director is that he makes everyone else look better and never puts himself in the forefront if he does not have to.

The mixture of humor/action/spookiness works well too. The horror aspect is definitely influenced by the Shaw Brother's films like "Black Magic" (1975) but never goes into the grossness (or nudity) of that film. The humor lightens the macabre aspect while kung fu and comedy meld well for some reason. "Spooky Encounters" is not scary or gore-filled by today's standards, but it is still a good spooky film that is a must for those into 1980s Hong Kong martial arts cinema or fans of Sammo Hung.

Best advice learned from this film -- when you need more chi stamp the ground and if two opponents are evenly matched the one with the higher alter will win.

I have the Fortune Star/Fox release which has a good transfer but no extras except trailers. The biggest plus is that there are no dubtitles. It does include the original mono release which I prefer over the surround sound because of the strange overemphasis it has on contact-hits and other noises. I did notice the score takes some cues from another film but I cannot think of what it could be nor could I find any information while researching for this film. The surround sound version of the movie seems to deemphasize aspects of that lifted score. Here is another example too of an R1 release Hong Kong release that does not match the Hong Kong Legends R2 release for extras. The HKL version has a Bey Logan commentary and other extras (I cannot comment on them since I do not own it).

One to watch! This was actually the first HK kung fu-film that I saw and man I got hooked! Sammo is certainly one of the best comedians and one of the best choreocrapher ever come out of HK. Humor is cool and the fights are best EVER! Scenes where Sammo fights with some dead zombies and gyonsies (and with his own hand too!) are just great and also fun. The best mixture of kung fu, horror and comedy that exist (maybe not quite equal to Mr.Vampire). The sequel is also great fun.

This film is one of the best Magical Kung Fu films I have ever seen, and let me tell you I have seen them all! From start to finish you will not be able to take you eyes off the screen as he takes you on a spooky adventure with quite stunning fight scenes, magical effects and very comical dialogue.

A must buy for the open minded kung Fu loving viewer!

I love Sammo, This movie rates a C grade.
This is NOT a big Sammo action picture.
The scenes where Sammo encounters a vampire and an animated corpse are fascinating looks into the Chinese culture's mythology, and they're effectively creepy and funny at the same time. They're worth watching once.
There's a lot of filler in this movie, though. Get it for under $5.

THIS IS GREAT KUNG FU FLICK. YOU CAN PUT THIS ANYWHERE IN YOUR TOP TWENTY IN MY OPINION. UP THERE WITH KNOCKABOUT, THE VICTIM AND PRODIGAL SON. IT SHY'S AWAY FROM THE TYPICAL REVENGE PLOT AND THE KUNG FU IS TOP NOTCH. ITS REALLY FUNNY TOO. IVE BEEN WATCHING OLD SCHOOL KUNG FU AND WUXIA FOR ALMOST 14 YEARS AND THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST FUN AND DIFFERENT IVE SEEN...