Encounter Of The Spooky Kind (1980) - A Review

 

Classic and influential Hong Kong horror comedy movie.

Encounter of The Spooky Kind (also known as Encounters Of The Spooky Kind, Close Encounter Of The Spooky Kind, and Spooky Encounters) is a horror/comedy/martial arts movie starring Sammo Hung, Chung Fat, Huang Ha, Tai Bo, Peter Chan Lung, Leung Suet-mei, and Lam Ching-Ying. Encounter Of The Spooky Kind was directed by Sammo Hung, with martial arts also directed by Sammo along with Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-Ying, and Billy Chan Wui-Ngai.

Bold Cheung played by Sammo Hung. Cheung goes through some stuff in this movie!

In Encounter Of The Spooky Kind, Sammo Hung plays Bold Cheung, a very proud coachman married to a seemingly unhappy wife (played by Leung Suet-mei). Cheung drives Master Tam (played by Huang Ha), a very important person, to his "appointments". Trust me, these appointments aren't medical. One day, Cheung walks in on his wife cheating on him... but the man is able to escape before Cheung can fully see him. All that is left behind is the man's shoe. Of course, it is Master Tam that was with Cheung's wife. Master Tam doesn't want Bold Cheung (or the town) to find out what he's doing, so he decides Cheung needs to die. Tam's assistant (played by Tai Bo) has just the plan to get rid of Cheung.

Bold Cheung is dared to spend the night in a temple; if he can make it, he will be paid a lot of money. Unbeknownst to him, Tam's assistant hired the corrupt priest Chin Hoi (played by Peter Chan Lung) to raise a corpse in the temple from the dead and make it kill Cheung! Luckily, the priest's colleague Tsui (played by Chung Fat) overhears this plan and warns Cheung about it; he even gives him ways to fight off the jiangshi (the reanimated vampire corpse). 

Bold Cheung having an encounter of the spooky kind...

After Bold Cheung survives the temple twice, he comes home to find out he's been framed for murder! He gets arrested, escapes, but now the authorities (led by Lam Ching-Ying) are after him. Priest Tsui decides to take Bold Cheung as his apprentice, as Priest Chin Hoi has one last evil plan to kill him. Can Bold Cheung survive this last onslaught?

Encounter Of The Spooky Kind is a classic Hong Kong movie, and its success at the time started the trend of martial arts comedy horror films there. It was the first movie to showcase the jiangshi (hopping vampire). This movie was very influential (as was a lot of Sammo Hung's work), and it lead to other movies like Mr. Vampire, Vampire vs. Vampire and... Encounter Of The Spooky Kind II.

This movie is great! It's funny (though, humor is subjective), it's creepy, and it has great fight scenes. What more could you want? The movie is not gory (though there is a scene where Bold Cheung gets a chunk bitten out of his leg; it's bloody but not excessively so), and the scares are mild (though a young child might find it scary). The special effects are a mixed bag; some are good (like the leg bite), but some are more...low quality. I don't mind the special effects; they add to the charm of the film.

As for the story, it's pretty good. Everything makes sense. It has the kind of plot where one thing leads to another, which leads to another, and so on (which is why I had to abruptly end the plot summary, otherwise I would just describe the whole movie). Sammo Hung as Bold Cheung is a very likeable protagonist. He is not a bad guy, but his bravery gets him into trouble. Chung Fat as Priest Tsui is great as well. He is an honest priest trying to use magic for good, not for evil. Lam Ching-Ying as the Inspector trying to arrest Bold Cheung is also awesome. He brings humor along with the seriousness of law enforcement. The other actors do their parts well, but Sammo and Chung Fat are the best in this movie.

The fighting is fast, furious, hard-hitting, and spooky!

This being a Sammo Hung movie from the 1980s, you can bet that the action is great in Encounter Of The Spooky Kind! The fights are fast, hard-hitting, and executed to perfection. In Sammo's first fight against the jiangshi, we see him throw some hard strikes that connect for real against the vampire (including a brutal punch to its face). Another great scene is when the evil priest takes control of Bold Cheung's arm, causing a brawl in an outdoor restaurant. Sammo takes a brutal fall when trying to control his arm. From there we get some awesome fighting against a crew of police officers. In the final fight scene, Bold Cheung and his opponents get possessed by spirits who have very distinct fighting styles. The fighting is hardcore here, and is a real treat to watch. Also, watch for the almost botched stunt at the end where a flaming structure falls down and almost lands on Sammo, who moves away just in time. Crazy stuff!

As you can imagine, I highly recommend Encounter Of The Spooky Kind. It's a classic Hong Kong movie, a must watch if you are an Asian cinema fan. It's a fun, spooky, funny, action-packed movie. I will say, there are two scenes which may disturb viewers: a real chicken is decapitated in a ritual the evil priest performs, and the very end scene is very shocking. It's a spoiler, but man, it's pretty messed up. Despite those scenes, this movie is so good! Watch it!

The cover for the DVD I watched for this review.

Back cover for the DVD.

The DVD disc. Talk about spooky!

Reviewed by David Williams