I've never seen the previous versions so for me this was a totally new story and I loved it. First of all, the blending between the perfect CGI and the traditional visual art typical of Chinese fantasy movies is really outstanding. I enjoyed the plot because you don't really know what's going to happen next. The acting is so convincing that I cried few times during the movie. I fell in love with each one of the characters; their performance is really outstanding! I also appreciate, in accordance to the ying and yang philosophy, the fact that for every dangerous and scary character, there is a funny and clumsy one to balance the energy and make you laugh. I'm looking forward to watch more of this kind of movies.

Apparently this movie is a remake of another film by the same name which was distributed sometime in the 80's. Since I haven't seen the initial film I cannot compare it with this particular movie. Adding to my difficulties is the fact that the characters listed on IMDb are not the same characters that were in the movie. For example, the beautiful ghost played by Yifei Liu went by the name of "Siu Sin" and not "Nie Xiaoquin". No doubt the translation from Chinese to English has much to do with this. Additionally, the English subtitles on this film weren't of the highest caliber which helped only to a limited degree towards resolving what was clearly a strange and confusing movie to begin with. Be that as it may, from what I have figured out Siu Sin is a ghost who has been enslaved by a "Tree Demon" (similar to a succubus) named "Lou Lou" (Kara Hui). As a result Siu Sin is forced to seduce people who enter Lou Lou's temple on Black Mountain and then sucks the energy out of them--which in turn allows Lou Lou to gain strength. One day a demon hunter named ""Yan Chek Ha" (Louis Koo) appears and falls in love with Siu Sin. But in doing so he destroys his reputation with his master which causes him to go into isolation. A while later a minor government official named "Ning Caichen" (Shaoqun Yu) journeys to Black Mountain in search of water and finds Siu Sin in the temple. She initially attempts to seduce him but fails because of his innocence. This makes Lou Lou quite angry but before she can do anything about it Yan Chek Ha returns to Black Mountain with a vengeance of his own. Now, while it's quite possible that I may have missed something in translation I still enjoyed the movie for the most part. It had plenty of action and the CGI complemented the movie in a major way. There was also some good humor here and there as well. Likewise, it didn't hurt to have such a beautiful actress like Yifei Liu in a prominent role either. Again, it's a bit confusing but those who enjoy a decent Fantasy film might want to give this one a look. Over all, I rate it as slightly above average.

I have only watch the original once, when it's on TV, and it's quite good. So I thought I might give this a try.The director of my favorite Chinese film last year (Ip Man 2) directed this movie, Louis Koo is in this movie (one of the better actor Hong Kong's film industry had to offer). I mean how could this movie get a score lower than a 7? That's was what I thought before I watch the movie.Half an hour into the movie, I had already regretted I spent RM8 on this. This movie is a huge disappointment. It's boring, the character is dull and the post production crew didn't even try to get some good voice actor to dub the Mandarin speaking character. Seriously, the character's face does not match their voice. (I watch the Cantonese version).And the acting done by the guy who play Ning Choi San is really bad. Didn't they held an audition to find suitable actor/actress? Because of the bad voice acting and unsuitable actor, the only character you really care about in the whole movie is really Louis Koo alone.Also, Wai Ying Hong's character as the tree monster is a bit exaggerating and ridiculous, the next thing we know, the villain ends up becoming the second funniest character in the movie.Finally, what is wrong with Hong Kong's film industry lately? Why are there a myriad of actor/actress from mainland China in Hong Kong movie lately? Most of the character in this movie are played by mainland Chinese actor/actress. It's not like I'm a racist against mainland Chinese or anything, but if you can't speak Cantonese, don't audition for a role that needs you to speak Cantonese. It ends up becoming a mess after the dubbing.P/S: I'm really sad I had to say this, but the only good thing about this movie is the babes and Louis Koo's jokes.

A line at the closing credits of this film reads 'In Memory Forever of Leslie Cheung' - acknowledging Cheung's role in the similarly-titled 1987 film as well as its 1990 sequel. Indeed, the 1987 "A Chinese Ghost Story", directed by Ching Siu-Tung in collaboration with producer Tsui Hark, was a landmark movie because its 'crazy' kungfu (and wirefu) effects gimmicks turned it into a cult hit with western (read: international) audiences. Its two sequels (1990 and 1991) were not as popular.Here, director Wilson Yip claims that it is not a remake but a 'new' love story - and yet many elements of the 1987 film remain.THE PLOT: Government official Ling Choi Sin (Yu Shao Qun, taking over Leslie Cheung's role) journeys to the parched Black Mountain Village to help its inhabitants find water. As he leads a group of 'volunteers' up the haunted mountain, he encounters a bevy of sexy demons and well as a lovely 'girl' named Siu Sin (Liu Yi-Fei). After wooing her with some candy, he falls for her - and then realizes that he is caught in a deadly triangle: another guy, a demon-hunter named Yan Chek Ha (Louis Koo) is also in love with Siu Sin.However, before the two men can settle their differences, they have to contend with the evil Tree Demon (Wai Ying-Hung) as well as a one-armed demon hunter (Louis Fan) who is determined to kill all the supernatural beings.MY REVIEW: The 1987 film has a confusing storyline and even more befuddled action sequences that have become the trademarks of Tsui Hark. Wilson Yip, who gave us the two "Ip Man" films, does not attempt to make the love story (especially the one between Chek Ha and Siu Sin) more plausible - or try to 'rationalise' the action sequences. Indeed, some of the fighting scenes are more comical than magical and the acting appear over-the-top. Liu Yi-Fei (left) fits the bill as the Enchantress of the forest but I wish she can evoke more emotions besides pouting and winking her eyes.It is a good thing that Pu Song Ling's story has been adapted on the screen many times before, since "The Enchanting Shadow" (directed by Li Han Hsiang) in the early 1960s. That way, the plot is familiar to many in the audience and they need not rely on the flimsy narrative.