An excellent combination of martial arts, comedy and horror, this outstanding film helped pave the way for the comedy/horror genre that filled Hong Kong production studios in the '80s and '90s. All of the clichés and fun elements of the genre are present and correct in this nicely-budgeted romp, which doesn't let up from the word go. Our guide and hero through the film is the one and only Sammo Hung, here on top form as both star and director. As the star, Hung puts in a great and funny performance, his comedy skills (mostly acting terrified of the dead) matched by his superior martial arts abilities, ably demonstrated in lots of cool fight scenes. As a director, Hung is in his element and delivers a colourful, exciting, never-lets-up comic book style romp.The plot takes in all kinds of bizarre characters and situations, there's even a guy with a huge hairy mole on his cheek which seems to be the stand for every '70s kung fu flick. Intense set-pieces include nights spent in a haunted temple, jailbreaks, plus the rip-roaring climax which involves the classic duel of wizards and tons of non-stop action. The martial arts sequences are fantastic, especially a fight scene in a restaurant where Hung uses a bench to protect him from razor-sharp swords, and the finale, where Hung and his opponents are possessed by gods and perform superhuman techniques (anyone who doesn't chuckle at Hung's "monkey god" style has to be dead, or possessed).As well as the action, ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND fulfils its horror quota by including lots of bizarre situations and horrific moments. From the opening shots of zombies tearing open Hung's leg to the spectacular duel between the wizards, this is extreme stuff. Ghosts come out of mirrors and kill people and Sammo's own arm is possessed by evil (two ideas later borrowed by Sam Raimi in his EVIL DEAD II). Elsewhere we have bizarre and complex magic rituals complete with on-screen chicken death (shocking) and some hilarious mumbo-jumbo gobbledegook that the evil magician chants. It doesn't make sense but it sounds great. The film features a great slapstick sequence involving a zombie who copies Sammo's every move, and a hopping corpse which is raised from the dead to attack our hero. It's just like KUGN FU ZOMBIE, but with a decent budget.The main strength of the movie is through the sheer dynamism of Hung and his cohorts and the inventiveness of the scenes. Something new and original is happening in every shot, you sit spellbound watching the events play out and it's one of those films you have to sit through in one go, no time for tea breaks or snacks in between. Possession, zombies, magic duels, and even a few voodoo dolls thrown into the mix make this a killer of a film. Check out the final shot, a real adrenaline burst that will make you stand up out of your chair and cheer our hero on. A great slice of Hong Kong escapism and one of the best out there.

Des Mangan defines this movie as being the one that defined the Hong Kong horror scene for the rest of the century. Not being too familiar with Hong Kong cinema, I cannot agree or disagree, but there seems to be a lot to things in this movie that other Hong Kong movies have borrowed from.Hong Kong horror is nothing like Western horror. In Western cinema, horror films are either of two sorts: a real horror such as is seen in movies like Misery, or a supernatural horror, as is seen in movies like poltergeist. In the supernatural horror films, it is generally defenseless people fighting evil creatures of hell which are ultimately more powerful.Hong Kong horror differs in the way that the protagonists aren't always defenseless. The hero of this movie, Fearless Cheung, is not able to fight the ghosts on his own, and as such enlists the help of a local wizard and both of them fight the antagonists together. The horror is always supernatural, which represents the highly superstitious Chinese demeanor, and magic is generally thrown around everywhere. The plots aren't always direct either nor is their generally one spooky antagonists. In this movie, the antagonist is actually a governor who hires a corrupt sorcerer to kill Cheung, thus Cheung faces everything from ghosts to hopping vampires, to corpses that he accidentally animates while sleeping next to it.Another difference, which is mimiced in Magic Cop and Erotic Ghost story, is the final battle. Hong Kong cinema generally have very spectacular closing scenes with much magic flying about. In this film we have two sorcerers fight each other while summoning deamons to possess their servants. In Western cinema it is generally an underdog priest battling helplessly against an even more powerful demon. In this movie the spirit world is divided into good an evil, while in Western cinema, the spirit world is evil while the real world is good.Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind is an exceptionally good movie. The action never lets up and goes right through to the close. It is not tense or scary, though it seems that it is one man against not only the establishment, but the forces of hell as well. As with a lot of Hong Kong action, the action is also very animated which makes it very entertaining to watch.

This influential film introduced the hopping vampires in kung fu films, called gyonsies. This was the first film to accurately depict chinese vampires (Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires was the first kung fu film to show vampires, but with European vamp influence.) Sammo Hung is funny in this film, but for a fat man, he is no joke. He can do stunts that would shame any fit athletic man. The kung fu choreography is spectacular and humorus. And the ending is one of the most satisfying ending any man can hope for when your wife not only cheats on you, but plots your murder. EOTSK helped pave the way for chinese horror films as we know them today, but this is easily the best as far as entertainment all over. 9 out of 10.

Oh yeah, what a way cool movie! Samo Hung directed this very early effort in the HK horror/comedy genre, and what a doozie it is too.Crazy martial arts, total disregard for bodily damage, lavish sets, marvelous photography, stock music from countless horror films and some great zombies too!!!The zombies are what make this movie so fun. Just watch it and you'll see what I mean! The final showdown is also notable for being very funny. You need to see this in the original Cantonese language, just to take in the hilarious "conjured spirit" dialogue of the two fighting actors.