Oh I love 'Mr Vampire (1985)', so how could I not fall for 'Spooky Encounters' in what people call the prototype of the Hong Kong sub-genre; horror, comedy and martial arts rolled into one. It's genius. Inspired. And non-stop fun. Really the tripped-out blend would be hard to pull off, but star/writer/director Sammo Hung does an adeptly magnificent job combining them in a satisfying manner. No doubts, that this film has some influences' on other horror films. Sam Raimi's 'Evil Dead' Trilogy? I can see it. The comically bumbling, but gallant protagonist (amusingly acted by Hung) sticks out with its familiarities to Ash. The confrontations with the supernatural are exaggeratedly humorous with its free-flowing slapstick and psychical gags. The scenes of possessed rotting corpses and jumping Chinese vampires in combat and that of our protagonist's arm having a mind of its own are highly enjoyable in their spectacularly crafted set-pieces. Kung-fu choreography is that of high level with its timing, pacing and overall rhythm. Never skips a beat, as the outstanding camera-work characteristically frames every shot in a prolific and kinetic fashion. The story tells of poor worker Bold Cheung as he encounters many unusual, spooky situations when he gets caught up in a bet to stay a night in a haunted temple, but along the way he's getting close to discovering that his wife is having an with affair with his boss. The material is a jumble, but creative storm of hybrid ideas. Adventurous, cheeky and ghastly. Scripting holds up well, as it compels with its charm and fruitful quips. The witchcraft side isn't particularly horrifying, not even eerie because the humour mostly takes centre stage, but it's definitely pleasurably offbeat. But what stands out, and leaves an impression is the way they go about ending it. POW! Hung's high octane direction is thick on atmosphere, uncanny sound FX, playful score, vivid art-direction and splendidly wonderful looking (yep even though macabre corpses) make-up and special effects. Brightly animated performances by Ha Wong, Dick Wei, Ching-Ying Lam, Fat Chung, Lung Chan and Suet-Moi Leung lend well too. Growing up watching the magically crazy 70's Japanese TV series 'Monkey Magic' was where it all started for me, and I don't see myself ever falling out of interest. If you're getting bored with the recent same-old clutter coming out of modern Asian horror cinema, all you have to do is go back and delve into these early Eastern fixtures for some blistering thrills and tasty laughs.

if they sold hilarity on a stick, it would be called Spooky Encounters! Sammo Hung plays "Courageous Chueng" in this great chinese vampire/ghost and all around general supernatural movie of DOOM! Sammo gives us PLENTY of great kung fu, and even becomes possessed as the monkey king!as always, sifu is in here, but strangely enough, he doesent play taoist priest here, hes chief inspector! but dont despair, in the sequel, he plays the charecter we all know and love. too bad i havent seen it yet!If you like the Mr. Vampire series, be sure to grab this one too.

This is one of, if not the best sammo hung film I have seen. It is just so funny. Sammo plays Courageous Cheung, the man who cant turn down a bet. He gets himself in trouble when his wife and her lover (sammos master) make a bet that they hope will kill him. Cue much slapstick kung-foolery and bizarre goings on. Such as Sammo's hand being possessed and trying to kill him.The films climax though is the killer. In order to have enough strength to defeat his enemies Sammo and his wizard mate allow sammo to be possessed by the Monkey god (of MONKEY! Fame, but obviously not the same character. That would just be stupid). Sammo takes on the characteristics of a Monkey and kicks a lot of arse, including his wifes. Im not advocating spousal abuse, but when sammos wife comes crawling back, he gives her such a richly deserved thrashing you cant help but cheer!

This movie is really great! I was really caught by surprise because before I saw this movie, I thought all Hong Kong movies were hyper-violent actions with "rock hard" characters. The characters in this movie are actually very funny. They're not all cold, hard murderers who go around shooting or beating people up.There's lots of great humor in this movie, mixed with the standard Hong Kong stunts. I bet you would have to look for a long time to find a Western stuntman who can do all the stuff Sammo does here. And he's fat!!! There's really not much I can say without giving up too much of the story, so I suggest you just see it. It's incredible, and matches even the best American comedies.