I'll try to review some more HK horror tomorrow. ;)

Watched Haunted Mansion (1998) which was a pleasant surprise.
I was expecting this late 90's Wong Jing produced horror to be shot on video (not!) and to be mainly funny (not really though there are some fun dialogues) so I went in with fairly low expectations...

The movie slowly builds to a climax but luckily Anthony Wong keeps us entertained for a while until things really start to get creepy and even a bit nasty (think Possessed series and even The Rape After).
Overall it's not bad at all (even pretty good for such a late 90's effort) but I wouldn't recommend it for a first excursion into HK horror. ;)

Btw it seems the Universe dvd has an encoding error which stretches the image to 16:9 but I managed to correct this with the tv settings as this is a 4:3 presentation.

I looked for a trailer but could only find this Japanese? tv? spot:

香港悪éœÅ*マンシム§Ã£Æ’³ï¼ˆé¦™æ¸¯ç¬¬ä¸€å‡¶å® …） - YouTube

Step Into the Dark (1998)

Ok it's a Wong Jing film (directed by Dick Cho) but a decent one! :lol:
This updates the man+female ghost romance films to the late 90's.
It's unpredictable and funny but also thrilling.
Just the way I like it...enjoyed this one. :)

PS there's little blood or gore but lots of ghostly goings on.

STEP INTO THE DARK (1998) Trailer - YouTube

But I managed to hunt it down! :)

http://oi49.tinypic.com/16itzyw.jpg

Last Ghost Standing (1999)

This is one weird/bizarre film! :lol:
I quote: "those who take drugs might be "spun out" with this movie!!"
Seems opinions are divided on this one with many people hating it but I like it personally.
It's basically a ghost film with some comedy,romance and a lot of weirdness thrown in.

Seems there still was some of that good old crazy HK energy around in 1999 and I truly wish more films would have followed this film's example in the new millennium...

So...highly recommended for lovers of the weird and bizarre. ;)

PS The dvd is oop but if you're after one contact me and I'll point you in the right direction (new old stock).

鬼請ä½*çÂ�‡æˆ² é*Â�å‘Å*片 - YouTube

Ordered mine today, cheers for that Bruno.

http://oi47.tinypic.com/10dzbcj.jpg

Return of the Dead (1979)

My first Shaw Brothers horror anthology was a nice surprise.
Enjoyed this one and think fans of other older horror anthologies (like for example the Amicus ones) may also enjoy this one.

Two of the tales feature naked female ghosts and there's some lovely underwater photography. ;)

I've got HOCUS POCUS and NEW MR VAMPIRE, still to watch.

Nice ones to watch over the weekend. ;)

Fun. :)
Shelf Life Clothing Chinese Hopping Vampire Tee Shirts

http://oi41.tinypic.com/291f09l.jpg

Haunted Tales (aka Ghosts Walk In) (1980)

"Acclaimed director Chu Yuan handles a newlywed bride's haunted house terrors in the first story while exploitation expert Mou Tun-Fei helms the second story, of a nasty lottery winner whose greed leads him to a grim fate."

Actually there's more to this anthology (two instead of the usual three stories here) as both were unfinished films:

"HAUNTED TALES (1980) is an interesting picture. It began five years earlier under the direction of Chu Yuan under the title HELLISH SOUL. Filming shut down at some point with reshoots being required. With original director, Chu too busy to redo some of the sequences (including a hospital scene), Ho Meng Hua was ordered to partake in the reshoots in late 1978."

"For whatever reason, the movie, now titled THE GHOST, was still problematic and was put on hold yet again. With a number of other Shaw pictures (most notably THE CRIMINALS series) being left unfinished and later turned into anthologies, Chu's ghost picture would share the same fate."

"Controversial director, Mou Tun Fei (MAN BEHIND THE SUN) had some of his Shaw pictures halted to be turned into shorter features for a multi-part movie, some of which became part of the above mentioned CRIMINALS series. His THE PRIZE WINNER was one of these proposed full length productions that was later cut back as a short feature."

"Finally, both THE PRIZE WINNER and THE GHOST were combined to form HAUNTED TALES, 93 minutes of spine-tingling terror about a newlywed couple moving into a haunted house and a greedy lottery winner who comes to a bad end." ( info from this wonderful site Cool Ass Cinema )

The Ghost starts off slow but gets much better as it progresses while the second tale,The Prize Winner,was a real revelation and would certainly earn a Cat III rating nowadays.

Both are tales set in the modern (70's) world btw.

Overall I liked Haunted Tales with The Prize Winner being the best tale imho. :)