Trailer
Plot summary
Ling Choi San, a humble tax collector for the imperial government, reaches a rural town where no one will give him a bed for the night, so he sleeps in the empty temple in the forest. The swordsman Yin Chek-ha warns him about the ghosts that haunt the place, and there he meets Lip Siu Sin, a beautiful woman with whom he falls in love. She is a ghost, held in bondage by a tree demoness whose long tongue wraps around its victims and drains their life essence. Ling Choi San wants to free her soul and turns to the swordsman for help.
Cast
- Yau Cheung Yeungas Charm Seller
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Tsui Hark wanted Japanese singer-actress Akina Nakamori to star in A Chinese Ghost Story, but she turned down the offer due to the language barrier and her inability to understand the story. May Lo was his second choice but could not fit filming into her schedule, and Joey Wong approached Tsui's wife, producer Nansun Shi, for an audition.
- The film's giant slithering tongue and zombies were created by Cinefex Workshop, Hong Kong's first proper special effects studio, with technician Man Xian Liang teaching himself stop motion animation to make the effects happen.
- Before its official release in mainland China in 2011, the film was widely circulated there through unofficial channels including smuggled videocassettes, pirated VCDs and DVDs and later video-sharing websites, and was celebrated as a cult classic.
- The film boosted the stardom of Joey Wong, increased Leslie Cheung's popularity in Japan and sparked a trend of folklore ghost films in the Hong Kong film industry.
