Themes: Cons and Scams, Servants and Employers, Mind Games
Main Cast: Sammo Hung, Chung Fat, Chan Lung, Lam Ching-Ying
Release Year: 1981
Country: HK
Run Time: 100 minutes
Plot
Courageous Cheung (Sammo Hung) has a reputation for taking on any dare, no matter how foolish it may be, in order to prove his unabashed bravery. Though his friends often take advantage of his misguided machismo by luring him into dubious dares in which they attempt to scare him and laughingly ridicule him, Cheung is placed in very real danger after the Master -- the man his wife is having an affair with -- hires an evil Taoist priest to kill him in what Cheung at first considers a routine test of bravery. Utilizing multiple varieties of dark magic and evil trickery, including hopping vampires and possessed corpses, Cheung is placed in constant danger. Only through his swift kung-fu skills and quick thinking is Cheung able to escape death and hire a supernatural coach of his own in order to defend himself from the increasingly threatening legions of the netherworld. The fever pitch builds to a breaking point as Cheung and the evil Master face off as possessed marionettes guided by the spells and incantations of their powerful Taoist priest rivals. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Review
Though the blending of genres can often have mixed results due to the need for strong balance and a keen eye for the genre conventions, when a talented filmmaker is willing to take the risk, these boundary-bending films can be surprisingly fun and entertaining. Though the mixture of horror and comedy has been fairly common in films since the '70s, director/star Sammo Hung's combination of the two, with the added element of jaw-dropping kung-fu, is an exciting concoction of these three elements, each acutely serving its individual purpose. Though he had taken the director's chair in the past, it was Encounters that served as the springboard for countless imitations and variations, including the popular Mr. Vampire series. The horror elements of Encounters are genuinely creepy, with the arms of entities springing from dark mirrors and pulling their victims into oblivion, and an unsettling opening sequence where Hung is pursued through darkness by faceless, puppet-headed ghouls. The comedy elements are equally effective, though they often take a back seat to the ghoulish goings-on. Hung's physical abilities and lightning-fast movements are classic examples of the best of kung-fu, thrilling to watch as they giddily defy his deceptively portly appearance. This is an extremely entertaining film and one that is well deserving of the reputation it has gained as a genre classic. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
It was released as Spooky Encounters in the US. It is sometimes listed as Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind, more blatantly mimicking the title of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
