Ren xia ren

"Ren xia ren" (1982), directed by Wu Ma, is a delightfully zany martial arts ghost comedy that seamlessly blends action, horror, and slapstick humor into a wildly entertaining package. While the film's plot can be convoluted at times, its strengths lie in its imaginative set pieces, standout performances, and a willingness to embrace the absurd.

The standout performance undoubtedly belongs to Sammo Hung, who shines as the effigy merchant caught up in a web of deception and supernatural hijinks. Hung's physical comedy chops are on full display, particularly in the unforgettable scene where he dons a doll costume and engages in a hilarious fight sequence. His chemistry with co-star Yuen Biao adds an extra layer of comedic brilliance to their interactions.

Another standout is Ching-Ying Lam, whose portrayal of the mischievous Uncle is a scene-stealer. His ghostly antics, including a memorable sequence where he is carried through the town by invisible spirits, are both creepy and hilarious, perfectly capturing the film's tonal balance.

Wu Ma's direction excels in creating a vibrant and imaginative world where the supernatural and the mundane collide. The film's special effects, while dated, are executed with a charming practical ingenuity that adds to the overall campy appeal. The fight choreography, a staple of Hong Kong cinema, is top-notch, with Sammo Hung and his team delivering thrilling and inventive action sequences.

However, the film's narrative can be a bit meandering at times, with subplots and character motivations occasionally getting lost in the chaos. Additionally, some of the humor may not resonate with modern audiences, as it leans heavily into slapstick and broad comedy tropes.

Despite these minor flaws, "Ren xia ren" remains a delightfully entertaining romp that showcases the best of Hong Kong's unique blend of martial arts, horror, and comedy. With its standout performances, imaginative set pieces, and a willingness to embrace the absurd, cementing its status as a cult classic in the genre.

A man( Wu Ma) fakes his death in order to steal his family's funeral treasure. When the treasure is instead bequeathed to Ma's unborn son, his co-conspirators kill him (for real this time). His vengeful spirit seeks out the help of his friend (played by Sammo Hung) and together they seek revenge on his murderers.

Sammo Hung stars in this rather unusual but colourful tale that is in vein of Mr Vampire et al, but there's no hopping vampires in sight. Only a vengeful ghost in the form of Wu Ma and a trio of gremlin like creatures. The production is really good, the cinematography is top notch and the Chinese culture and its ritual is brilliantly done. Performances is great from all, especially Wu Ma. The fights are rather good, though few and far behind. Only sore spot is that it gets tedious towards the end. But it's still a good film.

This film is just hilarious and definitely worth the two times me and my little sister have stayed up to watch it at three in the morning (or whatever daft time Channel 4 - UK tv channel - have put it on at). My only wish is that I could get a couple of copies of it on video so that me and my sister could watch it whenever we wanted for the rest of our lives. This film is excellent and if it's on a tv near you...WATCH IT!!!!

I figured that this film wasn't as known or popular as Spooky Encounters from the number of votes this film had got, compared to the previous one. I hope we'll get to see a proper bluray release of this film, because there are parts in it that really deserves to be seen by fans of Sammo Hung as well as the HK Horror Comedy subgenre, especially the part where Sammo is dressed up as a doll and also Uncle (Ching-Ying Lam) is carried by ghosts through the town.

One thing however that drag this film down compared to Spooky Encounters is the directing, this time it's actor/director Wu Ma instead of Sammo and it's very noticeable, the film is lighter in tone and much more silly. I have no idea why Wu Ma's character in the film needed to have such a large prosthetic nose, I was sure that by any time during the film the nose would get pulled off and reveal someone in disguise, but no. The film follow a similar narration as Spooky Encounters with a "scary" intro and then followed by a typical ghost story narration with The first night, the second night and so on. Wu Ma's big nosed character take up way too much time with this story too when I think most people rather want to follow what Sammo's character is up to. It was typical of the 80s HK films to always have an irritating/dumb character, which always have been the part I disliked most.

Sadly this film wasn't as focused and took many strange paths that made me confused over the whole plot of the film, fake death turned into murder followed by haunting and then possession and then accidental death and soon I wasn't sure who was the bad guy any more, what happened with the pregnant bride? The plot takes a U-turn towards the third act and we got to see a lot more of Sammo's love interest and what was closest to a ghost story where she was protecting the corpse from "Death Guards". The design of these costumes they were wearing looked awful, like a B-film version of E.T. - they looked more like dumb aliens than something from the underground. The animaton of the guards harass the girl also felt a bit off - the way the green spirits of the ghosts moved reminded me of the early Disney Silly Symphony short films, I would probably have loved this really much as a child.

Still, there's a couple of amazing fight scenes throughout the film that Sammo, Yuen Biao, Ching-Ying Lam and Billy Chan choreographed. So even if the plot is all over the place, I would still recommend it for the special effects and martial art.

What the hell is this all about? Here's a choice cut of dialogue "you have to catch him, then wrap him in, turn around, (whispers) a sanitary towel!" What? I think that they make these things up as they go along!