Yam yeung lo 13: Fa gwai

Okay, let me start by saying that I have not seen any of the previous 12 Troublesome Night films, nor have I seen any of the at least 6 others that follow it. I have no idea if characters carry over or if the stories are all self contained, (then again after a quick look at the other entries it would seem that Mrs Bud does carry over). All I know is that this story of a a group of friends getting mixed up with the ghost of a girl raped and murdered by her boss isn't a bad movie, but then again it isn't a great one either. The problem for me was that there seems to be a short hand that the film makers have used to set everything in motion.Clearly there is a formula that the series has and the film makers use short cuts to get yo right into the thick of things. This would be fine if I had seen some other entries but for me coming in films in I was left feeling somewhat out of the loop. I liked it for what it was and it does make me want to see other entries in the seres, but I in all honestly I'm going to have to see how it plays out on a second viewing. As a stand alone film its an okay little film that would be better when seen with out other choices, say on a long flight somewhere.

The Troublesome Night movie series continue with number 13, an unlucky number for an awful movie. The plot is cliché - a Chinese woman (May) in Thailand gets murdered by her boss' son and, as a result, her ghost returns to seek revenge. And, who happens to be vacationing in Thailand and encounter the ghost? Bud Gay (Ka Fai Tong), Bud Ren (Ronnie Cheung), Brother Eight (Oni Tsuka) and Brother Nine (Mr. Nine) - the annoying foursome who thinks they are hip and knows how to act.

There is really no ghost action until almost an hour into the movie, which, for a low-budget film, is exceedingly long - clocking in at nearly two hours. The plot is mostly consumed with the foursome vacationing in Thailand and trying to woo women. Horndogs Brother Eight and Brother Nine's excruciating annoying ways in trying to score some one-night stands and get into tour guide Hok's (Anita Chan) business are distasteful. Even more distasteful is that somebody think it was a brilliant idea to have Brother Eight wear a T-shirt that bears an image of Osama Bin Laden in a couple of scenes - classless!

When Bud Lung (Lan Law) finally shows up, we get some nice ghost and ritual action, from her doing battle with a Thai priestess to her trapping May's ghost. There are also a couple of scenes where Bud Ren startles Lung that I've found to be quite hilarious. But, other than that, this movie continues the rapid decline of the series and you would be wise to steer clear away from.

Grade D--

Thirteen was never so unlucky as now, when it has the misfortune of being attached to the end of a Troublesome Night title. This time around, the filmmakers apparently decided to take a nice vacation to Thailand to film themselves on the beach for a while. When they get tired of beach-combing, its back to a small apartment in Hong Kong to shoot the supernatural, Helena Law-Lan led finale. There's also a drowned ghost woman in there somewhere, but it won't deter you from sleeping through this garbage. Fans of low budget Hong Kong horror are advised to seek out the first six movies in the franchise before trying to go further, because the only redeeming quality of the later films is that you get to spend some more time with stars Simon Loui and Helena Law-Lan, a pleasure which would be greatly diminished if you don't yet know who they are.