Chinese fantasy from the director of the Ip Man series. Adapted from Pu Songling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, a collection of supernatural stories set in ancient China.
The story takes place in an ancient village on the slopes of Black Mountain, where spirits and tree monsters have kept the villagers fearful for years. Because of this, young Yan Chi Xia (Louis Koo) chose Black Mountain to practice and realise his dreams of becoming a good Demon Hunter. When the river at the base of Black Mountain dries up, the villagers search for a water source on the mountain. Humans, ancient spirits and tree monsters enter into conflict.
Re-make of Tsui Hark's 1987 film of the same name.
I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
Just when I was thinking they don't make them like they used to along comes a remake of A Chinese Ghost Story. I have fond memories of the original and this version was a charming reminder of it. It was nice to see that not all the effects were digital and the set decoration deliberately eschewed realism for a more stage-like fairy tale look, which was more in keeping with the story. The acting was good overall with just one or two naff performances from the supporting cast (though maybe even that was deliberate). There was one sequence that reminded me of Peter Jackson's "Lovely Bones" but its take on the "other side" was more dreamlike. I'm not going to compare the original with this latest effort - it's been too long since I saw it, but I enjoyed this and for me it stands on its own merits. Great fun, good story.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 5th May 2011.
Release date: May 5th 2011.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
