Wu Ma | Monster Zone

The giant centipede grips one of the heroes in its huge mandibles! — A giant centipede grips one of the heroes in its huge mandibles!

A scholar (Leslie Cheung) escapes wrongful imprisonment and falls for a beautiful rebel woman (Joey Wang), which leads to an adventure involving fights, monsters, and action-packed, supernatural encounters.

Leslie Cheung and Joey Wong — Leslie Cheung and Joey Wang

Leslie Cheung looks closely at a monster... — Leslie Cheung looks closely at a monster…

Joey Wong levitates — Joey Wang levitates

Ching Siu-Tung’s A CHINESE GHOST STORY (1987) is one of my all-time favourite Hong Kong movies. This follow-up (also directed by Ching Siu-Tung) doesn’t match the charming, madcap, romantic, stylish heights of the original, but it is enjoyable nonetheless, with scenes featuring a humanoid demon monster and an ending involving a devious High Monk who turns out to be an ancient, giant, flying, monster centipede!

Let’s face it: you can’t go wrong with a movie that features a massive, killer centipede!

The centipede has mandibles and lots of teeth! — The massive centipede has mandibles and lots of teeth!

The demon corpse-monster is a goofy-looking, full-scale model for a lot of the scenes (intercut sometimes with a man in a creature costume) and it is featured in some fun, imaginative moments. It gets skewered with spears and swords at one point, but this doesn’t stop the monster. Then Imperial Officer Hu (Waise Lee) hacks off the demon monster’s arms and head… but the demon keeps attacking – and the monster uses its ribcage like a giant Venus Flytrap to clutch onto Hu! Awesomeness!

The demon corpse-monster has big fingernails and big teeth!

The corpse-monster is behind you... — The corpse-monster is behind you…

Hey guys, the monster is above you... — Hey guys, the monster is above you…

A boobytrap fires a bunch of spears into the corpse-monster, but this doesn't hurt it — A boobytrap fires a bunch of spears into the corpse-monster, but this doesn’t hurt the demon…

...it just makes the corpse-monster angry! — …it just makes the corpse-monster angry!

The demon monster's disembodied arm attacks a soldier! — The demon monster’s disembodied arm attacks a soldier!

These are the demon's ribs as they get ready to grab Imperial Officer Hu! — These are the demon’s ribs as they get ready to grab hold of Imperial Officer Hu!

The toothy centipede, that provides the conflict for the finale, is also a full-scale model for a lot of the scenes. This critter bursts out of the ground, flies about with the characters clinging to its back and swallows a couple of them!

Characters find themselves trapped on the back of the centipede

Even though A CHINESE GHOST STORY II focuses less on the endearing, romantic scenes featured in the first instalment, the sequel does boast lots of fights, magic incantations and flying swords. Wu Ma, returning from the first movie, and Jacky Cheung, playing a young Taoist priest, add to the manic fun.

After Wu Ma stabs the monster centipede he gets splattered with its slime — Wu Ma is splattered with slime after he stabs the monster centipede

At one point characters zip along on flying swords

One of the shots of the corpse-monster that utilises the full-scale creature model

Another pic of the full-size monster model!

She doesn't know what she's touching... — She doesn’t know what she’s touching…

Okay, here’s a final look at the centipede-monster, as it attacks Jacky Cheung…

The critter prepares to swallow Jacky Cheung!

A giant tongue sprouts a toothy mouth and tentacles!

A tax collector (Leslie Cheung) travels to a rural town and ends up taking shelter in a creepy, deserted temple in the forest. Here he encounters a beautiful young woman (Joey Wang) and falls in love with her. A Taoist priest (Wu Ma), however, informs our hero that this woman is a ghost… and it is soon revealed that she is under the control of an evil Tree Demon.

Directed with kinetic panache by Ching Siu-Tung, this film is a horror-romance-martial-arts-comedy-actioner that is crammed with atmosphere, emotion, gravity defying swordplay and some goofball physical comedy.

Its mix of Asian story elements (beautiful flying ghosts, a Taoist priest-swordsman, etc) and western filming techniques (Sam Raimi-esque roving cameras and some gooey FX) make this Hong Kong production an enormously entertaining watch, with Leslie Cheung, Joey Wang and Wu Ma all perfect in the leading roles.

Wu Ma performs a very acrobatic Taoist rap!

Joey Wang is a standout playing the sexy-yet-vulnerable ghost, flying about the stylishly-lit locations in her flowing silk robes. There is a wonderful moment where she gives Leslie Cheung’s character (who is having to hide from her evil ‘sisters’ underwater) a slow motion kiss that is also providing him with much-needed air.

And, of course, we shouldn’t forget the shrivelled stop-motion corpses in the temple. These undead dudes shuffle around the building in the early part of the film, trying to get hold of the hero, but thanks to a series of comedic, lucky mishaps he remains completely unaware that the zombies are there, eventually killing them with sunlight without ever noticing them!

Another shot of the stop-motion corpses — Another shot of the stop-motion zombies

Full-scale zombie head used for close-ups

The ancient tree spirit villain is a great antagonist, appearing as a cross-dressing dame or a gigantic human tongue. At one point the tip of the huge tongue splits, becomes a toothed maw with a face at the back of the jaws, with tentacles sprouting everywhere!

Produced by the legendary Tsui Hark, this film really impressed me when I first saw it in the cinema back in 1987. With its effortless merging of genres, a haunting score and a finale featuring the heroes battling it out in the netherworld to save the heroine, the movie turned me into an avid, obsessed Hong Kong movie fan for many years!