Film
A Chinese Ghost Story
Tsui Hark's fever dream of a ghost story: a hapless tax collector falls for a woman who's already dead, then has to out-fight her demonic captor, an army of hungry corpses, and hell itself to keep her. It's wire-fu, slapstick, gothic romance, and genuine tenderness thrown into one blender, scored like a pop opera. Gorgeous, silly, and unexpectedly heartbreaking.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love fantasy that swings between swooning romance and slapstick, where a ghost romance can turn into a sword-flying brawl and a grim ghoulish set-piece without losing its warmth.
Skip it if you need a slow, carefully paced story; the comedy is broad and sometimes goofy, and the 1980s Hong Kong effects and dubbing will feel dated to viewers who want polish.
What it asks of you: It runs about ninety-five minutes and moves quickly, so you can give it a single easy evening, though it shifts tone often and asks you to keep up with its mood changes.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Bride with White Hair1993
Same DNA of doomed supernatural love wrapped in gorgeous, blood-drenched wuxia spectacle. Leslie Cheung again, this time paired with Brigitte Lin in a story about a love curse that turns tragic and vicious in equal measure.
But Considerably darker and crueller than Ghost Story — less whimsy, more genuine heartbreak and violence.
Green Snake1993
Tsui Hark again, this time turning a folk legend about two snake spirits into something psychedelic, horny, and visually delirious. Joey Wong's presence is a nice bridge if you fell for her here.
But Even stranger and more explicitly erotic than Ghost Story, with a plot that wanders.
Mr. Vampire1985
The other essential 80s Hong Kong supernatural comedy: hopping vampires, a bumbling Daoist priest, and stunt choreography that's both terrifying and hilarious. Same era, same anything-goes energy.
But Broader and goofier — closer to farce than romance, with much less emotional weight.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from A Chinese Ghost Story
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Enchanting Shadow1960
Both films adapt the exact same 17th-century ghost story — this is the somber, black-and-white ancestor Tsui Hark was riffing against.
The original Shaw Brothers adaptation of the same Pu Songling tale — a scholar, a haunted temple, a ghost he shouldn't love. Restrained, melancholic, and gorgeously shot in old-school Mandarin cinema style.
But Slow and stagey by modern standards, with none of the wire-fu spectacle or comic energy.
More like this (8)
A Chinese Ghost Story II1990
The direct sequel, same cast chemistry, doubling down on the swordplay and afterlife mythology while adding a new mistaken-identity thread. Feels like a rare sequel that earns its place.
But Lighter plot stakes and a slightly diminished sense of romance compared to the original.
Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain1983
Tsui Hark's earlier fantasy epic, the film that basically invented the wire-fu aesthetic Ghost Story runs on. Mad monks, flying swords, and effects that still feel gloriously unhinged.
But Plot is nearly incomprehensible and the pacing is relentless — style completely overtakes story.
Painted Skin2008
A glossy modern take on a similar Pu Songling-adjacent idea: love complicated by a demon wearing human skin. Big stars, lush production, tragic romantic core.
But Slicker and more melodramatic, missing the scrappy handmade charm of 80s Hong Kong cinema.
Big Trouble in Little China1986
John Carpenter's love letter to Hong Kong genre cinema, mixing sorcery, martial arts, and comedy in a way that feels like a cousin to Ghost Story's tonal chaos.
But American, tongue-in-cheek, and far less romantic — the heart here is buddy comedy, not doomed love.
Sleepy Hollow1999
Tim Burton's gothic romance-horror hybrid shares the same lush, moody visual sensibility and a hero stumbling through supernatural terror toward an impossible love.
But Western gothic sensibility rather than Hong Kong fantasy — slower, colder, more Victorian in tone.
The Forbidden Kingdom2008
A more accessible modern wuxia-fantasy adventure with Jet Li and Jackie Chan, decent if you want spectacle and mythology without the horror elements.
But Aimed at a younger, Western audience — much less atmosphere, romance, or genuine strangeness.
A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation1997
Same producer, same story, translated into a completely different medium — animation lets the folklore feel like a children's nightmare.
An animated retelling of the same core story, produced by Tsui Hark himself — softer, stranger, aimed partly at kids but full of genuinely eerie imagery.
But Cheaper animation and a simplified plot make it feel minor next to the live-action original.
Ugetsu1953
The same engine — mortal man, ghostly beloved, a warning about desire and death — played completely straight instead of as spectacle.
Kenji Mizoguchi's haunting Japanese classic about a man who falls for a beautiful woman who turns out to be a ghost — solemn, painterly, devastating in ways Ghost Story only gestures toward.
But Deliberately paced arthouse cinema with a heavy, sorrowful tone — nothing playful about it at all.
People
Cast
Leslie CheungLing Choi-san
Joey WongLip Siu Sin
Wu MaSwordsman Yin Chek-ha
Lau Siu-MingTree Demon
David Lam WaiSwordsman Hsia Hou
Fanny Sit Chi-LunSiu Ching
David WuSecretary Chiu
Wong JingJudge
Huang HaBoss at Tavern
Sze Mei-YeeSells Paintings
Chiang KamPoliceman
Yeung Yau-CheungSells Charms
Recommended by
Army of Darkness, Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain, The Fall, Ugetsu, Tale of the Nine Tailed, The Bride with White Hair, Green Snake, A Chinese Ghost Story II, Painted Skin, The Enchanting Shadow, Swordsman, Saviour of the Soul, Burning Paradise, The Sorcerer and the White Snake, The Legend, Kung Fu Cult Master, A Dream of Splendor, Chinese Odyssey 2002, Painted Skin: The Resurrection, The Butterfly Murders, Vampire Hunters, The Myth, Legend of the Mountain, Butterfly and Sword