Mr Tam fears his identity will be discovered and Chueng will either kill him or ruin his political career, so Mr. Tam hires an evil Taoist sorcerer, Chin Hoi (Peter Chan Lung- Fong Sai Yuk 1&2, Prodigal Son, Buddhist Fist), to get rid of Chueng. Chin Hoi's attempts involve getting Chueng to take an innocent dare, to spend the night in a haunted crypt, where the sorcerer has control of a vampire/zombie inside the tomb. Luckily Chueng finds an ally in Chin Hoi's fellow Taoist, brother and rival, Chin Tsui (Chung Faat- Magnificent Butcher, Incredible Kung Fu Master, 13 Cold-Blooded Eagles), who does not agree with using their magical talents for money and murder. Soon, Chin Tsui is aiding Bold Chueng, giving him advice on how to break the spells beset against him. The stakes are raised even hirer when Chueng is framed for murder, so he is pursued by the police and the evil sorcerer, and in the end, only Chin Tsui's mysticism and Chueng's own martial skills will save him.

Writer/Director/Action Choreographer/Actor and all around Hong Kong visionary Sammo Hung's 1980 film Encounters of the Spooky Kind (aka. Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind, Spooky Encounters, literally Ghost Against Ghost) was forerunner of things to come. Before Spooky Kind, there had been horror/supernatural films, and action films, and comedy, but never had the three been blended together quite as successfully. There had even been the Shaw Bros./Hammer Horror crossover film Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, but that teetering balance of comedy-action-horror-suspense-silliness-and seriousness had never been fully explored. Sammo managed a full scale hit with Spooky Encounters. Its hard to imagine the amazement of those first audiences. Years later the style would prove massively popular with such box office hits as the Mr. Vampire series (1985, no coincidence, produced by Sammo and would be the career defining role for Lam Ching Ying, who co-stars in Spooky as the constable out to arrest Sammo) and the Chinese Ghost Story series. The supernatural action-comedy-horror would become a cinematic mainstay from The Seventh Curse and Peacock King, to our own Big Trouble in Little China and the Evil Dead series.

If Spooky Encounters could be faulted for common folks, it would be due to that usual HK schizophrenia, the combination of elements making it a tad awkward. It largely relies on comedy-horror with the usual comedy logic. Such as, one prankster friend disappears (is grabbed by a ghost) and this is never discussed. Likewise, after Bold Chueng survives his first night in the crypt with the vamp, the man (and evil Taoist sorcerer cohort) who bet him gets a stunned and in shock Chueng to accept another dare, basically so we the film viewers can see him try to survive another night. Its as logical as a Abbot and Costello movie, but what makes it odd, is that Abbot and Costello would never seriously state they would kill someone and they would never seek revenge after being framed for murder. Also, HK fans (and general martial fans), are not treated to any real Sammo martial arts until well into the film. HK audiences are notorious for their impatience, so it is a testament to Sammo's skills as a director that he could make an entertaining film, deliver some scares, yet save the true fights for the end. And those fights are impressive- Sammo in the restaurant taking on a dozen sword wielding guards. And the finale is one of Sammo's shining moments. Sammo's character is possessed by various spirits, the Monkey King included, showcasing that big acrobatic frame and his awesome spear skills.

For those Anglos that do not know, the Chinese vampire is not strictly what we know as a vampire. They are more zombies or ghouls usually controlled by wizards and spells. The Chinese vampire traditionally sought out its victims by smelling their breath (which led to a gag in 1987's One Eyebrow Priest where someone farted in a vamps face to mislead it), could only move in straight lines, and usually hop because of stiff joints from rigor mortis. Of course, there are always wildy varying exceptions, as the more outlandish the better in HK cinema, and some vamps could speak, or sought flesh and blood like a Western vampire, or some move with acrobatic skills and fly. But, Spooky Kind employs the more traditionally seen, mummified, hopping, slightly dexterous, foul breathing, and sometimes running corpses.

The DVD: Fox

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. Extremely impressive transfer. The print elements are clean, crisp, and well-detailed. It is hard to imagine a better looking transfer. Everything, from the sharpness to grain, color and contrast are finely tuned and in very good shape for a film of its age.

Sound: 5.1 or DTS English or Cantonese remixes, or (for the purists) the original mono Cantonese soundtrack. Optional English subtitles. Well, quite frankly I don't give much of a damn about the 5.1 or DTS tracks. In the same way that classical film fans would cry foul over remixing and adding new ambient fx to something like Casablanca, I feel the same way about my kung fu, but it is a cross I must bear and put up with far too often. So, yeah, you can choose the two new options and get some bassier over foleyed scoring and action noise, as well as clearer vocals, but I'll stick with the mono track in all its limited glory.

Extras: Original and new trailer, plus new-fangled trailers for this latest wave of Fox/Fortune Star releases.

Conclusion: Great, great, great, landmark kung fu-horror-comedy hybrid. Fox, sadly, offers it without much in terms of extras, but it is beautiful looking and sounding, and priced on the cheap, making it a decent buy for kung fu fans.