Encounters of a Spooky Kind (1980) Funny and Spooky, the perfect antidote to a bad day (Review)

Sammo is much more than Jackie Chan’s friend and co-collaborator and the butt of so many fat jokes in the 80s and 90s, he also happens to be one of the best action directors Hong Kong cinema ever produced. At his peak he was just as good behind the camera as he was in front of it, probably better behind, to be fair. His films could typically be planted in the style of hong kong action cinema that made Jackie Chan the most famous actor on the planet or more backwards-facing movies that recalled the halcyon days of the Shaw Brothers. Of course, there are notable exceptions too, two major ones come in the shape of – the still hard to track down – Pedicab Driver and the wonderfully idiosyncratic Encounters of a Spooky Kind. The latter of which is getting released by Eureka completed by a flamboyantly striking art commission by Darren Wheeling adorning the slipcase.

There’s a tradition in Chinese and Hong Kong martial arts cinema that errs closer to horror and fantasy, films like Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain or Holy Flame of the Martial World – and, let’s be honest, to a westerners perspective, particularly this westerner, those movies are nigh on incomprehensible. Apparently high-level martial arts in these movies allow you to attain powersets akin to giant moths, shooting lasers and the ability to fly. Weird doesn’t even come into consideration when discussing these movies, they drove past weird miles ago and are now on the highway to somewhere completely and utterly other. Then there are movies like Mr Vampire and Encounters of a Spooky Kind. Movies that incorporate horror and fantasy into the vernacular of heroes and kung fu, but do it in a way that puts comedy right at the core of its storytelling. As such, not only does Sammo stick to those weirder than weird touchstones, he also powers past taste. Not to say that the film is in bad taste, what I mean is if you have issues with martial arts cinema – Encounters of a Spooky Kind is a perfect vehicle to power past those preconceptions.

Sammo (Bold Cheung) is having marital strife on a near-daily basis with his wife (Suet-Mei Leung), he is perfectly happy with his job as a wagon driver for one of the more wealthy people from the town, Master Tam (Huang Ha). It provides him with everything he needs to be content, at least while away from home. Little does he know that his wife is sleeping with Master Tam. After a close call, Sammo finds the shoe left behind by his boss. Meaning, it’ll only be a matter of time before “the other shoe” drops and Sammo figures out who is sleeping with his wife. Now any rational thinking person would consider that too close a call and give up. Not Master Tam, see, being a powerful man with aspirations of political office he can’t allow anything to shatter his aspirations or keep him from doing whatever he wants. This escalates into a plot to kill Sammo but not any old way – his murder is attempted through the medium of Mao Shan Witch. He is provoked into situations through friends pranks and childish provocations. This results in many spirits, hopping vampires, and ethereal threats attempting to kill him off. He survives thanks to the help of a competing witch, Master Lok (Dick Wei). In the midst of this campaign of assassination are faked deaths, police investigations (complete with a role for Hong Kong mainstay Lam Ching-Ying) and the most unforgettable final face-off with possessions, lightning bolts and the concept whereby the higher you build your tower the more potent your magic becomes – all climaxing in the most unforgettable final frame in Hony Kong cinema.

I think that explains Encounters of a Spooky Kind. There’s a lot going on, probably enough to fill two films, and it is equally spooky and silly. You could use the unevenness and awkward plotting to criticise. The final few shots too, with modern eyes they play as badly as the final few shots of George P. Cosmatos’s Leviathan (1989) where Peter Weller punches his female boss in the face. However, in spite of these moments and wacky plotting – Encounters of a Spooky Kind is great fun.

Sammo is an incredibly watchable performer with a mix of awkward charm and his incredibly acrobatic background born as an export of Pekingese opera (along with classmates Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao). His agility turns what would be moments of horror in the hands of another director into slapstick joy with him bounding across the screen, from the rafters to underneath, or even inside, many coffins. Sammo Hung is a formidable screen martial artist, in fact, one of the all-timers, meaning any scene that plays on him as a martial artist is indeed great especially when directed by a man I previously described as one of the best China or Hong Kong has ever produced. The final fight especially deserves note what with Sammo eventually being possessed by the monkey spirit of Kung Fu (which is a treasure trove of reference for fans of Chinese historic literature), which is simultaneously silly and fantastically choreographed. Then there is the last factor, Sammo is hugely underrated for how expressive he is. His face in a scene where he sleeps in a coffin as he attempts to escape his police pursuers has a goofball quality that dates all the way back to silent comedy; as such – very funny.

With my tone and the way I have described its director and star it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that I am a big fan of Encounters of a Spooky Kind. Funny, brilliant action and a surprising talent for staging the fantastical and horrific. This is a cross section of all of the talents that Sammo possesses and a few you didn’t know he had too. I will go as far as to say it’s a must buy for any fans of 80s martial arts cinema and comedy. I previously made this remark of Jackie Chan’s film from the same year, The Young Master – this is the perfect antidote to a bad day. There’s no other way to describe it.

The Nightingales’ drummer, joins us to talk about all manner of things including working with Cumming and Lee, her formative musical influences, the things that have got her through lockdown, the thrill of getting back on the road to tour the Four Against Fate album, and which stand-up comedian Graham sounds most like.

PATREON POP SCREEN

Thanks for reading Rob’s review of Encounters of a Spooky Kind

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