Encounters of the Spooky Kind
Encounters of the Spooky Kind
鬼打鬼
Overview
"Courageous Cheung is tricked by his cheating wife and her wealthy lover into entering a haunted temple where they intend to have a Taoist priest murder him via supernatural means. Cheung must use his martial arts and the help of a rival priest to survive hopping vampires, possessed corpses, and black magic."
Iconic Tracked Scenes
- ▶
Cheung attempts to survive a terrifying night in a temple by tossing chicken eggs at a relentless, stiff-jointed hopping vampire.
"throwing eggs at the vampire""surviving the haunted temple" - ▶
Under the influence of a malicious spell, Cheung's own limbs are possessed, forcing him to literally fight his own arm and leg to stop them from strangling him.
"fighting his own arm""possessed by a spell" - ▶
A spectacular finale where two rival Taoist priests build high altars to cast spells, possessing Cheung and his opponent with the spirits of legendary deities (like the Monkey King) to wage a super-powered proxy war.
"taoist magic duel""possessed by the monkey king"
Why It's Remembered
- ★Cheung's agonizing night trying to sleep in the haunted temple, throwing eggs at a reanimated corpse.
- ★The jaw-dropping duel where the two priests remotely 'possess' Cheung and another fighter like video game avatars.
- ★Cheung fighting his own possessed right arm.
Cultural Context
- ◈Directed by and starring Sammo Hung, widely credited with creating the Jiangshi (hopping vampire) horror-comedy genre, pre-dating Mr. Vampire.
- ◈Features incredible physical performances from Hung, combining high-impact falls with elaborate practical special effects.
- ◈Establishes many of the Taoist magic visual languages that would dominate the 80s.
About the Action Elements
Encounters of the Spooky Kind is widely celebrated among martial arts cinema fans for sequences involving eggs, vampire, jiangshi, haunted temple, survive. One of the most memorable sequences features Sammo Hung naturally executing throwing eggs at the vampire, where the choreography and unique set pieces become the unexpected highlight of the film.