Irene (Olivia Cheng) is unlucky in love: her first husband is run over by a steamroller; her second husband pops his clogs during the marriage ceremony, choking to death on a bird; her third husband has a fatal heart attack when he is confronted by the ghosts of the first two husbands. The spirits of all three dead husbands try to help Irene find everlasting love with radio personality Bruce Sit (Alan Tam), but the course of true love never runs smooth...
I had the choice of watching an HD copy of Till Death Do We Scare in Chinese without English subtitles, or a really poor copy with burnt-in English subtitles but no sound. I opted to see the high definition version, even though I knew I wouldn't understand the finer details of the plot. After all, I wasn't watching this one for the story or the comedy: I was more interested in the special make-up effects by none other than Tom Savini (I had read about this movie in his book, Grande Illusions, way back in the '80s).
The humour in this Hong Kong horror comedy is typical of the period: very silly knockabout nonsense of the kind that generally leaves my ribs untickled. Savini's effects aren't the best examples of his talent, but they're in keeping with the general craziness: over-the-top and very wacky. There's a fun gag in which one of the ghosts sucks his face inside out; another of the ghosts stretches his mouth so that it is ridiculously wide; yet another ghost pops out his eyeballs; and, in the finalé, the Ghost King transforms into a demon with massive fangs and huge talons, which allows Savini to try out some bladder effects and some techniques clearly inspired by Rick Baker's work on An American Werewolf in London.
Other barmy stuff that happens in the film includes a well choreographed scene involving the three ghosts tormenting Bruce's friend with a chair, and a ghost party where everything - the building, a bridge and even a car - is made out of flimsy material that bursts into flames as the sun rises.
5/10. Not a great film, but reasonably fun and worth a watch if you're a fan of Savini's work.
