A Chinese Ghost Story III

A superior monk defeats the monstrous Tree Demon, but notes that she will return in 100 years. Sure enough, 100 years later the ruined temple has turned into the haunt of ghosts who are all beholden to the Tree Demon. Another monk and his young disciple inadvertently find themselves in the temple as they shelter from a rainstorm, but the elderly monk senses evil and goes out to battle the Tree Demon. While alone in the temple, the young disciple is plagued by a beautiful ghost who wants to seduce him, but giving in to the temptation would destroy him as a monk, so he resists. Soon, the ghost and the young monk fall in love, but they must battle their own feelings as well as fighting the Tree Demon and her minions if they are to save their souls....

This is the third and final episode in a trilogy of ghost stories, and in essence it repeats the first film but with new characters. The Tree Demon is the same and there were monks and beautiful female ghosts in the earlier movies, but the beauty of this trio of films is their sheer wackiness - lots of flying people, martial arts moves, a mile-long tongue that is pretty gross, glowing Buddhas and snakes, lots of snakes. Just don't think too much about the plot and enjoy the goofiness of it all; lots of fun!

While essentially a remake of the original Chinese Ghost Story, this third installment has higher production values and greater subtlety in both the acting and the story. Tony Leung is particularly good. CGS III is a gorgeous, moving film.

If the movies are to be believed, Chinese ghosts are much prettier and more mischievous than their Western counterparts. The storylines of the three 'Chinese Ghost' films are largely identical, but the direction is excellent and the detail and colour is such that it's not a huge problem. As always, humour is an integral part of the film, accompanied, of course, by a great deal of mugging. For those who haven't encountered the 'Chinese GhostStory' trilogy yet, this film offers an interesting departure from the Western horror/ghost genre; for those who have, another enjoyable romp in the Chinese ghost world.

Following the great HK tradition of sequels, this is the third (and last) in line. Made four years after the original, it's not a bad film, with some big shoes to fill, but the storyline by now is predictable as. Also, only one person from the original cast! However Tony Leung is very charming as the monk who is finding himself falling in love, and Joey Wong is again ethereal as the ghost. Well, it's a fair attempt but the magic's gone.

Once again, we start off with a flashback to part one, reminding us of the battle between Leslie Cheung and Wu Ma, against the Tree Devil - with Wu letting us know that the demon will rise again in 100 years...

So, 100 years later.

Many fans have pointed out that this sequel is pretty much just a rehash of the original story, and yes, in many ways it is - Monk Tony Leung and his master are travelling the land and seek shelter in bad weather. Suddenly, a gang of men appear getting chased down and sliced up by an angry swordsman who just wants back what they stole. As with David Lam in part one, Jacky Cheung (in a brand new role) beheads them all, with the blood splashing up Tony Leung's face ala Leslie Cheung in his original opening!

And so it goes on. While it may certainly have many similarities to the first, A Chinese Ghost Story 3 almost makes fun of it at the same time (without being too ridiculous) and looks like it had a much higher production value than its predecessors.

Lau Siu Ming returns as the Tree Devil, looking fresh and even more twisted after his century of imprisonment. It doesn't take long for ghostly vixen Joey Wong to entice a group of men indoors, and soon we get to see that killer tongue back in action! In fact, quite a number of tongues...

The awesome Tony Leung is a great replacement to Leslie Cheung, adding a great charm and likeability to his character with perfect comic timing and acting. I really enjoyed him in this role!

As mentioned, Joey Wong is back, and thankfully as a ghost again since her change of roles in part 2. She tries her luck seducing the young monk, and after failing, unleashes some insane hair as a weapon. It didn't last long, but it was a pretty cool sight - And Nina Li Chi joins in the fun as a ghostly colleague of Wong's also.

The cinematography is as awesome as always, playing with colour, light and smoke with plenty of great shots throughout and wonderful night-lighting. Although a remake of sorts, the film still comes across fresh, with a cinematic seductiveness that is helped along for a third time by the beautiful score from James Wong and Romeo Diaz.

The end battle just goes from 0 - 100 in seconds, bringing to the screen some of the most insane stuff ever committed to film. From giant killer tongues to huge rock monsters, an evil house that comes to life, a flying carpet, Tony Leung becoming a golden buddha, and Jacky Cheung's super armour that allows him to run like The Flash, rivalling that of Zu Warriors for its sheer madness, inventiveness and energy!

Overall: Tsui Hark and Ching Siu Tung succeed in closing one of the greatest Hong Kong trilogies with a fantastically fun chapter that highly entertains!