A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) - Dir. Ching Siu Ting 
“A Chinese Ghost Story, out of all the genre mash-ups in the world, you're the genre mashiest.”
A Chinese Ghost Story truly does offer something for almost everyone, and in this regard it is a perfect example of new school Hong Kong filmmaking. It is the product of one of the most prolific and exciting partnerships to be birthed on the small, densely populated island: director Ching Siu Tung and producer/writer/co-director Tsui Hark. The film is a unique experience, and reeks of Hongkie idiosyncrasies, benefiting from Tsui's gonzo production and Ching's panache for crafting outlandish action and situations. There is just no way this film could have come from anywhere else in the world. It exists as a perfect encapsulation of everything that makes Hong Kong genre cinema so maddening, exciting, entertaining, endearing, and alluring.
At its most reductive state, ACGS can be described as a romantic ghost story. However, it also contains many subtle and bombastic comedic moments, a memorable song and dance number, a ton of high-flying fantasy-tinged martial arts, and some moments that are more than a bit creepy and kind of gory. Even with all of these individual motifs and parts, the film never feels like a collection of poorly juxtaposed pieces. On the contrary, Ching's and Tsui's work here melds the film into a stew-like concoction the deftly hides the seems of the various genres and styles it's built from. The transitions between sequences of differing tone feel natural and effortless, and the film greatly benefits from each individual ingredient.
ACGS tells the story of, Ning Tsai-shen (Leslie Cheung), a naive, wandering official sent to collect taxes from various merchants located in a small, remote village. Unpopular with the locals, and totally broke, Ning is forced to find refuge in the Lan Yeuk temple, a haunted place full of evil spirits. It is here that the beautiful fox-spirit, Nieh Hsiao-tsing (Joey Wong), finds Ning and falls in love with him. But is her love true, or is she only a temptress trying to lure Ning into the clutches of the evil tree-demon? Ning also meets up with an adventurous Taoist priest/swordsman/ghost buster, Yen (Wu Ma), who is trying to rid the word of evil spirits. And thus the stage is set and the characters are assembled for an adventure of outrageous situations, B-grade horror, and A-class set pieces.
For sheer action, horror, and comedic moments, comparisons to Evil Dead 2 are not too far off base. There are moments of exhilarating action, like the climatic battle for hell, that would be right at place in one of King Hu's classic wuxia pians. Yen, the Taoist butt-kicker, fights with magic, fist, and sword, as he flies around like some kind of ancient Chinese superhero. Also on display are a number of classic comedic moments, all made more immediate by the outlandish set pieces. One such instance finds the naive Ning unknowingly thwarting a group of stop-motion-animated zombies. However, unlike Evil Dead 2, ACGS also features moments of high-romance and sweetness. Joey Wong's performance as the fox-spirit is alluring and affecting, and more than a little sexual. It is so good, in fact, that after this film she was almost exclusively cast as a ghostly-vixen, which ended up impacting her career; some superstitious filmmakers became suspicious of her ghostly-visage and would refuse to work with her.
If anything, ACGS is charming. While the production is obviously limited by a modest budget, Tsui Hark and Ching Siu Tung work their magic in spades, a filmmaking-magic that many other genre filmmakers lack. The entire production is brimming with character and energy, and the end product exudes a tangible affability. This film is a wonderful example of the kind of films Hongkie filmmakers made during this second golden-age of Hong Kong cinema. It's simply an incredible mix of genre pastiche, including high-concept action, low-brow humor, and off-the-wall antics to this gonzo style of filmmaking endemic to Hong Kong filmmakers.