Another fine movie from Golden Harvest's first year

The movie begins with a creepy old guy enters a tea house for some take out. Sek Kin is almost unrecognizable under all that makeup. Cliff Lok and his drinking buddy are too drunk to be afraid. They fight him and die. Their master and a woman arrive to investigate their deaths. Despite warnings they enter the haunted house. They die too. Some clan chief and Nora arrive next. Nora is not allowed in because she is a girl. She listens from the roof and gets a message from the dead "Don't avenge us or you will die too". Despite that solid advice they fight. She survives by running away.

Later the son of the earlier victims arrive. Nora and Lee Kwan do not directly answer his questions and act silly about it. When the inn keeper finally directs him to the four coffins there is a "Ghost!" panic moment that only makes things more confusing. All of the spooky scenes seem contrived.

Nora did a good job in all of her fight sequences. From an acting perspective she added an element of fun too. Lee Kwan's fights were total comic relief. Lo Wei's fights were all about the practical effects and looking at the back of the stunt man standing in for all the real fight moves.

I first watched this movie about four years. I made notes but did not finish a review because of other distractions. All the notes I made back then praised the movie. On this second viewing I am questioning all that praise. Despite my ambivalence, Golden Harvest had a fabulous first year with this as one of their movies and I rate it above average.

Mandarin-language cinema across Mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore explores historical reflection, cultural identity, and personal sacrifice, often expressed through poetic visuals and sweeping narratives. In Mainland China, this takes the form of allegory and large-scale epics that reflect on national history. Taiwan emphasizes intimate modernist realism, generational change, and the search for identity. Singapore contributes stories of migration, multiculturalism, and the negotiation of tradition in a globalized city.

The action genre features fast-paced, thrilling, and intense sequences of physical feats, combat, and excitement. The characters of these stories are involved in daring and often dangerous situations, requiring them to rely on their physical prowess, skills, and quick thinking to overcome challenges and adversaries.

The adventure genre features exciting journeys, quests, or expeditions undertaken by characters who often face challenges, obstacles, and risks in pursuit of a goal. Adventures can take place in a wide range of settings, from exotic and fantastical locations to historical or even everyday environments.

There was a civil strife in the court. In order to protect the king, some loyal ministers and the king hid in an old house. This old house was known as a haunted house; whoever lived in the house shall die for sure.

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