The Enchantress
(Yao hun, 1983)

Chu Yuan

Hong Kong

88 min, color, Mandarin (English subtitles)

Review © 2005 Branislav L. Slantchev

If you are wondering where Tsui Hark's superior A Chinese Ghost Story fits or which tradition it expands upon, then this Chu Yuan film should be somewhere in the genealogy of the genre. It is mildly entertaining and has gobbles of supernatural stuff, wire-fu up the wazoo, and enough smoke to conceal the Allied invasion of Normandy. Naturally, there's the somewhat inept love struck main hero who gets himself in supernatural trouble, the vengeful ghost of dubious sanity, and the beauty torn between her feelings for the worldly and filial duty.

Misplaced gallantry leads to trouble even in pre women-lib times	Not Joey Wang but close enough (Wei Chiu-hua)

First things first. As I said, this is no Chinese Ghost Story but in terms of fun cinema it is right there with the numerous sequels and imitations. I would say that it's better than An Eternal Combat and is perhaps as good as Picture of a Nymph. Now, let me make it clear: this one does not have star Joey Wang, which is probably reason enough to sue the film-makers for copyright infringement, Joey having a natural monopoly on the dreamy ghost in trouble. On the other hand, it does have Wei Chiu-hua (as the vengeful blood-drinking Tianjiao) and Yung Jing-Jing (as her daughter, the bashful and frequently possessed Shuiling). Between the two, they almost make it as a Joey Wang substitute.

Lo Lieh delivering Communist bolts	Yung Jing Jing as the possessed daughter

All the ingredients that Tsui Hark would later improve on can be discerned already in this film. Aside from the obvious story parallels, we have several gimmicks every fan would recognize. There's the bumbling comic relief (three of them, actually) even though they are not terribly funny. There's the street-wise master who is slightly ludicrous but knows enough about the demon world to battle some ghosts and retreat to safety before others. (This role here is played by Lo Lieh, and it's really refreshing to see him as a good guy.) Then there's the multi-veiled ghosts flying through dark forests, occasionally killing passers-by, and now and then falling in love with humans. The supernatural elements also show up in the weaponry of choice: lighting bolts, instant teleportation, levitation, and good ol' smacking on the head with objects harder than skulls. When in a tight spot, some ghosts are not above the surprise deployment of a wedgie, and the master himself sometimes resorts to the cunning use of invisible nudity.

Gratuitous shot of Yung Jing Jing	Naughty, naughty... illegal ghost peeking

All of this is mixed with some Buddhist chanting, spells scrawled on bodies, and lots of praying, usually in support of head-whacking. The special effects could be improved upon... by any teenager savvy enough to click in an SFX program. I have seen fan films these days that look more believable than the hand-drawn halos and flame-bolts here. It's all cheesy fun, and that includes the flying coffins, and the copious fog that may have been used strategically to conceal the lacking sets. Not to be mistaken for a serious fare, The Enchantress is nevertheless quite fun to watch and silly enough to enjoy.

The possessed before Christmas	Floating skirts and ruined houses

The story is quite bloody for the light-hearted approach Chu Yuan has chosen to serve it with. Eighteen years prior to the events in the film, a bunch of Japanese samurai come to China to study kung fu. Among them is the stunning lady, Tianjiao, who quickly falls in love with Lan Tianyu (Lau Wing). After professing undying love, tenderly holding hands under the moon, and teaching her his sword style, Lan joins a bunch of jingoists who murder the Japanese under the pretext of keeping kung fu secrets local. They also kill Tianjiao who curses Lan (with good cause) and then promises to come back to haunt him. For some reason that is never explained, she actually does not make good on that threat until eighteen years later.

Lo Lieh wonders what he's doing here	Lau Wing swearing eternal love till morning

In the present, the young dashing swordsman Feng Xiwu (Mok Siu-Chung) goes to a place where hundreds of other swordsmen have been before. It's a scenic place, with misty waterfalls and everything. But Feng is not here to sightsee. He wants to know how come all these swordsmen have ended up floating in the pond as so much fish feed. He stumbles across Shuiling who is playing the zither by herself. Playing the zither in a dangerous place, in close proximity to floating corpses, is not really something most maidens do, but that does not faze our Feng who boldly proceeds to save the maiden from a bunch of troublemakers who just happen to come by to rough her up. In gratitude, Shuiling tries to save Feng from the danger that awaits him but the dimwit just does not get her hints.

I'm so gonna come back to haunt you	She's so gonna come back to haunt me

Of course, he's sucked into the supernatural world where he finds himself in front of a huge mansion. The dolt does not seem upset even a tiny bit and when the strange beautiful lady invites him inside, he takes up her offer and sits down for a chat. When he reveals that he's the son of her enemy, she resolves to suck his blood but to maintain the facade of hospitality, she has her daughter poison him instead. Shuiling tries to warn Feng but the bonehead gulps down the wine and is promptly incapacitated. Unfortunately (for us, the viewers), right when Tianjiao is about to perforate his slender neck, dawn comes and the ghosts are forced to flee. Knowing her wayward daughter, Tianjiao transfers some of her "spirit" into her body so that she can take possession of it later when the need arises.

Invocation mistake: circle instead of pentagram	Obligatory ominous ghost-lighting from below

Shuiling saves the hapless Feng but faints in the process, her body quickly losing its heat. There is something about possession that just does not agree with the living, apparently. Feng, who has somehow managed to retain a grip on his sword despite being unconscious, carries Shuiling to his friend, the comic relief Ku Didi (Yim Chau Wa) whose only redeeming virtue is that he does not have much screen time. Just when he is about to perform some silly ritual and get himself killed, his master Ku (Lo Lieh) shows up and a battle with the possessed woman ensues. This is the occasion of the famous disappearing pants trick that prevents the evil spirit from defeating the master until daybreak, at which point she is forced to relinquish control of the body again. Ku and the two bumbling birdbrains take Shuiling's body to Lan who battles his former wife in the body of their daughter until he pronounces himself unable to overcome her.

Norman, the ghost, and the zombies	I'm totally scary in a non-ridiculous way

So they appeal to help to Master Purple Robe (Yueh Hua) who sends Shuiling and Feng to fetch help from even higher beings who are so otherworldly that we don't even get a close-up of their personae. Then lots of fighting follows, with Tianjiao always unfairly outnumbered (but in defense of the good guy I have to say that they are so incompetent, they really need all the help they can get). By the time the entire defense strategy is organized, however, Tianjiao has managed to wreak bloody havoc on three of the four people that had harmed her. The vengeance upon Yu (Ku Kuan-chung) is the most painful: she tricks him into killing his wife and son before luring him to impale himself on his own sword.

Tianjiao is outnumbered but unfazed	Ghost goes through three wardrobes at night

Of course, since the original sin really is a problem, all these murders of foreigners being totally unjustified and all, Lan will somehow have to redeem himself and pay for his mistakes and the injustice he had done to his wife. In the end, the demands of vengeance are satisfied, and as the guilty parties are destroyed or self-sacrificed, the balance is restored. Our world can return to normal without the pesky interference of restless ghosts and the like. Presumably, Feng and Shuiling can now leave together although it's not at all clear what their relationship will amount to given all the revelations they had to endure. As I said, not much in terms of originality plot-wise, but the kinetic execution is inspired enough to carry the story anyway.

You're right on time, stupid jerk	The stupid jerk about to split the atom

The Celestial DVD is very nice, as usual. The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen continues to delight, and the deep colors are important because of all these saturated scenes filmed with lots of special lighting. There are no damages to the source materials that I could discern either. The mono soundtrack is in Mandarin and the English subtitles are good enough. Again, there are some parts of the dialogue that are not translated but nothing serious enough to interrupt the continuity. Some grammar mistakes and awkward phrasing are evident too, but that's not unusual either. The extras are limited to the customary stills gallery, poster reproduction (for once not one with mug shots of the leads), a handful of trailers, and talent files for the stars. A solid DVD of an entertaining ghost story.

December 4, 2005