A Chinese Ghost Story II was a whole lot crazier than the far superior original movie, and a lot less coherent; part III finds a middle ground, the basic premise borrowing much from the first film, but with parts that feel just as bonkers as the second movie (this one gives us a monk with prehensile earlobes and a mountain devil as the big bad at the end, which is just as silly as a giant centipede).
Tony Chiu-Wai Leung plays Fong, young student of an elderly buddhist monk (Shun Lau). While on a pilgrimage to Kwan Bo County with a valuable Golden Buddha, Fong and his master take refuge at a haunted temple, where the student meets and falls for beautiful ghost Lotus (Joey Wong), who is forced by an evil tree devil (Lau Siu-ming) to seduce and kill unwary travellers. Together with a swordsman, Yin (Jacky Cheung), Fong tries to free Lotus from enslavement and defeat the evil devil.
As with part one, there's romance and comedy as Fong develops feelings for the lovely Lotus, and, towards the end, there are wild special effects driven scenes that don't seem to make much sense, as per part two. Part three was probably intended to bring us the best of both worlds, but I think that this merging of styles doesn't work quite as well as either of the previous films, feeling too much like a compromise. If you want a beautiful, poetic, ghostly love story, go with the original film; if it's pure insanity you're after, try the second*. Part three is passable entertainment, with some fun moments, but just doesn't work as well as a whole.
5/10.
*On second thoughts, always go with the original film!
Tony Chiu-Wai Leung plays Fong, young student of an elderly buddhist monk (Shun Lau). While on a pilgrimage to Kwan Bo County with a valuable Golden Buddha, Fong and his master take refuge at a haunted temple, where the student meets and falls for beautiful ghost Lotus (Joey Wong), who is forced by an evil tree devil (Lau Siu-ming) to seduce and kill unwary travellers. Together with a swordsman, Yin (Jacky Cheung), Fong tries to free Lotus from enslavement and defeat the evil devil.
As with part one, there's romance and comedy as Fong develops feelings for the lovely Lotus, and, towards the end, there are wild special effects driven scenes that don't seem to make much sense, as per part two. Part three was probably intended to bring us the best of both worlds, but I think that this merging of styles doesn't work quite as well as either of the previous films, feeling too much like a compromise. If you want a beautiful, poetic, ghostly love story, go with the original film; if it's pure insanity you're after, try the second*. Part three is passable entertainment, with some fun moments, but just doesn't work as well as a whole.
5/10.
*On second thoughts, always go with the original film!