Another enjoyable Hong Kong comedy horror, featuring the immortal Lam Ching Ying in his classic role of the Daoist priest. This time around the story is set in the present day, where Chinese psychic Sandra Ng (far less annoying than usual) is sent on a trip to Hong Kong to track down Ying. Along the way there's a bus crash which causes her companions to die and return as spirits, so it's up to her and Ying to sort things out. This is one of those FX-fuelled and entirely wacky productions in which everything plays out slightly off-kilter. The FX are cheap and effective, the comedy completely over the top, the supernatural elements a delight.
3 Reviews
A ghost movie that loses steam.
OllieSuave-00718 November 2014
Another ghost movie starring Vampire Buster actor Lam Ching-Ying, where he pairs with actress Sandra Ng, who plays a psychic woman visiting Hong Kong from the mainland. Her bus crashes on route, killing everyone on board except her. She later discovers that the deceased have been resurrected, and seeks the help of a Taoist Priest (Lam Ching Ying) to help her put the deceased's souls to rest.
The plot outline of the movie sounds impressive; however, this movie starts off really slow and has a difficult time gaining steam throughout. There are more goofy slapstick comedy than scary moments, and there are poor sexual elements inserted into the film, mostly at the expense of Lam Ching-Ying. The acting is average at best and the ghost effects are nothing like those of the 80s.
Sandra Ng as the psychic girl could go through walls and make people's vital organs appear in her hands - something that is too imaginative even for this type of movie. This comes to show how crazy Hong Kong Cinema can be.
The quality of Hong Kong's ghost comedies peaked in the late 80s to early 90s, and slowly begins, unfortunately, a rate of decline. This film is part of that decline.
Grade D
The plot outline of the movie sounds impressive; however, this movie starts off really slow and has a difficult time gaining steam throughout. There are more goofy slapstick comedy than scary moments, and there are poor sexual elements inserted into the film, mostly at the expense of Lam Ching-Ying. The acting is average at best and the ghost effects are nothing like those of the 80s.
Sandra Ng as the psychic girl could go through walls and make people's vital organs appear in her hands - something that is too imaginative even for this type of movie. This comes to show how crazy Hong Kong Cinema can be.
The quality of Hong Kong's ghost comedies peaked in the late 80s to early 90s, and slowly begins, unfortunately, a rate of decline. This film is part of that decline.
Grade D
Forced Nightmare (1992)
horseboxingkiller24 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
In a village in Mainland China, a woman named Jia Ling (Sandra Ng) with supernatural abilities uses her telekinetic powers to cure the villagers from all manner of ailments. She is summoned by a village official to travel to Hong Kong to find a certain person who is needed for a kidney transplant.
Jia Ling boards the bus bound for Hong Kong which she shares with some petty gangsters, a prostitute, a buck-toothed guy with chronic bad breath and a mysterious, bad-tempered passenger who likes to kill chickens (Yau Gin-Gwok).
The bus driver inadvertently raises a deadly curse while driving through a haunted village and the bus topples over the edge of a cliff killing all passengers, except for Jia Ling. Reacting to Jia Ling's supernatural powers, the passengers are magically reanimated and the tour group continues their journey to Hong Kong, blissfully unaware that they are dead.
Elsewhere in Hong Kong a Taoist priest (Lam Ching-Ying), who is coincidentally the person Jia Ling is looking for, is alerted to the arrival of the undead Mainlanders, who are now all staying at the same hotel. The priest and Jia Ling unite to rid the hotel of the troublesome ghosts and send their souls back to their resting place.
While not breaking any new ground in the HK Ghost Comedy genre, Forced Nightmare benefits from some cheap but fun visual effects (e.g. Dismembered body parts chasing each other down the hotel hallways) and solid performances from Sandra Ng and Lam Ching-Ying. In fact, this may well be one of Sandra Ng's best roles from her early 90s period. The entertaining final fight has Sandra accidentally super-glued to a zombie's back whilst Lam Ching-Ying battles the spirit. There's some mild gore which mainly consists of a few bloodied faces and protruding entrails. Sultry Eliza Yue has a sexy cameo as a woman who asks Lam Ching-Ying to reanimate her dead lover so she can make love with him! Charlie Cho also has a cameo as a pervert (no surprise there!) who likes to secretly film his sexploits but gets a big shock when he plays back the tape.
Forced Nightmare was the last film from director Lau Shut-Yue's short but credible resume (e.g. Ghost Busting, 1989; My Neighbours Are Phantoms, 1990; Saga of the Phoenix, 1989). If you enjoyed any of his other films for their creative effects and crazy antics, then I'd recommend giving Forced Nightmare a look, as it is more of the same - but not necessarily in a negative way.
3 out of 5
Review source: World Video, VHS (USA) (Cantonese language only)
Jia Ling boards the bus bound for Hong Kong which she shares with some petty gangsters, a prostitute, a buck-toothed guy with chronic bad breath and a mysterious, bad-tempered passenger who likes to kill chickens (Yau Gin-Gwok).
The bus driver inadvertently raises a deadly curse while driving through a haunted village and the bus topples over the edge of a cliff killing all passengers, except for Jia Ling. Reacting to Jia Ling's supernatural powers, the passengers are magically reanimated and the tour group continues their journey to Hong Kong, blissfully unaware that they are dead.
Elsewhere in Hong Kong a Taoist priest (Lam Ching-Ying), who is coincidentally the person Jia Ling is looking for, is alerted to the arrival of the undead Mainlanders, who are now all staying at the same hotel. The priest and Jia Ling unite to rid the hotel of the troublesome ghosts and send their souls back to their resting place.
While not breaking any new ground in the HK Ghost Comedy genre, Forced Nightmare benefits from some cheap but fun visual effects (e.g. Dismembered body parts chasing each other down the hotel hallways) and solid performances from Sandra Ng and Lam Ching-Ying. In fact, this may well be one of Sandra Ng's best roles from her early 90s period. The entertaining final fight has Sandra accidentally super-glued to a zombie's back whilst Lam Ching-Ying battles the spirit. There's some mild gore which mainly consists of a few bloodied faces and protruding entrails. Sultry Eliza Yue has a sexy cameo as a woman who asks Lam Ching-Ying to reanimate her dead lover so she can make love with him! Charlie Cho also has a cameo as a pervert (no surprise there!) who likes to secretly film his sexploits but gets a big shock when he plays back the tape.
Forced Nightmare was the last film from director Lau Shut-Yue's short but credible resume (e.g. Ghost Busting, 1989; My Neighbours Are Phantoms, 1990; Saga of the Phoenix, 1989). If you enjoyed any of his other films for their creative effects and crazy antics, then I'd recommend giving Forced Nightmare a look, as it is more of the same - but not necessarily in a negative way.
3 out of 5
Review source: World Video, VHS (USA) (Cantonese language only)
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