Review of A Chinese Ghost Story II (1990) by Carl M — 27 Nov 2011

Chinese Ghost Story 2 is a cinematic rarity, a sequel that's an equal. Tax collector Ling Choi Sin (Leslie Cheung) returns and is once again drawn into a battle with evil supernatural forces over a woman.

This time, she's a flesh and blood woman, Windy (Joey Wang) who is the spitting image of his ghostly love from the previous installment. As Ling is mistaken for a rebel leader, he is more then happy to perpetuate this error in order to get close to beautiful rebel, Windy.

But, the rebels are up against a demon in disguise and once again Ling is forced to battle an assortment of supernatural foes. Chinese Ghost Story 2 is a bit bigger with more action but, the human element is not lost thanks to another fine performance by Leslie Cheung as the tax collector and Wang as his paramore, Windy.

There are some delightful new characters such as cocky Taoist monk Autumn (Jacky Cheung), spunky Moon (Michelle Reis) and heroic swordsman Fu (Waise Lee). There is also a surprise cameo from a character from part 1 that I won't spoil but, the audience at The Hong Kong Film Festival at the Film Forum in NYC erupted in thunderous cheers when they appear.

While less of a romance and more of a supernatural adventure this time, CGS2 nonetheless has some great action, some nice chills, some hysterically funny scenes (one involving two characters, a giant demon and a freezing spell might be one of the funniest things I have ever seen on film.

) and some charming old fashion FX that might be cheesy elsewhere but, bring a smile to ones face here. Again Ching Siu-tung skillfully directs and beautifully shoots this great follow-up and Tsui Hark again produces.

Another Hong Kong classic.