Can anyone recommend some ghost movies for me to watch?
Early Hong Kong horror films (ghost films) had distinctive characteristics and a genre of their own, and were divided into two categories: karma and zombies.
The general narrative of karma is complete and will definitely tell you how this ghost appears and how to resolve it. This type of film pays great attention to exaggerating the atmosphere. The protagonist will definitely encounter many weird things (the protagonist is afraid or not, I don’t know, but the purpose is to make the audience afraid), and then a tall person will discover it and finally resolve it. The story promotes the traditional concepts of good and evil and karma. Therefore, after watching this kind of ghost movie, you will constantly check yourself whether you have killed any living beings, whether you have been excessively greedy, and whether you have done things that harm others and benefit yourself (the results can be imagined, The more I think about it, the more I get scared); another major attraction of this type of film is that you can learn a lot about Feng Shui metaphysics, which is very interesting.
Zombie movies pay more attention to entertainment. Usually the protagonist is a clown-like figure who is always looking for trouble. In addition, watching zombies jumping around in Qing Dynasty clothes is very funny (I still think I haven’t found out why zombies are always from the Qing Dynasty. If any friends know, remember to tell me).
There have been great changes in recent Hong Kong (Taiwan) ghost films. Both the creative concepts and techniques are more international. The story no longer has the same complete narrative as before, and it no longer emphasizes karma. The concept of horror has also been updated. It is no longer the previous ghosts are ghosts and people are people, and you know it and feel it from the beginning.
"Alien Space" finally puts forward the horror concept of inner demons and psychological concepts. You can watch this film as a traditional ghost film, or you can watch it as a psychological film. I prefer it. . "Hell" is also good, and it is very successful in elevating the atmosphere. "The Ghost in the Office" can only be regarded as a mediocre film, not a big breakthrough. However, the male protagonist's choice of human ghosts in the film can arouse some thoughts that have nothing to do with this film (such as thinking about life), so it is okay. . There are two highlights in "Two Eyes". First, Tony Leung Ka Fai's acting skills; second, the affirmation of the human brain's capabilities. (I have always agreed with the idea of the decisive role of consciousness. People who do not have cancer will most likely be frightened to death if you say they have cancer, and the symptoms of the disease will be virtual when they die; this is virtualized by the brain and then commands the body Reflecting on this disease, just like the one mentioned in "The Matrix")
It is not easy to think that Hong Kong, a small place, can open up a sky in a horror movie, Turn around and look at the mainland, oh my God, what is "The Shining"? It's embarrassing.
The first ghost film produced in Hong Kong was the short film "Vengeance" (1909) directed by Liang Shaopo. The first Hong Kong film with real ghosts was "Midnight Zombie" directed by Yang Gongliang in 1938. , so Yang Gongliang was dubbed the originator of Hong Kong horror films.
The first peak period for ghost films in Hong Kong was in 1939. There were 15 ghost films that year. For a time, the Hong Kong film industry was full of ghosts. This phenomenon was attacked by public opinion and some "progress" Filmmakers should also draw a clear line between those who make ghost films. There were obvious differences in the following ghost films. The ghosts appearing in fashion films were not real ghosts. After disturbing people, they always used people pretending to be ghosts or a dream to deny the existence of ghost foxes. But real ghosts can appear in period films. For example, when Yu Lizhen acted in "Headless East Palace", there was no need to hide the head and tail, leaving people feeling haunted for days after watching it.
Ghost films of the 1960s were mediocre. Strictly speaking, only "A Chinese Ghost Story" (1960) can be regarded as a masterpiece. The success of this film depends on the literary accomplishment of director Li Hanxiang. He made the film quaint and artistic, surpassing the standard of ordinary ghost films. Relatively speaking, the more outstanding fashion ghost films of this period are "The Night of the Ghost" (1962) and "The Mad Woman" (1964). The former describes the appearance of an innocent ghost as a conspiracy to kill his wife, while the latter uses female ghosts to criticize feudalism. Society favors boys over girls.
There were still not many ghost films in the 1970s, and most of them were copies of "The Exorcist". Among them, "The Twilight Zone" (1974) and "The Twilight Zone" (1979) were the most outstanding. And "Crazy Catastrophe" uses fake things to look like real ones. Although there are no real ghosts, it creates a sense of horror like ghosts.
One of the ghost films of this period worth mentioning is "Seven Golden Corpses", a collaboration between Shaw Brothers and the British Xianma Company. It combines British zombies with the legend of corpse exorcism in western Hunan, although it is not a good one. It’s a masterpiece, but it’s quite special. Audiences in this era are more enlightened than before and have a more tolerant attitude towards ghosts on the screen. They are not as "attacking" ghost movies as before.
Ghost movies were the mainstream of Hong Kong movies in the 1980s. To sum up, the types can be divided into the following seven categories:
(1) Ghost revenge style. This is the most traditional kind of ghost movie. "Crash into the Right" (1980), "The Bad List" (1981), "The Evil Mr." (1988), and "The Ghost Dance" (1989) are all about the revenge of the devil. The only difference is that some are evil spirits harming good people. Or a good ghost takes revenge on the bad guy who killed him or her.
(2) Love between humans and ghosts. Ghost films depicting human-ghost relationships can be divided into two categories: love and friendship. The representative works depicting love are Lam Ling-tung's "A Chinese Ghost Story" (1983) and Cheng Xiaodong's "A Chinese Ghost Story" (1987). "Trouble" can be said to be a modern version of "A Chinese Ghost Story", and its poignancy and charm are no less than the original. "A Chinese Ghost Story" can be said to be suitable for both movement and stillness. It is lively and galloping in the moving parts, and gentle and beautiful in the quiet parts. Some of the films that depict the friendship between humans and ghosts include "Happy Ghost" (1984), "Zombie Family" (1986), "Kick the Treasure" (1992), etc. Among them, "Happy Ghost" was adapted from a student drama. As of 1991, 5 episodes had been filmed. Its production route is mainly aimed at young audiences. "Kick the Treasure" joins the plot of the American feature film "Home Alone" and becomes the real "Home Alone".
(3) Happy ghost. Comedy was the dominant genre in Hong Kong in the 1980s. Comedy elements were added to every genre of film. How could ghost films be an exception? In addition to the "Happy Ghost" series, "Little Life is Afraid" (1982), "Old Friend Ghost" (1985), and "Double Fatty Comes to the Door" (1988) are all hilarious films, even "The Golden Swallow" (1987) and "The Exorcist" (1990), more serious ghost films, will also add one or two gag characters to add a comedic touch to the film.
(4) Ghosts fight ghosts. Sammo Hung pioneered the three-in-one Kung Fu fantasy comedy with "Ghost Fighter" and "Scare", Yuen Woo-Ping's "Qi Men Dun Jia" (1982) added Maoshan magic, and "Mr. Zombie" laid the foundation for Lin Zhengying to catch ghosts. The image of the master.
(5) Pretty ghosts. This refers specifically to those beautiful female ghosts. Wang Zuxian in "A Chinese Ghost Story" and Zhong Chuhong in "The Ghost Bride" (1987) are both magical and charming, and can be described as glamorous ghosts; Ye Tong in "The Blessing of Heavenly Officials" (1987), Anita Mui in "Rouge Button" (1988) although She is powerless but kind-hearted, and can be called a good ghost; Liu Tianlan in "Crashing into the Righteous" (1980) and Li Zhi in "Hidden Beauty in an Ancient House" (1988) are both great beauties who love to make trouble and tease people. They can be described as mischievous and beautiful. ghost.
(6) Lustful ghosts. In addition to being scary and frightening, ghost films also have erotic overtones. For example, "Liao Zhai Tan" and its two sequels are one example.
(7) Reincarnation. Films such as "Dream Man" (1986) and "Pan Jinlian's Past and Present Life" (1989) all use the theme of reincarnation and revenge.
The concepts of ghost films in the 1980s and 1990s became increasingly bold and innovative. For example, Wang Zhong's "Midnight Dinner" (1987) uses ghost stories to review controversial local laws, uses ghosts to "satire" the present, and uses ghosts to criticize reality, which has achieved very good results.
Most of the female ghosts in Hong Kong ghost films show their bright and refined appearance, while most of the male ghosts have a hateful appearance. There are only a handful of male ghosts who are not so ferocious, including Wu Ma from "The Scary Man", Shi Jian from "The Evil Dead", Wu Yaohan from "My Cousin Arrives", Wu Qilong from "The Flower Moon", etc.
Looking at the development history of Hong Kong ghost films over the past century, it is not difficult to find that although ghost films are not the mainstream of Hong Kong films, there are still a lot of them. However, if you look carefully, few of these ghost films can be called "high quality".
Many people say that the most frightening of Hong Kong ghost films is "The Evil Dead" (1981), but there has never been a high-quality ghost film like "The Exorcist". It's a pity for Hong Kong ghost movies.