Ghost Snatchers (1986)

Directed by Ngai Choi Lam

Country of Origin: Hong Kong  

Ghost Snatchers AKA Bi gui zhuo is about two loser security guards Chu Bong (Jing Wong) and Fan Pien-Chou (Stanley Sui-Fan Fung) who run afoul of ghosts haunting the building they work in. These particular haints have chosen the lovely Judy (Shu-Yuan Hsu) to possess and force to do their dirty work. Meanwhile, Chu must also contend with his girlfriend Hsueh’s (Joey Wang) loan shark brother Tai (Michael Wai-Man Chan). Tai wants to kill Chu and/or charge him interest that compounds by the second on money he didn’t even ask to borrow. After Tai gets whacked by the ghosts, Hsueh calls in her priestess pal Ling (Joyce Godenzi) to put a hurtin’ on these gosh dang supernatural beings and get rid of them once and for all.

While this has all the plot trappings of a typical Hong Kong ghost comedy (which might even outnumber vampire comedies over there), Ghost Snatchers gets completely crazy, outrageously colorful, and needs to be seen to be believed. Actor Jing Wong also wrote this thing which isn’t too surprising. The dude is still acting, writing, producing, and directing to this day. That’s a triple threat -if you only count three of those things! Wong also directed one of my all time favorite Stephen Chow movies, Tricky Brains (1991). I think I’m gonna swoon over here. It’s too bad Joey Wang retired from acting in 2004 with over 70 credits under her belt. She’s so unbelievably cute and naive in this film that I almost believe that she’d go out with a goofus like Chu. Almost.

I have an ongoing relationship with the films of director Ngai Choi Lam. He rarely disappoints in terms of bringing completely baffling bullshit to the screen. Does that name ring a bell for you? It should! He’s the director of cult favorite Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991). While this film never gets quite THAT wild, it contains Lam’s everything-and-the-kitchen sink attitude that has yet to let me down. Ghost Snatchers has bad gags of the smelly socks and fat joke varieties as well as a huge amount of gore makeup and visual effects. You might want to brush up on your mahjong rule book and your Chinese horoscope before you dig into this film. Don’t let that discourage you though because I swear that it’s never boring. And bonus: you really won’t need your brain for Ghost Snatchers because it’s as weird as it is loud and as awesome as it is stupid.