Here we look at two relatively unseen works from the star Hong Kong directors.
The Occupant (1984)
โLong before he scared Hollywood with The Bride of Chucky and Freddy vs. Jason, director Ronny Yu Yan-tai made this spooky horror hit for Cinema City, a suspenseful mystery that is high on atmosphere and style,โ noted the Hong Kong Film Archive in its programme note on the film.
The Occupant is a very lightweight ghost story, a potpourri of ghostly horror, romance and comedy delivered in equal measures in a carefully understated style.
The slim storyline is acceptable even though there are holes, and a top-flight cast of Sally Yeh Chian-wen, Chow Yun-fat and even kung fu legend Lo Lieh in a thoroughly thespian role delivers so much charm that it overrides the filmโs faults.
Comedian Raymond Wong Pak-ming โ one of Cinema Cityโs co-founders โ is acceptably funny, too, even though his role as an annoying and nerdy would-be Casanova was designed to irritate.
The story โ and the mystery โ is so slim it is almost non-existent. Yehโs Canadian resident is writing a university thesis on Chinese paranormal activities and, by chance, moves into a haunted house when she visits Hong Kong to do some research.