Kai Xin Gui
1984 / 96m - Hong Kong
Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
1.5*/5.0*
Happy Ghost poster

Watches

August 19, 2020

1.5*/5.0*

A typical but underperforming Clifton Ko comedy. The titular character may be an actual ghost, but don't expect any serious horror elements here. Happy Ghost (what's in a name) is a full-blown romantic comedy. It's not quite as crazy as I'd hoped, and when Ko doesn't go full in on the comedy his films tend to be a bit bland.

A group of young girls run into a ghost on a camping trip. Lucky for them it's a friendly ghost, who decides to help them with their everyday trials and tribulations. That means school dances, exams, bullying and of course, boys. Not really the most inspired plot and Ko tackles it with a straight face, which wasn't the best of ideas.

Performances are poor, the structure is rather fragmented and the wayward drama feels unnecessary. The film is fun for a while (the first 30 minutes or so), after that it becomes dull and repetitive. A somewhat disappointing Ko that needed to be a lot crazier to be actually funny. Quite the dud.