Gwai Ching Lei Tai Hei
1999 / 85m - Hong Kong
Comedy, Horror
2.5*/5.0*
Last Ghost Standing poster

Watches

February 18, 2021

2.5*/5.0*

Late 90s Hong Kong horror. Immensely popular at the time (at least, based on the number of films released back then), but not a genre that traveled well. People familiar with these films probably know why: when the whole world was feasting on the Japanese less is more scares, Hong Kong was happily putting out blends of comedy and horror overflowing with cheese.

By most standards, Last Ghost Standing isn't a very good film. It plays like a series of horror vignettes centered around a movie theater, with several demonic creatures hassling the few guests visiting the theater. The only thing holding everything together is a minute romantic plot, not exactly the cornerstone of good horror cinema.

The effects and monster designs are very cheap, but also somewhat amusing. The pacing is decent and the fact that it isn't a continuous story keeps things at least somewhat surprising. Performances are mediocre and the plot is nonsensical at best, though core horror fans will have little trouble looking past that. It's hard to recommend a film like this to people who aren't really familiar with the genre. It's certainly not Chung's finest hour, but if you're looking for some mushy horror filler, it's also not the worst choice.