{ "id": "epsdpnc022", "slug": "spooky-encounters", "title": "Spooky Encounters", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror", "label": "Horror films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films", "label": "Comedy horror films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films.20th-century-comedy-horror-films", "label": "20th-century comedy horror films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films.20th-century-comedy-horror-films" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "China · 1946 to 2000: Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946", "label": "China · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Spooky Encounters (鬼打鬼, Gui da gui), aka Encounter of the Spooky Kind, is Sammo Hung's 1980 Hong Kong kung fu horror-comedy about a cuckolded cart driver fighting black magic, and the film that launched the jiangshi hopping-vampire genre.", "snippet": "Spooky Encounters (鬼打鬼, Gui da gui), aka Encounter of the Spooky Kind, is Sammo Hung's 1980 Hong Kong kung fu horror-comedy about a cuckolded cart driver fighting black magic, and the film that launched the jiangshi hopping-vampire genre.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films.20th-century-comedy-horror-films", "markdown": "# Spooky Encounters\n\n**Spooky Encounters** (鬼打鬼, also released as *Encounter of the Spooky Kind* or *Encounters of the Spooky Kind*, and romanized as *Gui da gui*) is a 1980 Hong Kong film directed, co-written by, and starring [Sammo Hung](https://www.edgepedia.org/sammo-hung), which blends kung fu action, slapstick comedy, and supernatural horror[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html). The Hong Kong Film Archive credits it with pioneering a uniquely Hong Kong subgenre mixing action comedy with ghostly thrills, a style that became popular through the 1980s[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html). It was the debut production of Bo Ho Films, the company Hung formed in 1979 with Golden Harvest backing[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html) • [2](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/encounters-of-the-spooky-kind/), and it is widely credited with bringing the jiangshi, the hopping vampire of [Chinese folklore](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-folklore), to prominence in Hong Kong cinema[3](https://time.com/7094422/best-vampire-movies/).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | 鬼打鬼 (Gui da gui); English titles include *Encounter of the Spooky Kind*, *Encounters of the Spooky Kind*, and *Spooky Encounters*[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html) • [4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/spooky_encounters.html) |\n| Release | Hong Kong premiere 24 December 1980[5](https://jiangshi-lab.com/e/work-spooky-encounters/) |\n| Director, writer, star | Sammo Hung, co-writing with Wong Ying; producer Raymond Chow[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html) • [4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/spooky_encounters.html) |\n| Production | Bo Ho Films, formed in 1979 with Golden Harvest backing; the Hong Kong Film Archive lists Golden Harvest as production company[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html) • [2](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/encounters-of-the-spooky-kind/) |\n| Format | Cantonese, color, about 103 minutes (sources give 102, 103, and 104 minutes)[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html) • [6](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/spookyencounters.html) |\n| Principal cast | Sammo Hung, Fat Chung, Chan Lung (Peter Chan), Wong Ha (Huang Ha), Lam Ching-ying[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html) |\n| Legacy | Credited with starting the Hong Kong jiangshi (hopping vampire) film wave, later epitomized by *Mr. Vampire* (1985)[3](https://time.com/7094422/best-vampire-movies/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nHung stars as Bold Cheung, a boisterous cart driver who constantly brags about his bravery[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html). His friends enjoy pranking him with fake ghosts, and he accepts a dare to spend a night in a haunted house or temple[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html) • [11](https://www.acmi.net.au/whats-on/spotlight-on-hong-kong-horror/encounter-of-the-spooky-kind/). Cheung's wife (Leung Suet-Mei) is having an affair with his wealthy boss, Master Tam (Huang Ha), who fears exposure and resolves to have Cheung eliminated[4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/spooky_encounters.html).\n\nTam hires the mercenary Taoist priest Chin Hoi (Chan Lung) to kill Cheung by supernatural means, including animating a corpse with black magic during the haunted-house dare[4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/spooky_encounters.html). Another priest, Tsui (Fat Chung), appalled that Chin Hoi will do anything for money, steps in to help Cheung fight back[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html). Cheung survives the plots with his kung fu skills and Tsui's advice, using folkloric vampire deterrents such as chicken eggs, uncooked rice, and a brew of dog's legs and blood, but he is then framed for the murder of his wife[12](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/91300--encounters-of-the-spooky-kind/).\n\nThe film builds to a magical showdown between the warring priests, who summon an array of deities[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html). In the climax Cheung, possessed by the spirit of the Monkey God, and Master Tam, possessed by the War God, fight a supernatural duel to the death[12](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/91300--encounters-of-the-spooky-kind/). Lam Ching-ying plays the sheriff pursuing Cheung, a role the Film Archive describes as foreshadowing his later fame as a Taoist priest in the subgenre's vampire films[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html).\n\n## Production background\n\nBy 1980 Sammo Hung was an established actor and fight choreographer, one of the Seven Little Fortunes trained under Peking Opera master Yu Jim Yuen, who had entered the film industry at age eleven[7](https://info.hktdc.com/edm/2024Q4/hkservices/TIFFCOM_About%20the%20Speakers.pdf) • [8](https://files.spawningpool.net/docs/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/Hong%20Kong%20Action%20Theatre%21%20%28tri-stat%29/Hong%20Kong%20Action%20Theater%202nd%20Edition.pdf). In the 1970s he had founded several film companies, including Bo Ho Films[9](https://hk.history.museum/documents/Activities/School-Programme/7th-inter-school-competition/8thSA4.pdf). *Spooky Encounters* was the first film of his new Golden Harvest-backed company, and it gave Hung unusual control as director, star, action designer, and creative organizer[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html) • [2](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/encounters-of-the-spooky-kind/).\n\nThe gamble was on a hybrid genre. Hong Kong had been producing kung fu films in such quantity that the formula was wearing thin as the 1980s approached, and Hung added the popular comic approach and the growing horror genre, drawing on traditional Chinese folklore[10](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2021/06/encounter-of-the-spooky-kind-eureka/). ACMI's curator notes that Hung drew inspiration from *The Spiritual Boxer Part 2* (1979)[11](https://www.acmi.net.au/whats-on/spotlight-on-hong-kong-horror/encounter-of-the-spooky-kind/).\n\n## Style and reception\n\nThe film's signature is rapid genre-switching. Reviewers describe sequences that pivot from horror to supernatural spectacle to comedy to fight choreography within minutes, with low-tech but effective spooky lighting and art direction[4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/spooky_encounters.html) • [13](https://scenethatreviews.com/encounters-of-the-spooky-kind-1980/). Recurring set pieces include Cheung's first encounter with a hopping corpse, staged with choreography that plays as both scary and funny, and a sequence in which Chin Hoi possesses Cheung's arm, forcing Hung to fight attackers and his own limb simultaneously[4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/spooky_encounters.html). The OUPblog summary of the film's encounter lists fifty chicken eggs, dog's blood, coffins, witches, sorcerers, and a monkey god among its ingredients[14](https://blog.oup.com/2020/07/five-great-comedies-from-hong-kong/).\n\nThe film was a hit. It appears in a Hong Kong Museum of History survey among the top-ten box office films listed for 1981, with a theatrical run from 24 December 1980 to 8 May 1981[9](https://hk.history.museum/documents/Activities/School-Programme/7th-inter-school-competition/8thSA4.pdf). Critics have noted that it is episodic and lacks rising tension, but delivers entertaining set pieces at regular intervals[4](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/spooky_encounters.html).\n\n## Legacy: the jiangshi wave\n\n*Spooky Encounters* is credited with instigating the Hong Kong horror boom of the 1980s through its fusion of kung fu, comedy, and the supernatural[15](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781474424608_A49300135/preview-9781474424608_A49300135.pdf). The jiangshi, a reanimated stiff corpse from Chinese folklore that hops after its victims, became the subgenre's signature monster; *Time* writes that Hung brought jiangshi to the screen with this film, and that *Mr. Vampire* (1985), which Hung produced through Bo Ho Films, truly established jiangshi as a genre of its own[3](https://time.com/7094422/best-vampire-movies/) • [16](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3095457/how-sammo-hung-sparked-kung-fu-horror-comedy-genre?module=inline&pgtype=article). Fortune Star's catalog states that the film defined the 'Jiang Shi' martial arts vampire movies for years to come[6](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/spookyencounters.html).\n\nOther films followed in its wake, including Wu Ma's martial arts horror *The Dead and the Deadly* (1982)[16](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3095457/how-sammo-hung-sparked-kung-fu-horror-comedy-genre?module=inline&pgtype=article). The film itself received a sequel, *Encounters of the Spooky Kind II* (1989), which reviewers describe as largely in name only[10](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2021/06/encounter-of-the-spooky-kind-eureka/). The film has remained in circulation through restorations and retrospectives, including Eureka's Blu-ray release in 2021[10](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2021/06/encounter-of-the-spooky-kind-eureka/) and screenings at ACMI in Melbourne and the Hong Kong Film Archive[11](https://www.acmi.net.au/whats-on/spotlight-on-hong-kong-horror/encounter-of-the-spooky-kind/) • [1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Encounter of the Spooky Kind, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/2026/fantasy/pe-event-2026-fantasy-fs-film08.html)\n2. [Encounters of the Spooky Kind, Cinema Anthology](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/encounters-of-the-spooky-kind/)\n3. [The Best Vampire Movies of All Time, Time](https://time.com/7094422/best-vampire-movies/)\n4. [Spooky Encounters (鬼打鬼) (1980), LoveHKFilm](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/spooky_encounters.html)\n5. [鬼打鬼（Encounter of the Spooky Kind）, Jiangshi Lab](https://jiangshi-lab.com/e/work-spooky-encounters/)\n6. [Spooky Encounters, Fortune Star Media Movie Catalogue](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/spookyencounters.html)\n7. [TIFFCOM About the Speakers, HKTDC](https://info.hktdc.com/edm/2024Q4/hkservices/TIFFCOM_About%20the%20Speakers.pdf)\n8. [Hong Kong Action Theatre! Chapter 1](https://files.spawningpool.net/docs/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/Hong%20Kong%20Action%20Theatre%21%20%28tri-stat%29/Hong%20Kong%20Action%20Theater%202nd%20Edition.pdf)\n9. [Hong Kong Movie History Project, Hong Kong Museum of History](https://hk.history.museum/documents/Activities/School-Programme/7th-inter-school-competition/8thSA4.pdf)\n10. [Encounter of the Spooky Kind – Eureka, Blueprint: Review](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2021/06/encounter-of-the-spooky-kind-eureka/)\n11. [Encounter of the Spooky Kind (1980), ACMI](https://www.acmi.net.au/whats-on/spotlight-on-hong-kong-horror/encounter-of-the-spooky-kind/)\n12. [Encounters of the Spooky Kind, ACMI collection](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/91300--encounters-of-the-spooky-kind/)\n13. [Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980), I've Scene That!](https://scenethatreviews.com/encounters-of-the-spooky-kind-1980/)\n14. [Five great comedies from Hong Kong, OUPblog](https://blog.oup.com/2020/07/five-great-comedies-from-hong-kong/)\n15. [Hong Kong Horror Cinema, Edinburgh University Press (preview)](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781474424608_A49300135/preview-9781474424608_A49300135.pdf)\n16. [How Sammo Hung sparked the kung fu horror comedy genre, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3095457/how-sammo-hung-sparked-kung-fu-horror-comedy-genre?module=inline&pgtype=article)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Comedy horror films › 20th-century comedy horror films*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/spooky-encounters", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/spooky-encounters.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Spooky Encounters\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/spooky-encounters. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Spooky Encounters](https://www.edgepedia.org/spooky-encounters)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/spooky-encounters](https://www.edgepedia.org/spooky-encounters). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Spooky Encounters\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/spooky-encounters. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Spooky Encounters, aka Encounter of the Spooky Kind, is Sammo Hung's 1980 Hong Kong kung fu horror-comedy about a cuckolded cart driver fighting black magic, and the film that launched the jiangshi hopping-vampire genre." }