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Starring
:
Yuen
Biao
Eric
Tsang
Lam
Ching Ying
Stanley
Fong
Lily
Li Li
Rowena
Lam
Action
:
Lam
Ching Ying
Yuen
Biao
Producer
:
Sammo
Hung
Director
:
Lau
Kar Wing
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THOSE
MERRY SOULS (1985)
A.K.A.
- From The Great Beyond
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
Lung
(Biao) and Kwai Tak (Tsang) are two stuntmen who are light
years apart in talent but couldn't be closer in the friendship
department. As they go about their happy go lucky lives,
they are completely oblivious to the eerie reality that Lung's
father is in fact a messenger of death - a role passed down
through generations where one must guide the souls of the
recently departed to the afterlife. This wouldn't be a
big deal if it didn't turn out that his next victim was to be
Kwai Tak, forcing him to choose between taking the life of his
son's best friend or doing his devilish duty. Of course
being a good father he is unable to bring misery to Lung's
life and chooses to bypass his duty and allow Kwai Tak to live
on. A bad move on his part though as spirits make the
worst enemies and as Kwai Tak continues his existence, he is
completely unaware of the terrors that not only await Lung's
father for his disobedience but a price that will be repaid by
Lung as well.
'Those
Merry Souls' is one of those typically quirky 80's Hong Kong films that
falls firmly into the category of "strange but immensely fun". Whilst nowhere near the dizzy heights of the
classics from the era, it is still littered with copious
amounts of infectious humour and ghostly goings on that all
allow it to rise above mediocrity. The story is typically foreign to
Western audiences due to its concentration on many of the more
spiritual aspects of the culture but this is exactly what sets it apart
and allows it to cram in
everything from a love story to tales of the walking dead.
Cast-wise it calls upon a plethora of well known faces to
play even the smallest parts, although it's Yuen Biao that is
given the opportunity to lead the pack. Whilst not a
role that exactly stretches Biao's physical abilities, he is given
more than ample opportunity to demonstrate his comedic timing and proves
himself more than capable. His partner in crime comes in the form of the
consistently enjoyable Eric Tsang who is, as per usual, unable
to control his womanising urges and has now turned the role of
"naive dunce" into an art form. As an added
bonus, there are also a couple of fight scenes thrown in for good
measure (how could it be a Hong Kong comedy without them?) and
these allow Biao to show off his infamous skills although its
worth pointing out that they are nowhere near his finest.
'Those
Merry Souls' is certainly not the pinnacle of Hong Kong filmmaking
as it lacks a couple of ingredients that would push it in amongst
the elite but it is still a lot of fun to watch. The
cast list is nothing short of superb and there's certainly a
little bit of everything thrown in to please fans of all
genres, it's just a
shame it is yet to appear on DVD.
Rating:
  
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