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Sunday, January 19, 2020

Films by Country: Hong Kong



HONG KONG HORROR [1950 - 1990]

Though now officially part of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong is practically its own country... and thank God for that! Otherwise a lot of great movies never would have been made. The very repressed, communist China has extremely strict censorship (in fact, depictions of violence and overt horror movies are basically banned there) while Hong Kong has its own money, its own flag, its own laws / legal system / government and its own film industry which isn't beholden to China's censorship. As a result, some of the weirdest and wildest exploitation films from the time were made there. The small "special administrative region" was under British rule for 156 years before reverting to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997, though part of the agreement to ceding back control was the condition that HK's current freedoms and systems be preserved for at least 50 years. That will get them to 2047. Whether mainland China will actually abide by that, and what happens beyond that, is still up in the air. Seeing how the people of Hong Kong recently fought like hell and flooded the streets in protest, then voted in massive numbers, to overturn a sketchy bill that threatened their civil liberties and autonomy, is very heartening, though. It's also something other pro-democracy nations need to learn a valuable lesson from.

Because of the language war between Cantonese and Mandarin, and the British influence, for decades it was mandatory that the majority of films be released with appropriate subtitles. That included both English subtitles (starting in the 1970s) and Mandarin subs if the film was shot in Cantonese or Cantonese subs if the film was in the Mandarin language. While the two native languages volleyed back and forth for dominance, the English subtitles helped tremendously in getting these films distributed outside of Asia and helping them to grow a strong cult following here in the U.S. and elsewhere. Many other Asian countries who seldom released their films in an English-language version, like Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, have very few globally-known cult titles made before 1990, while HK has a whole boatload.


Hong Kong cinema traces all the way back to around 1909 with a pair of silent short comedies. Much of what followed over the following decades were films based on Chinese opera, which was the culturally dominant form of entertainment back then. The first full length feature was Zhuangzi Tests His Wife (1913), which was co-produced by an American and became the first Chinese film to be distributed in the U.S. By World War II, the country had produced around 500 total films. However, nearly all of those are now gone. When the Japanese seized control of Hong Kong from 1941 to 1945, film negatives were destroyed for their nitrate content, which was used to make bombs. Very few posters or promotional materials even exist from before 1950 and the only film produced there during this four year block of time was the war propaganda film The Battle of Hong Kong (1942). Among the destroyed films are Hong Kong's entire first crop of horror features, including their very first genre film: 1934's Dao shi ("The Body Snatchers"). There were at least several dozen other horror films (mostly involving ghosts or vampires) made prior to WWII, though none survived. The earliest taste of Chinese horror you're likely to get is Song at Midnight (1937), which was produced in mainland China, not Hong Kong.

 

After the UK regained control of Hong Kong, they slowly started to rebuild their film industry and a whole new batch of horror films were produced there throughout the 50s and 60s. Pictured above are just a few of these; The Living Corpse (1958) and Revenge of a Vampire (1959). For the time being, I'm essentially writing off most of the Hong Kong films of the 1950s as none of them were released in English and most are now difficult if not impossible to find. They are being listed here for the sake of completion or in case I am able to track them down. Only a few that I'm aware of, including the early hopping vampire movie Voyage of the Dead (1954), were released on VCD, so I'll probably give them a look even if they don't have subtitles, but I wouldn't expect much immediate coverage here. The earliest film a casual viewer is likely to stumble across, and one I'm certain is available with English subtitles, is 1960's The Enchanting Shadow.


Shadow was produced by the highly successful Shaw Brothers Ltd., which went on to become the biggest production hub in Hong Kong for several decades. The studio, named after eldest brother Runje (who first started out founding the Shanghai-based Tianyi [or "Unique"] Film Company in 1925), middle siblings Runme and Runde, and the youngest brother, Run Run, saw many incarnations on their way to international success. Runme and Run Run ended up in charge of the Hong Kong operation and their studio, Movietown, would go on to become the biggest independently-run film studio in the entire world. Shaw almost always delivered technically well-made films with good production values and astutely tapped into audience trends and shifting tastes, starting with producing mainly dramatic features, like The Love Eterne (1963), which became one of their all-time highest grossers, before focusing primarily on the action / martial arts films that they remain most famous for. They also frequently made horror films, sometimes crossed with their fantasy and martial arts movies. The vast majority involve either ghosts or black magic and many of the most memorable were from either Meng Hua Ho, whose Black Magic (1975) and Black Magic II (1976) received U.S. theatrical releases (the latter under the title Revenge of the Zombies) or Chih-Hung Kuei (below; Bewitched [1981]; The Boxer's Omen [1983]).


Shaw had many rivals over the years threatening their dominant position, starting with Cathay Organisation, who fizzled out in the early 70s while Shaw ascended to the top. In the 1970s, with the emergence of more competition, Shaw found their foothold slipping. Golden Harvest, which was formed by several Shaw defectors, would end up the top studio by the end of the 70s thanks in part to the international success of their Bruce Lee films and, later, their Jackie Chan vehicles. In fact, Chan would become Hong Kong's #1 box office draw for several decades. Other independent studios - like Cinema City - had Shaw struggling for an audience, resorting to more exploitative features and then ceasing film production altogether around 1987. Cinema City was done itself by 1991, while Golden Harvest remained in a good position through the 90s.






On the lower end of the spectrum were two dueling studios basically picking up the scraps. These were Tomas Tang's Filmark International and Joseph Lai's IFD Films and Arts Ltd. Both studios had full in house productions but they became best know for their cut-and-paste approach to filmmaking, which involved taking preexisting films (frequently from Taiwan or South Korea), cutting them to ribbons, shooting new scenes (usually featuring ninjas and Caucasian actors) to splice in and then having them horribly re-dubbed with little attention made to the story or continuity. What made these companies unique were their eye for international home video distribution. Knowing these films couldn't compete with the big studio theatrical efforts in their homeland, the Filmark and IFD releases were prepped specifically to sucker unsuspecting, martial arts-hungry viewers in other countries. Director Godfrey Ho, who had previously worked as an assistant director for Shaw Bros., received a minor cult following due to working on these and is sometimes referred to as Hong Kong's answer to Ed Wood. At least their posters were always on point!


While there are certainly previous films blending horror and comedy to predate it, including Spooky Encounters (1980), Golden Harvest's The Dead and the Deadly (1982), Cinema City's family friendly The Happy Ghost (1984), it was the huge hit Mr. Vampire (1985), again distributed by Golden Harvest, that would alter the landscape of the genre for the rest of the decade. It was followed by a whole glut of official sequels, unofficial off-shoots and much cheaper films (many of them made in Taiwan) hoping to match its audience-pleasing mix of supernatural horror and goofy slapstick. None really could quite get there. The film also turned veteran stuntman and actor Ching-Ying Lam into a star of such films. He'd go on to appear in dozens of more horror films and TV shows, usually playing a Taoist master fighting the forces of evil, until his untimely death in 1997 at the age of just 44. These supernatural comedies, even the lesser ones, did at least offer up a host of talented and often very funny people who usually made the best of things, like Wu Ma, Sandra Ng, Fat Chung and Kent Cheng.


On the classier side of the spectrum, the Cinema City-distributed A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) would become a big, award-winning hit and itself was followed by a bunch of sequels, an animated version, a TV series, a remake and a bunch of other costume ghost films steeped heavily in folklore. Toward the end of the decade, the introduction of a rating's system in Hong Kong in 1988 led to the rise of Cat III films, which were basically equivalent to a U.S. R rating (sometimes even slightly even into NC-17 territory). These films intentionally heightened the trashiness, violence and / or erotic content to a more exploitation-hungry viewing public and turned movies like the notorious and very disturbing Men Behind the Sun (1988), Erotic Ghost Story (1990), Sex and Zen (1991), Naked Killer (1992) and The Untold Story (1993) into formidable box office hits.


Titles are listed by their most common English-release title (or an English translation when there's no official release title) with the original title in parenthesis. Co-productions with other countries are also noted in brackets.

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1950s

- Haunted House, The (Ghost HouseGui wu) (1950; Wui Ng)
- Lovers Mystery (The Case of the Wife Killer; Yuan yang jie) (1950; Hang Wong)
- Midnight Bells (Ye ban zhong sheng) (1950; Sum Leong)
- Misguided Spirit in the Well, The (Jing di yuan hun) (1950; Suk-Wan Hung)
- Vampire, The (Bloodsuckers) (1950; Yin Wang) ▼
- Walking Corpse of an Old Temple (Gusi jiang shi) (1950; Sze-Luk Chow)


- Queen of the Devil's Palace (Mo gong yao hou) (1951; Wui Ng)

- Ghost That Created an Uproar in Guang Changlong, The (Gechang da nao guang changlong) (1952; Sze-Luk Chow)
- Stormy Night, The (Kuang feng zhi yeRoar of the Earth) (1952; Feng Yueh)

- Beyond the Grave (Ren gui lian) (1954; Ching Doe)
- Phantom of the Opera Boat (Hong chuan gui ying) (1954; Kung-Leung Yeung)
- Supernatural Go-Between, The (Gui mei) (1954; Toi Wong)
Voyage of the Dead, The (Wan li xing shi) (1954; Kung-Leung Yeung) [VCD]

- Nine-Finger Devil, The (Jiu zhi guai mo) (1955; Kwok-Wah Chan)
- Stealing the Beauty's Corpse at Night (Ye dao mei ren shi) (1955; Hung Hsieh)
- Strange Tale at Midnight (Ban ye qi tan) (1955; Hsieh Hung)

- Beauty Raised from the Dead (The Revivor; Yan shi huan hun ji) (1956; Sun-Fung Lee)
- Burning Passion (Re qing) (1956; Yik-Ching Chan, Chung Yue)
- Foggy Night, Fright Night (Wu ye jing hun) (1956; Weibang Ma-Xu)
- Ghost at Midnight (Wu ye hun gui) (1956; Weibang Ma-Xu)
Haunted Pot, The (Wa gui huan shen) (1956; Wui Ng)
- Lovers and the Python, The (Du mang qing yuan) (1956; Weibang Ma-Xu) ▼


Case of the Walking Corpse, The (Xiang xi gan shi ji) (1957; Tian-Lin Wang)
- Cry of the Ghost (Gui ye ku) (1957; Kim Chun)
- Haunted Bridge (Meng gui qiao) (1957; Hok-Sing Wong)
- Unknown Corpse, The (Guan cai jing sheng zai) (1957; Tian-Lin Wang)

- Living Corpse, The (Shi bian) (1958; Hung Yin, Shilin Zhu)
- Murder on a Wedding Night (Sha ren hua zhu ye) (1958; Wui Ng)
Son of the Vampire (Anak Pontianak) (1958; Ramon Estella) [co-Singapore] ▼
- Vampire Pays Offerings to the Moon, A (Jiang shi yue) (1958; Kei Chu)

- Appointment with Death (Si wang de yue hui) (1959; Chun Yen)
- One Million for Me (Wu ye qin sheng) (1959; Siao-Fung Hu)
Vengeance of the Vampire (Jiang shi fu chou) (1959; See Luk Chow)
- Zombie in a Haunted House (Gu wu jiang shi) (1959; Wen Yi)



1960s

- Adventure on a Deadly Island (Huang dao jing hun) (1960; Wui Ng)
- Blood Terror (Xue wu jing hun) (1960; Tie Li)
- Corpses at Large (Gu wu yi yun) (1960; Wen Yi)
Enchanging Shadow, The (Ching nu yu hun) (1960; Han Hsiang Li)
- Flying Head Princess, The (Fei tou gongzhu dixue jiu qinfu) (1960; Zhigang Feng)
- Frightful Honeymoon (Mi yue jing hun) (1960; Man Chan)
- Night of Thrills, A (Yi xi jing hun) (1960; Chiu Feng Yuan)
- Shadow Over the Chateau, A (Gong lou dian ying) (1960; Kuang-Chi Tu)
- Stormy Night, The (Yu yi jing hun) (1960; To Lung)

- Bloody Gloves (Xue shou tao) (1961; Yao Huang, Kangshi Mu)
- Creepy Nights (1961; Kangshi Mu)
- Dazzling Trap, A (Mi hun jing) (1961; Pingqian Li)
- Haunted Temple, The (1961; Kangshi Mu)
Serpent and the Lovers, The (Du mang qing yuan) (1961; Weibang Ma-Xu)
- Shadow of a Doubt (Lei ke tan an zhi xue ying jing hun) (1961; Fung Fung)


- Blonde-Haired Monster, The (Huang mao guai ren) (1962; Fung Wong)
- Frightened Soul (Che di jing hun) (1962; To Lung)
- Haunting Shadow, The (Mo ying jing hun) (1962; Kei Chu)
- Mid-Nightmare, The (Ye ban ge sheng - Shang ji) (1962; Chiu Feng Yuan)
- Midnight Terror (Trouble with NightmareWu ye gou hun) (1962; To Lung)
- Night the Spirit Returns, The (Huihun ye) (1962; Ying Cheung, Cheong Choi)
Okinawan Horror: Upside-Down Ghost - Chinese Horror: Breaking a Coffin (Okinawa kaidan: Sakazuri yĆ»rei - Shina kaidan: Shikan yaburi) (1962; Satoru Kobayashi, Lo-Hui Shaw) [co-JapanTaiwan]
- Phantom of the Jade Chamber (Qiong lou mo ying) (1962; Man Chan)
- Vampire Woman (Xi xue fu) (1962; Tie Li) [VCD]

- Bedside Horror (Zhen bian jing hun) (1963; Sze-Luk Chow)
Mid-Nightmare Part II, The (Ye ban ge sheng - Xia ji) (1963; Chiu Feng Yuan)
- Midnight Werewolf (Ye ban ren lang) (1963; Fung Wong)
- Vampire's Return, The (Pontianak Kembali) (1963; Ramon Estella) [co-Singapore]

- Bloody Paper Man, The (Xue zhi ren) (1964; Tie Li)
- Bride from the Grave, The (Ghost Bride) (1964; Cheong Choi, Ying Cheung)
- Deadly Night, A (Si wang jiao zhi ye) (1964; Yuen Chor)
- Devil's Love (Mogui de aiqing) (1964; Fung Wong)
- Ghostly Murderer, The (Gui xiong shou) (1964; Ying Cheung, Hung Tse)
- Ghost Returns at Midnight, The (Wu ye zhao hun) (1964; Ying Cheung)
- Horror by the Sea (Hai jiao jing hun) (1964; Kwok-Wah Chan)
- Mad Woman, A (Feng fu) (1964; Yuen Chor)


- Curse, The (Du jiang tou) (1965; Wan Chan)
- Vampire Legacy, The (Pusaka Pontianak) (1965; Ramon Estella) [co-Singapore]

- Bitter Fear (Leng yue li hun) (1966; Cheong Choi)
- Ghost Chasers (Ye ban de gui ying) (1966; Wui Ng)
Painted Skin, The (Hua pi) (1966; Fong Pao)

- Green-Eyed Demoness, The (Bi yan mo nu) (1967; Lit-Ban Chan) ▼
- Lady Jade Locket (Lian suo) (1967; Chun Yen)
- Midnight Murder, The (San geng yuan) (1967; Meng Hua Ho)
- Mirror, The (Xie hen jing) (1967; Ching Doe)
- Shaky Steps (Yi bu yi jing xin) (1967; Hoi Fung Ngai)
- Vengeance of Fu Manchu, The (1967; Jeremy Summers) [co-, IrelandUKWest Germany]


- Dear Murderer (Luo shi hen) (1969; Ma-Shan Shi)
- Raw Passions (Luo xie) (1969; Chen Lo)


1970s

- Devil's Skin (Gui pi) (1970; Li Kao)
- Devil Woman (She yao jing) (1970; Felix Villar, Chi-Lien Yu) [co-Philippines]
- Enchanting Ghost, The (Gui wu li ren) (1970; Hsu Chiang Chou) [co-Taiwan]
- Five Billion Dollar Legacy, The (Wei chan wu yi yuan) (1970; Umetsugu Inoue)
- Hellgate (Gui men guan) (1970; Mitsuo Murayama)

- Come Haunt with Me (Hu gui xi chun) (1971; Chin Hsieh) [co-Taiwan]
- Comet Strikes, The (Gui liu xing) (1971; Wei Lo)
Ghostly Face, The (Lem mien kuel) (1971; A. Harris, Shih-Ching Yang) [co-Indo, Taiwan]
- Ghost's Moaning, A (Gui ye ti) (1971; Fan Yeung)
- Mission Impossible (Jian nu you hun) (1971; Joseph Kuo) [co-Taiwan]


Bride from Hell, The (Giu xin niang) (1972; Hsu Chiang Chou)
- Finger of Doom (Tai yin zhi) (1972; Hsueh Li Pao)
- Ghost, The (Gui hua) (1972; Yun Ling, Chiu Feng Yuan)
- Peeper, the Model and the Hypnotist, The (Se zi tou shang yi ba dao) (1972; Sum Cheung)
- Resort Called Hell, A (She wang yu yan wang) (1972; Huang Tang)

Bamboo House of Dolls, The (Nu ji zhong ying) (1973; Chih-Hung Kuei)
- Killer in the Dark (Duo ming ke) (1973; Tung Man Chan) [co-Thailand]

- Affection Against Satan (Du gui) (1974; Yuan-Shen Huang)
Blood Reincarnation (Yingyang jie) (1974; Shan-Hsi Ting)
- Devil in Her, The (Nu mo) (1974; Sum Cheung)
Devil Woman (She yao jing) (1974; Felix Villar, Chi-Lien Yu) [co-Philippines ]
- From the Underworld (Feng liu nu fu xing) (1974; Shan Hua)
- Ghost Eyes (Gui yanGwai an) (1974; Chih-Hung Kuei) ▼
- Ghost Lovers, The (Yan nu huan hun) (1974; Sang-ok Shin) [co-South Korea]
- Ghost of the Mirror (Gu jing you hun) (1974; Tsun-Shou Sung) [co-Taiwan]
- Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, The (1974; Roy Ward Baker) [co-UK]
- Snake Girl, The (Teeda Sok Puos) (1974; Kuang Hui) [co-Cambodia, Taiwan]


- Bedeviled, The (Sam moh; Xin mo) (1975; Wei Lo)
Black Magic (Gong tau; Hex; Jiang tou) (1975; Meng Hua Ho)
- Bruka: Queen of Evil (Ren tou she) (1975; Felix Villar, Chi-Lien Yu) [co-Philippines]
- Devil Crows (Ya mo) (1975; Hsing-Lai Wang) [co-Taiwan]
- Evil Seducers (Se zhong e gui) (1975; Lei Pan)
- Fairy Fox (Shen hu) (1975; Chung Ting) [co-Taiwan]
- Fearful Interlude (Gu zhi se lang) (1975; Chih-Hung Kuei)
- Haunted House, A (Shi san hao xiong zhai) (1975; See-Yuen Ng)
- Killer Snakes, The (She sha shouThe Hiss of Death) (1975; Chih-Hung Kuei)


Magic Curse, The (Cui hua du jiang touInsa yeomu) (1975; Yeong-sun Kwon, Chin-Ku Lu, Wen Po Tu) [co-PhilippinesSouth KoreaTaiwan]
- Night of the Devil's Bride (Devil Bride; She qing gui) (1975; Il-Ho Jang)
- Obsessed, The (Ling mo) (1975; Mak Pang Chin)
- Possessed, The (Gui tai; Kun phee) (1975; Lung Hsiao, Li Wei) [co-Thailand]
- Seven Coffins, The (Qu mo nu) (1975; Shan-Hsi Ting)
- Spiritual Boxer, The (Shen da) (1975; Chia-Liang Liu)
- Witch, The (Ang maninipsip) (1975; Ben Feleo, Hai-Feng Wei) [co-Philippines]

Black Magic, Part II (Gou hun jiang touRevenge of the Zombies) (1976; Meng Hua Ho)
- Obsessed, The (Fury of Soul; Ling mo; Yeongno) (1976; Seong-gu Lee, Pang-Chin Mak)
- Oily Maniac, The (You gui zi) (1976; Meng Hua Ho)
- Reincarnation, The (Tou tai ren) (1976; Sum Cheung)
- Shocking Asia (Asia perversa) (1976; Rolf Olsen) [doc] [co-West Germany]
- Snake Prince, The (She wang zi) (1976; Chen Lo)
- Spirit of the Raped (Suo ming) (1976; Chih-Hung Kuei)
- Web of Death, The (Wu du tian luo) (1976; Yuen Chor)


- Criminals 5 - Teenager's Nightmare, The (Heung Gong kei on 5: Gan mo) (1977; Chih-Hung Kuei, Tun Fei Mou)
- Devil Strikes, The (Xie mo sha) (1977; Yee-Hung Lam)
- Fangs of the Cobra (Cobra Girl; Ren she shu) (1977; Chung Sun)
- Mantis Fists and Tiger Claws of Shaolin (Xue hai tang lang chou) (1977; Sum Cheung, Simon Hsu)
- Mighty Peking Man, The (Goliathon; Xing xing wang) (1977; Meng Hua Ho) ▲
- Tiger Love (Ren hu lian) (1977; Kuang Hui, Yi-Hsiu Lin)

- Gory Murder, The (Can ku da fen shi) (1978; Shan Hua)
Psychopath, The (Se yu sha ren wang) (1978; Meng Hua Ho)
- Sensual Pleasures (Zi yue shi si xing ye) (1978; Han Hsiang Li)


- Butterfly Murders, The (Die bian; Dip bin) (1979; Hark Tsui)
- Ghost Story, The (Gui jiao chun) (1979; Han Hsiang Li)
- House of the Lute (Yu huo fen qin) (1979; Shing-Hon Lau)
- Legend of the Mountain (Shan zhong zhuan qi) (1979; King Hu) [co-Taiwan]
- Lewd Lizard (Chong; Chung) (1979; Norman Chu, Yung Ling Wang)
- Money Trip, The (1979; Dai-Chuen Chui)
Return of the Dead (Xiao hun yu) (1979; Han Hsiang Li)
- Secret, The (Fung gip) (1979; Ann Hui)
- Shadow Boxing, The (Mao shan jiang shi quan) (1979; Chia-Liang Liu)


1980s

- Bat Without Wings (Wu yi bian fu) (1980; Yuen Chor)
- Beasts, The (Flesh and Bloody Terror; Shan kou) (1980; Dennis Yu)
Crocodile (Chorake) (1980; Sompote Saengduenchai) [co-South KoreaThailand]
- Devil Cat (Ghost CatMao ling) (1980; Sau Hin Ha)
- Elephant Wife (Zhi mo nu) (1980; Yi-Hsiu Lin) [co-Taiwan]
- Encounters of the Spooky Kind (Gui da gui) (1980; Sammo Hung) ▼


Haunted Tales (Die xian) (1980; Yuen Chor, Tun Fei Mou)
Hex (Che; Evil; Xie) (1980; Chih-Hung Kuei)
Hex vs. Witchcraft (Che Dau Che; Xie Dau Xie) (1980; Chih-Hung Kuei)
- Lost Souls (Da she) (1980; Tun Fei Mou)
- Saviour, The (Jiu shi zhe) (1980; Ronny Yu)
- Shaolin Hellgate (Di san lei da dou; Heaven and Hell) (1980; Cheh Chang)
- Spooky Bunch, The (Zhuang dao zheng) (1980; Ann Hui)
- Twelve Gates of Hell (Gao shou guo zhao; Jiok 12gwan mun) (1980; Hyeok-Su Lee)
We're Going to Eat You (Cannibal Kung FuDiyu wu men) (1980; Hark Tsui)


- Avengers from Hell (Gui yu) (1981; Pei-Chuan Li)
Bewitched (Gu) (1981; Chih-Hung Kuei)
- Black Lizard, The (Hei xi yi) (1981; Yuen Chor)
- Bloody Parrot (Xie ying wu) (1981; Shan Hua)
Cold-Blooded Murder (Yuan yin) (1981; To-Bong Law)
Corpse Mania (Shi yao; Si yiu) (1981; Chih-Hung Kuei)
- Devil, The (Xie mo) (1981; Jen-Chieh Chang) [co-Taiwan]
- Dreadnaught (Yong zhe wu ju) (1981; Woo-Ping Yuen)
Gate of the Hell, The (Gui huo) (1981 [filmed in 1977]; Pao-Lun Lu)
Imp, The (Hung bong; Xiong bang) (1981; Dennis Yu)
- Kung Fu Zombie (Wu long tian shi zhao ji gui) (1981; Yi-Jung Hua)
Life After Life (Zai sheng ren) (1981; Peter Yung)
Love Massacre (Ai sha) (1981; Patrick Tam)
- Phantom Killer, The (Fen ku lou) (1981; Stanley Sui-Fan Fung)
- Revenge of the Corpse (The Bloodthirsty Dead; Fei shi) (1981; Chung Sun)
- Soul Ash (1981; Ying-Kit Wong)
- Spooky Kookies (Shen tai mao) (1981; Kan Ping Yu)


Behind the Storm (Shou xin) (1982; Zhen Lou)
- Calamity of Snakes (Ren she da zhan) (1982; Chi Chang) [co-Taiwan]
Curse of Evil (Che jaoJinxXie zhou) (1982; Chih-Hung Kuei)
- Dead and the Deadly, The (Ren xia ren) (1982; Ma Wu)
Devil Returns (Jing hun feng yu ye) (1982; Yao-Chi Chen) [co-Taiwan]
Expensive Tastes (Hua jie) (1982; Fan Ho)
Fake Ghost Catchers, The (Gui hua fu) (1982; Chia Yung Liu)
- Firefist of Incredible Dragon (Solimsa jucheongwidong) (1982; Jong-seong Kim) [co-South Korea, Taiwan]
- Ghost Nursing (Yang gui) (1982; Wilson Tong)
- He Lives By Night (Ye jing hun) (1982; Po-Chih Leong)
Hell Has No Boundary (Mo jie) (1982; Chuan Yang)
Hex After Hex (Che yuen joi che) (1982; Chih-Hung Kuei)
- Horror Safari (Invaders of the Lost Gold) (1982; Alan Birkinshaw) [co-UK]
- Human Lanterns (Human Skin LanternsRen pi deng long) (1982; Chung Sun)
Marianna (Bin mei) (1982; Pak Tong Cheuk)
- Miracle Fighters, The (Kei mun dun kap) (1982; Woo-Ping Yuen)
- Till Death Do We Scare (Xiao sheng pa pa) (1982; Chia-Yung Liu)
To Hell with the Devil (Mo deng tian shi) (1982; John Woo)
- Witch with Flying Head, The (Fei taugh mo neuih) (1982; Jen-Chieh Chang) [co-Taiwan]


Accident, The (Blood of the Black Dog; Car Spirit; Che wan) (1983; Pao-Lun Lu)
- Attack of the Joyful Goddess (5 Venoms Attack; Xi shen bao chou) (1983; Cheh Chang)
Black Magic with Buddha (Nao mo) (1983; Lieh Lo)
Boxer's Omen, The (Mo) (1983; Chih-Hung Kuei) ▲
- Brutal Sorcery (Du gu) (1983; Ling Pang) [co-Thailand]
- Crazy Blood (Feng xie) (1983; Siu-Wah Lee)
Devil Fetus (Devil Foetus; Mo tai; Moh toi) (1983; Hung-Chuen Lau) ▼
- Ghosts Galore (Man tian shen fo) (1983; Hsia Hsu)
- Life Full of Evils, A (Se yu kuang mo) (1983; Chan Wei Lin)
- Obsessed (Gui yan yan) (1983; Henry Chan)
- Portrait in Crystal (Shui jing ren) (1983; Shan Hua)
Possessed (Meng gui chu long) (1983; David Lai)
- Red Panther, The (Hai shi chu shi) (1983; Jiang Long)
- Red Spell Spells Red (Gong gui zai) (1983; Titus Ho)
- Seeding of a Ghost (Chung gwai; Zhong gui) (1983; Chuan Yang)
- Sketch (Xue zhong xue) (1983; Ching Wong)
- Spirit of Love (Esprit D'AmourYam yeung choh) (1983; Ringo Lam)
Trail, The (Jui gwai chat hung7 Ghost Chasers) (1983; Ronny Yu)
- Zu Warriors (Suk san: San Suk saan geen hap) (1983; Hark Tsui)



- Centipede Horror (Centipede SorcererWu gong zhou) (1984; Keith Li)
- Devil's Box, The (Gui zhan) (1984; Tommy Chin)
- Dress Off for Life (Yi tuo qiu sheng) (1984; Yung-Chang Li)
- Drunken Wutang (Gui ma tian shiTaoism Drunkard) (1984; Cheung-Yan Yuen) ▼
- Friend from Inner Space, A (Gan yan gwai) (1984; Ricky Chan)
Ghost Informer, The (Gui xian ren) (1984; Hung-Chuen Lau)
Heaven Can Help (Shang tian jiu ming) (1984; David Chiang)
Hocus Pocus (Ren xia guiYan hak gwai) (1984; Yuet Sang Chin)
Invitation of Ghost (Qing gui) (1984; Wilson Tong)
- Lifeline Express (Hong yun dang tou) (1984; Kirk Wong)
- Love with a Ghost in Lushan (Lao Shan gui lian) (1984; Fong Pau)
- Mixed Up (Chi gui xian) (1984; Henry Chow)
- Nine Demons, The (The Demons; Jiu zi tian mo) (1984; Cheh Chang) [co-Taiwan]
- Occupant, The (Ling qi bi ren; The Tenant) (1984; Ronny Yu)
Possessed II (Yan gui fa kuang) (1984; David Lai)
- Rape After, The (Yin zhong) (1984; Moon-Tong Lau)
- Sex Beyond the Grave (Fung lau yuen gwai) (1984; Chun Keung Chiu, Tai-Heng Li)
- Siamese Twins, The (Lin tai) (1984; Angela Mak)
- Surgeon, The (Chuan suo yin yang jie) (1984; Wa-Kei Wong)


- Curse (Du zhou) (1985; Ling Pang)
- Dead Curse (Meng gui po ren) (1985; Biu Man Chang)
- Dragon Against Vampire (Hong tiao jing) (1985; Lionel Leung) [co-South Korea]
Ghost Festival (Leng xie tu fu) (1985; Kei Law)
Haunted Romance, A (Zai shi feng liu jie) (1985; Ching Luk)
- Hong Kong Butcher (1985; Jeffrey Lau)
- Island, The (Life and Death; Sheng si xian) (1985; Po-Chih Leong)
- Jungle Heat (Last BreathXue ran feng cai) (1985; Jobic Wong) [co-USA]
Mr. Vampire (Geung si sin sang; Mr. Stiff Corpse) (1985; Ricky Lau) ▼


- Night Caller (Ping an ye; Silent Night) (1985; Philip Chan)
Night of Burning Flesh and Bones (Byeowa sali taneun bamPpyeo-wa sal-i taneun bam) (1985; Myeong-hwa Jo, Ching Luk) [co-South Korea]
- Serpent Warriors (The Golden Viper) (1985; John Howard, Niels Rasmussen) [co-USA]
- Shocking Asia II: The Last Taboos (1985; Rolf Olsen) [doc] [co-West Germany]
- Those Merry Souls (Shi lai yun dao) (1985; Chia Yung Liu)


- Abracadabra (Tian ling ling, di ling ling) (1986; Tai Kit Mak)
- Bloody Sorcery (Blood Sorcery; Xiong zhou) (1986; Ling Pang)
- Close Encounters of the Vampire (Jiang shi pa pa) (1986; Woo-Ping Yuen) [co-Taiwan]
- Crocodile Evil (E jiang) (1986; Gwok-Choi Hon)
Escape from Coral Cove (Tiu chut san woo hoi) (1986; Terence Chang)
- First Vampire in China, The (Mao shan xiao tang) (1986; Ying Wong)
Fury of the Heaven (Tian sha) (1986; Ling Pang)
- Ghost Snatchers (Bi gui zhuo) (1986; Ngai Choi Lam)
Haunted Madam, The (Shie jie chuang xie) (1986; Chin-Ku Lu)
- Love Me Vampire (Kai xin gui jing ling) (1986; Ho Wai Lau)
Mr. Vampire II (Jiang shi jia zu: Jiang shi xian sheng xu ji) (1986)
- New Mr. Vampire (Jiang shi fan shengKung Fu Vampire Buster) (1986; Billy Chan)
- Seventh Curse, The (Yuan Zhen-Xia yu Wei Si-Li) (1986; Ngai Choi Lam) ▼
- Watch Out (Gui gan you yuan) (1986; Pasan Leung)
- Where's Officer Tuba? (Pi li da la ba) (1986; Philip Chan, Ricky Lau)
- Witch from Nepal (Qi yuanThe Nepal Affair) (1986; Siu-Tung Ching)


- Chinese Ghost Story, A (Sien nui yau wan) (1987; Siu-Tung Ching)
Corpse Master (Jiang shi shao ye; Magic Story) (1987; Bing-chi Liu) [co-Taiwan]
- Crazy Spirit (Yang gui zi) (1987; Billy Chan)
Devil Dynamite (Devil's Dynamite) (1987; Godfrey Ho)
- Evil Cat (Xiong mao) (1987; Dennis Yu)
Ghost's Lover (Ge shi gui jian qing) (1987; Richard Yeung Kuen)
Haunted Cop Shop, The (Meng gui cha guanVampire Cop) (1987; Jeffrey Lau)
Heartbeat 100 (Xin tiao yi bai) (1987; Kent Cheng, Kin Lo) [co-Taiwan]
Jokers Playing Games (1987; Kong Yeung, Yeung Tong-Mei)
Mr. Vampire III (Ling huan xian sheng) (1987; Ricky Lau)
- My Cousin, the Ghost (Biao ge dao) (1987; Ma Wu)
- Ninja the Violent Sorcerer (1987; "Bruce Lambert") [co-Taiwan]
Return of the Demon (Mo gao yi zhang) (1987; Ying Wong)
- Scared Stiff (Psychic ActionXiao sheng meng jing hun) (1987; Chia Yung Liu)
- Sexy Vampires (Jiang shi ye xian shi) (1987; Lung-Kong Hak)
- Spiritual Love (Gui xin niangPhantom Bride) (1987; David Lai, Taylor Wong)
- Tale of a Female Ghost (Ngo gwai bou yan) (1987; Mah Wu Tu) [X]
- Toothless Vampires (Wu ya jiang shi) (1987; Tony Liu)
Vampire's Breakfast (Ling chen wan can) (1987; Chung Wang)


- Avenging Ghost (Hong fen you hunRevenging Ghost) (1988; Jen-Chieh Chang)
- Bless This House (Meng gui fo tiao qiang) (1988; Ronny Yu) ▲
Blood Call (Life Gamble 23Xue Call ji) (1988; Oli Nicole, Lu Tung)
- Blood Ritual (Xie luo ji) (1988; Yuen Ching Lee)
- Cannibal Curse (Chu nu jiang; Curse) (1988; Yeung Kong) [co-Philippines]
Crocodile Fury (1988; "Ted Kingsbrook" [Tomas Tang?]) [co-Thailand]
- Devil and the Ghostbuster, The (Yan gui xiong lin) (1988;  Lien-Chou Ho)
- Devil's Curse (Devil Curse CountryMeng gui zhou) (1988; Lu Po Tu)
Devil Sorcery (Ban xian jiangDevil's Sorcery) (1988; Hong-Yue Do)
Diamond Ninja Force (Ghost Ninja; Ninja Warriors) (1988; Godfrey Ho) [co-Taiwan]
- Ghost's Hospital (Mong gwai yee yuen) (1988; Hong-Yue Do)
Golden Swallow, The (Jin yan zi) (1988; Sing-Pui O)
Guests in the House (Ji wu cang jiao) (1988; Jamie Luk)


Haunted Cop Shop II, The (Meng gui xue tang) (1988; Jeffrey Lau)
Her Vengeance (Bloody RoseXue mei gui) (1988; Ngai Choi Lam)
Into the Night (Jing hun jin wan ye) (1988; Jianming Liu, Kin Lo)
Men Behind the Sun (Black Sun 731Hei tai yang 731) (1988; Tun Fei Mou) [co-China]
Miss Magic (Lady VampireLing huan xiao jie) (1988; Fung Hak-On)
- Mr. Possessed (Chuang xie xian sheng) (1988; Jing Wong)
Mr. Vampire Saga 4 (Jiang shi shu; Mr. Vampire Saga) (1988; Ricky Lau)
- Night Evil Soul (1988; Chuo-Chi Leung)
- Peacock King, The (Hung cheuk wong ji; Kujaku Ć“) (1988; Ngai Choi Lam) [co-Japan]
Robo Vampire (Robovamp) (1988; Godfrey Ho) [co-Taiwan] ▲
Scorpion Thunderbolt (Snake) (1988 [filmed in 1985]; Godfrey Ho)
- Shaolin vs. Vampire (Gekitotsu! Kyonshi kozo shijo saikyo no kanfu akuma gundan) (1988; Gordon Liu) [co-Japan]
Spooky Spooky (Gui meng jiao) (1988; Sammo Hung, Wei Don Lo)
- Three Wishes (Hei xin gui) (1988; Billy Chan)
Thunder of Gigantic Serpent (Daai si wong) (1988; Godfrey Ho) [co-Taiwan]
- Vampire Partner, The (Gui gan chuan) (1988; Lau Chan)
- Vampire Raiders, The (Vampire Raiders: Ninja Queen) (1988; Godfrey Ho)
- Vampire vs. Sorcerer (Jiang shi dou wu shi) (1988; Siu-Lung Leung)
- Vampire vs. Sorcerer 2 (Jiang shi fu huo) (1988; Siu-Lung Leung)


- Burning Sensation (Huo zhu gui) (1989; Wu Ma)
- Counter Destroyer (The Vampire Is Still Alive) (1989; Edgar Jere) [co-Thailand]
- Curse of the Zombie (Curse of the Zombi; Shi jiang) (1989; Hao Li)
- Encounters of the Spooky Kind 2 (Gui yao gui) (1989; Ricky Lau)
- Excuse Me, Please! (Meng gui shan fen) (1989; James Yi Lui)
- Fatal Vacation (An le zhan chang) (1989; Eric Tsang) [co-Philippines]
Final Judgement, The (Zhi he cang shi zhi gong shen) (1989; Otto Chan) [co-USA]
Funny Ghost (Bloody GhostMeng gui zhuang gui) (1989; Jun-Man Yuen)
- Ghost Ballroom (Meng gui wu ting) (1989; Wilson Tong)
- Ghost Busting (Hua gui you xian gong si) (1989; Sze Yu Lau)
- Ghost Fever (Gui gou ren) (1989; Sze Yu Lau, Jing Wong)
Ghostly Love (Qian nu yun yu qing) (1989; Jen-Chieh Chang)
Heavenly Spell (Phi Song NangPu sa zhou) (1989; On Ma; Rittirong) [co-Thailand]
In Between Loves (Qiu ai ye jing hun) (1989; Yi Ching Fung)
- Lost Souls (Fu gui kai xin gui) (1989; David Lai)
- Reincarnation of Golden Lotus, The (Pan Jin Lian zhi qian shi jin sheng) (1989; Clara Law)
- Return of the Evil Fox (Meng gui hu li jing) (1989; Chuo-Chi Leung)
Romantic Ghost Story, A (Meng gui jia ren) (1989; Wen Hua)
Satanic Crystals (Duo bao long hu dou) (1989; Kei-Ying Cheng)
- Vampire Buster (Zhuo gui da shi) (1989; Norman Law Man, Stanley Wing Siu)
Vampire vs. Vampire (Yi mei dao ren) (1989; Ching-Ying Lam)
- Web of Deception (Deception; Jing hun ji) (1989; David Chung)
- Who Cares (Guan ren gui shi) (1989; Chiu-Jun Lee)
- Zombie vs. Ninja (Zodiac America; Zombie Rivals) (1989; Godfrey Ho)


- Bite of Love, A (Yi yao O.K.) (1990; Stephen Shin)
Business Trip to the Netherworld (Dao yin jian chu cha) (1990; Chen-Kuo Chao)
Chase from Beyond (Chin nin lui yiu) (1990; Wing-Chiu Cheng, Patrick Leung)
- Chinese Ghost Story II, A (Sien nui yau wan II yan gaan do) (1990; Siu-Tung Ching)
- Doctor Vampire (Jiang shi yi sheng) (1990; Jamie Luk)
- Encounter with Hell (Chuan suo yu nu jiang) (1990; Oi-Chu Fu) [co-Malaysia]
- Erotic Ghost Story (Liu jai yim taam) (1990; Ngai Choi Lam)
- Figures from Earth, The (Chut si kei bing) (1990; Wong Chun)
- Ghost Legend (Ma yi chuan qi) (1990; Min Kan Ng) [co-Taiwan]
- Ghostly Vixen (Tian shi zhuo jian) (1990; Wellson Chin)
Here Comes a Vampire (Meng gui ba wang hua) (1990; Cheung-Yan Yuen)
Jail House Eros (Haunted Jail HouseJian yu bu she fang) (1990; Sai Hung Fung, Jing Wong)
- Kickboxer from Hell (Ling mo da jue dou) (1990; Ridley Tsui)
- Look Out, Officer! (Shi xiong zhuang gui) (1990; Sze Yu Lau)


- Magic Amethyst, The (Mo huan zi shui jung) (1990; Kent Cheng)
Magic Cop (Mr. Vampire 5; Qu mo jing cha) (1990; Wei Tung)
- Mind Fuck (1990; Mah Wu Tu) [X]
- Mortuary Blues (Shi jia zhong di; Si ga jung dei) (1990; Jeffrey Lau)
My Neighbours Are Phantoms! (Hua gui zhu zheng ge li) (1990; William Chang, Sze Yu Lau)
- Nocturnal Demon, The (Ye mo xian sheng) (1990; Ricky Lau)
- Operation Pink Squad II (Meng gui da sha) (1990; Jeffrey Lau)
- Pituitary Hunter (Brain Theft) (1990; Dan Pan)
Spooky Family (Zhuo gui he jia huan) (1990; Yuet-Sang Chin) ▲
- Tale from the East, A (Blood Demon; Man hua qi xia) (1990; Manfred Wong)
- Till Death Shall We Start (Shuai gui qiao qiang jiao) (1990; Ricky Lau)
- Vampire Settle on Police Camp (Yi mei dao gu) (1990; Chi-Hwa Chen)

Blue Jean Monster, The (Jeuk ngau jai foo dik Jung Kwai) (1991 [f/1990]; Kai-Ming Lai)


______________________________________________


TOTAL FILMS:
Seeing how I keep uncovering new ones almost daily, I'm going to hold off on an official count for right now!

NOTES:

- Many of the 1950s titles may not be commercially available and I'm not even aware of any that were released in English, so I wouldn't expect much coverage of them here. Furthermore, I have a feeling the 50s and 60s lists are woefully incomplete but I'll work on it some more when I get a little more free time.
- There's an almost identical scenario as above with most of the 1960s titles: many / most aren't commercially available and the vast majority were never released in English. However, unlike with the 1950s, as you move further down the decade things start to get a little better.
- Anak Pontianak / "Son of the Vampire" (1958), Pontianak Kembali / "The Vampire Returns" (1963) and Pusaka Pontianak / "The Vampire Legacy" (1965) are part of a trilogy. These were directed by Filipino Ramon Estella and produced by Shaw Bros. and their Malay Film Productions branch to compete with the huge box office success of Cathay-Keris' Pontianak movies (1957-58) starring Maria Menado.
- The Living Corpse (1959) and The Mid-Nightmare (1962; a version of The Phantom of the Opera), both Shaw Brothers productions, were screened theatrically as recently as 2012.
- I have found a number of titles with conflicting release years that sometimes send them past 1990 so I have left most of them off of here for the time being.

________________________________________________

Comments, corrections or additions? Send 'em my way and I'll make adjustments to this list if need be.

2 comments:

Scott Andrew Hutchins said...

Captions on the photos would be very helpful. Some you can tell by the url at least.

The Bloody Pit of Horror said...

Thanks for the suggestion. I was using arrows next to the title to point up or down to the photo that it was taken from. I didn't do that with the posters, though.

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