[KFCC] Hocus Pocus Review

Story: Uncle Sheng (Lam Ching Ying) is the superstitious leader of a Peking Opera troupe. His troupe does not share his beliefs, though, and one of the more senior performers, Kuei, is always pulling elaborate pranks to convince the others that the troupe is being haunted. When the troupe are the victim of a real ghost, a mischievous man murdered 300 years ago, it is up to Uncle Sheng to organize a solution.

Review: Lam Ching Ying was an accomplished action movie star for years before he was typecast as a ghost-busting Taoist priest when he starred in Mr. Vampire. After that particular movie, he found it hard to break out of the horror/comedy genre, despite his amazing talents both as an actor and martial artist. Interestingly enough, a year before that film, he appeared in Hocus Pocus, which in a way was a warm up for the role which Lam Ching Ying not only made his own, but spilled a lot of dog's blood doing it.

Lam Ching Ying isn't a Taoist priest here, but in leading the troupe, he plays a similar role to which we are used to seeing him, authoritative, calm yet bold, and responsible for younger, troublesome students. Towards the end of the movie, he even breaks out the dog's blood and magic nets. It's just a shame that he plays second fiddle to the younger cast members, who just can't bring the same power to the screen as the late, great Lam Ching Ying can.

Hocus Pocus isn't a horror/comedy as such, and certainly provides less scares than many HK films of the genre. If anything, there is more of a pantomime feel to it. The audience is not really expected to hide behind a pillow, but to shout 'he's behind you!'. The main ghost is naughty rather than malicious, so don't expect any skulls to get smashed. The ghost is invisible to the living, but the audience is allowed to see it, so most of the jokes involve chairs getting pulled from underneath people, and drinks swapped around. It doesn't sound that funny, and usually it isn't.

A saving grace of Hocus Pocus is the Peking Opera itself. The film certainly makes interesting viewing, and for somebody who has seen a lot of Chinese movies, even I was fascinated by the very 'Chinese-ness' of this film. It showcases a real flavor of what Peking Opera is about, and we get plenty of examples of it through this film. The Peking Opera costumes are spectacular and intricate, and we are treated to a number of operatic scenes. Whether they are traditional scenes, or stylized adaptations for the sake of movie making, I am unsure, but they look great.

Hocus Pocus is interesting, amusing, flamboyant, exotic and stars Lam Ching Ying. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then there is a lot to be enjoyed. If you expect martial arts and violence, you might not be as enthusiastic. If you are fan of Lam Ching Ying, or the HK horror comedies so popular in the mid 80's, then this makes interesting viewing. There are plenty of acrobatics on display, and there is a lot of HK style thrown into the mix. Not an essential Asian movie, but far from a waste of your HK Dollars.