A Chinese Ghost Story I Ii Iii -1987-1990-1991-... -
The films’ scores (by Romeo Diaz and James Wong) mix traditional Chinese instruments with synthesized melancholy. The image of a white-robed woman floating through a moonlit forest, hair unbound, remains a global pop-culture shorthand for “beautiful ghost.”
With Leslie Cheung moving on to other projects, Part III serves as a "spiritual successor" rather than a direct continuation. It stars Jacky Cheung as a novice monk and Joey Wong returning as a different spirit, once again ensnared by the Tree Demon.
This installment leans heavily into Buddhist philosophy and visual spectacle. It is arguably the most visually polished of the trilogy, benefiting from the advancements in HK cinematography by 1991. Jacky Cheung holds his own, and Tony Leung Chiu-wai makes a memorable appearance as a cynical scholar. While it repeats many beats of the first film, it does so with enough style and emotional resonance to stand on its own.
Originally envisioned as a side story focusing solely on the Yin Chek-ha character, Part III is perhaps the most controversial entry among purists. Leslie Cheung is absent. Joey Wong returns, but not as Hsiao-ching. A chinese ghost story I II III -1987-1990-1991-...
The Plot: Ten years after the first film, the Tree Devil has regenerated. A young monk (Tony Leung Chiu-wai, in a rare comedic role), Fong, travels to the temple to cremate his master’s remains. He meets a new ghost, Lotus (Joey Wong, playing a heartbreaking courtesan ghost serving the same Tree Devil). Yin Chek-ha (Wu Ma) returns, older and drunker, to help decapitate the monster once and for all.
The Great Reversal:
The Verdict: A cult classic that ages better than Part II. Tony Leung delivers physical comedy reminiscent of Buster Keaton. If Part I is Romeo and Juliet, Part III is Shaolin Soccer meets The Exorcist. The films’ scores (by Romeo Diaz and James
Unlike the first film, Part III gives us a genuine happy ending. Fong and Xiaoqian, through a clever loophole (her ashes are freed, and she is given a chance to be reborn as a human with her memories intact), walk off into the sunrise together. It is warm, forgiving, and satisfying—a gift to fans who wept at the 1987 finale.
The film opens with Ling Choi-san, a meek, debt-ridden tax collector, who is forced to spend the night at the infamous Lanruo Temple. Unbeknownst to him, the forest is ruled by a thousand-year-old Tree Demon (Lau Siu-ming) and its legion of beautiful, enslaved female ghosts.
There, he meets Nie Xiaoqian—a ghost tasked with seducing and draining the life force of mortal men. However, Choi-san’s sincerity, poetry, and awkward purity disarm her. Instead of killing him, she falls in love. When the Tree Demon arrives to claim them, the duo is rescued by the drunken but invincible Taoist swordsman, Yin Chek-ha. With Leslie Cheung moving on to other projects,
The 1987 film is a masterclass in tonal whiplash. One moment, you are laughing at Leslie Cheung (a man who famously hated action scenes) fumbling with a sword; the next, you are weeping as Joey Wong’s ghost tries to save her lover from a slimy, tentacled root monster.
The climax is furious: Yin Chek-ha burns the Tree Demon with a magic sword, but Xiaoqian is destined for reincarnation. With dawn breaking, Choi-san shields her ashes from the sunlight, screaming her name. It is a bittersweet ending—she is reborn as a mortal noblewoman, but she will never remember him.