Those Merry Souls

1985 1h 35m CN

🙌

8.0

BANGER

★8.0TMDB · 3

ComedyFantasyActionHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Chiu Chi-Lung and Ng Kuai-Tak are two movie stunt actors in Hong Kong and are suspicious of Lung's father Chiu's mysterious behavior. Unbeknownst to them, Chiu was commissioned as a "messenger" by the Spirit World to take newly-departed souls to the other side. When Tak suffers a major accident on the movie set, Chiu keeps Tak's soul from being taken away, thereby, reviving him.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Yuen Biao
Chiu Chi-Lung
Eric Tsang
Ng Kuai-Tak
Stanley Fung Shui-Fan
Uncle Chiu
Lam Ching-Ying
Tak's father
Elaine Jin Yan-Ling
Waterloo Tai
Lily Li
Auntie Pearl
Richard Ng Yiu-Hon
Fernando Ng
Wu Ma
Ah Ma

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lau Kar-Wing
Writers: Wong Ying, Sze-To Cheuk-Hon, Barry Wong Ping-Yiu
Languages: Cantonese
Countries: Hong Kong

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Mr. Vampire Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

AWARDS

Did you know

Directed by Lau Kar-Wing, shot by Joe Chan Kwong-Hung. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Tang Siu-Lam. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Yuen Biao and Eric Tsang and Stanley Fung Shui-Fan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0090013 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 3 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lau Kar-Wing directs. Joe Chan Kwong-Hung behind the camera. Tang Siu-Lam scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Hong Kong. Dialogue in Cantonese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

141 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "Mr. Vampire Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Lau Kar-Wing, shot by Joe Chan Kwong-Hung. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Tang Siu-Lam. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Yuen Biao and Eric Tsang and Stanley Fung Shui-Fan carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0090013 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 3 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Joe Chan Kwong-Hung
Original score: Tang Siu-Lam
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Status: Released
Original language: CN
IMDB: Those Merry Souls (1985)

Part of

Mr. Vampire Collection

Mr Vampire is a 1985 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Ricky Lau and produced by Sammo Hung. The film's box office success led to the creation of a Mr. Vampire franchise, with the release of four sequels directed by Ricky Lau from 1986 to 1992, and subsequent similarly themed films with different directors released between 1987 and 1991. The film was released under the Chinese title 暫時停止呼吸 (literally: Hold Your Breath for a Moment) in Taiwan.