Released in 1980, The Spooky Bunch was quite unlike anything that came before it on Hong Kong's screens. While the local film scene had never been that short of movie phantoms - be they contemporary or historical, serious or buffoonish - Ann Hui On-wah's second feature combined the traditional and the modern in a bracingly fresh manner which helped redefine what had become a fading genre in the industry.
This was achieved through scriptwriter Joyce Chan Wan-man's offbeat integration of Cantonese opera into a fanciful present-day tale. At the centre is Ah Gee (Josephine Siao Fong-fong), a seasoned performer whose seedy troupe has seen better times. They get more than they bargained for when a performance on Cheung Chau unleashes an army of spirits, victims of a transgression by one of Gee's more notorious ancestors.
The picture effortlessly weaves Cantonese opera, a genre long in decline since reaching a peak of popularity nearly two decades previously, with an up-to-date idiom influenced by Hui's education at the London Film School and apprenticeship in Hong Kong television. (The film will be screened on Tuesday as part of a programme celebrating Cantonese opera at the West Kowloon Cultural District.)
The cast similarly mirrors the thematic mixture of old and new. Veterans such as Lau Hark-suen and Cheng Mang-ha, whose careers first flourished in the 1930s, were provided with some of their best latter-day showcases alongside such members of the younger generation as Tina Liu Tin-lan (who doubled as the movie's production manager) and pop star Kenny Bee. Reflecting the opus' audacity is the creative team behind it, atypical of the Chinese-male norm that existed then (and still does) by consisting chiefly of women and British cinematographer Tony Hope.
Looming above all is the presence of Siao, who also served as executive producer. A quintessential personality of Hong Kong cinema and one of the few teen idols to make a successful transition to adult roles, Siao's spontaneity, timing and mastery of the sometimes intersecting arts of comedy and opera ensure that Gee's predicaments are as entertaining now as they were when The Spooky Bunch premiered.
Paul Fonoroff
