GHOST SNATCHERS (1986, original title Bi gui zhuo) is a delightful comedy horror from Hong Kong, directed by and starring Wong Jing. The obvious inspiration is GHOSTBUSTERS and indeed we begin the proceedings in a tower block topped by an ominous-looking cloud. It turns out the building is haunted by the Japanese war dead who are soon possessing the living in a bit to collect souls...
This is a zany, inventive, anything-goes comic horror and very much of its era. There's one woman who dresses up as Sigourney Weaver in the Reitman film, complete with bold eye shadow and silk dresses, and security guards who don familiar uniforms at the climax. Along the way are nods to POLTERGEIST, with a character tearing his own face off, plenty of slapstick, a gangster and his underlings being slaughtered by spirits, and a TV set randomly growing arms and legs. The journey-into-Hell climax is straight out of POLTERGEIST too. I had a ball with this one.
This is a zany, inventive, anything-goes comic horror and very much of its era. There's one woman who dresses up as Sigourney Weaver in the Reitman film, complete with bold eye shadow and silk dresses, and security guards who don familiar uniforms at the climax. Along the way are nods to POLTERGEIST, with a character tearing his own face off, plenty of slapstick, a gangster and his underlings being slaughtered by spirits, and a TV set randomly growing arms and legs. The journey-into-Hell climax is straight out of POLTERGEIST too. I had a ball with this one.