A Chinese Ghost Story

Friday, August 22 - Thursday, August 28, 2025

SHOWTIMES AT IFC CENTER

“Ground-breaking fantasy based on the ghost stories of the popular Ming Dynasty writer Pu Song-ling. Leslie Cheung plays a naive young tax collector who takes shelter in a haunted temple and falls in love with a beautiful ghost (Joey Wong), herself the captive of a thousand-year-old tree demon with a life-sapping tongue. Coming to the couple’s aid is a Taoist monk who battles the evil spirits with sword and scripture.” – Fredric Dannen, Hong Kong Babylon: An Insider’s Guide to the Hollywood of the East

“The quintessential merger of the traditional Chinese ghost story with the Hong Kong pop sensibility.” – Barbara Scharres

Screening as part of our Hong Kong Cinema Classics series

See more and save! Get a Hong Kong Cinema Classics 3-Ticket Pack ($30 for IFC Center members and $45 for non-members). Ticket packs are good for any 3 shows in the retrospective.

  • Country Hong Kong
  • Language Cantonese with English subtitles
  • Year 1987
  • Running Time 96 minutes
  • Format DCP
  • Distributor Shout! Studios
  • Director Ching Siu-tung
  • Cast Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, Wu Ma
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.