A down-on-his-luck street hustler is cursed with eternal misfortune by a ruthless crime boss who murdered him and his lover in a past life. The hustler reunites with his ghostly lover, trapped in a human-skin lantern by the same man. Together, they must confront the crime boss, break the curse, and free her soul so she can finally pass to the afterlife.
Practical Effects
The human-skin lantern effects are gloriously disgusting practical work.
Acting
Tony Leung Ka-fai commits to every unhinged tonal whiplash moment.
Direction
Andrew Lau mashes genres like he's personally offended by coherence.
Director
Andrew Lau Wai-Keung
Tony Leung Ka-fai
Tong Fai
Chingmy Yau Suk-Ching
Siu Fu Yung
Tommy Wong
Officer Pao Ching Kwong
Roy Cheung Yiu-Yeung
So Hung
Kingdom Yuen King-Tan
Lucy
Ronald Wong
Jerk
Dion Lam
Holland
Teresa Ha Ping
Granny Four
Joe Cheung Tung-Cho
Professor Fan
Lok Wai
Sister Wai
Lee Siu-Kay
Brother Seven
Dave Lam Ching
One of So Hung's men
Wong Man-Shing
One of Hung's men
Ng Kwok-Kin
Policeman
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was one of several Category III genre mashups Andrew Lau directed in 1993 alone, cementing his reputation for quantity over coherence.
The 'ghost lantern' concept draws from Chinese folklore where spirits are trapped in objects, but the human-skin twist is pure 90s exploitation cinema pushing boundaries.
HK
