LOVES OF THE LIVING DEAD (1986)

(AKA ABACRADABRA)

DIRECTED BY: Tai Kit Mak

RUNNING TIME - 85 MINUTES

REVIEW BY: TONY BERNARDINI

 

 

 

 

 

In 1980, a crack team of Taoists (garbed like ninjas!) successfully vanquish a mob of ghosts -- except for female demon Pinkish Red, who manages to escape. Six years later, Cici Shin and her cousin, Lily Li open a boutique and need a mirror for their fitting room. The mall security guard finds one for them in the basement but, naturally, Pinkish Red resides inside it and, when Cici cleans the mirror’s surface, the ghost is able to enter back into the real world. In between flirting with hair stylist Sheng (Mark Cheng Ho-nam) and his goofy sidekick, Rambo (Rambo Tung Wai-kwong), the girls experience a variety of weird occurrences, until the ghost snatches Cici and takes her down to Hell.

A former classmate of Lily, "paranormal teacher" Kang Yo-wei (played by the film's director, Peter Mak Tai-kit) has invented a machine designed to tap into the brainwaves of the dead. Unfortunately, it also has the unexpected side effect of reviving an entire cemetery full of corpses. Yo-wei's uncle (a cameo by producer Raymond Wong Pak-ming) reveals the reasons behind Pinkish Red's tragic history and the reasons for her current actions but it is up to Lily and company to enter the netherworld and rescue their friend.

Director Mak went on to helming more graphic Japanese grue such as "All Night Long" and "Vampire Hunter D". With this film, he injects the right amount of humor mixed in with the exploit elements. As with most Japanese exploit comedies, you have to be somewhat familiar with the genre to fully appreciate the humor. This film is a good place to start. It's little know outside of Japan and hard to find in America. I found myself laughing out loud more than a few time, and the exploit elements were well done.

THIS FILM CAN BE PURCHASED THRU HORROR THEATER VIDEO...

My Rating- 1/2 (with the ending removed)