Picture of Nymph - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Picture of a Nymph



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
As a long-time fan of A Chinese Ghost Story, I came out of this viewing pleasantly surprised at the similarities, and for good reason. Both films were based on the ancient tome, “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio”, and feature similar outcomes. But in this case, Picture of a Nymph is infinitely more gonzo, with a multi-layered story that includes Wu Xia, a Chinese ghost story (literally, not just the name of a movie in this case), demons chirping at you while hiding behind umbrellas, and a musical? And most likely copious amounts of cocaine by all involved.

The chaotic story revolves around a Taoist monk disciple named Shih Erh (Yuen Biao) taking in a poor scholar named Tsui Hung-Chuen after he accidentally burns the poor guy’s house down, defending him from a demon. After taking him home to his master, Wu Men-Chu (Wu Ma), poor Tsui finds out that there is more to this world than meets the eye. Wu Men-Chu and Shih Erh have spent their lives fighting the hordes of demons and ghosts beyond the pale of our human eyes, and now it seems that our young scholar is about to get caught up in the middle of things when he falls in love with a ghost named Mo Chiu (Joey Wang), who is not like the rest.

As the tale unfolds, it seems that the ghost world is in turmoil, being ruled over by the wicked King Ghost (Elizabeth Lee), who makes a habit of stealing young brides to be her slaves before they’re able to be wed to their fiancés. And now she’s hunting Mo Chiu in order to control her as well. But as I said, Mo Chiu wants to be saved from her demonic captor, and with the help of Shih Erh and Tsui, they MIGHT be able to keep her from the grasp of the demonic King Ghost.

Picture of a Nymph is a loose and goofy love story with the guise of a Wu Xia ghost film on top of things. It’s more than a bit chaotic with how the narrative unfolds, and by the time the end credits rolled, I’m not sure whether this was designed to be a comedy or not. It’s silly, goofy, and everyone involved seems to be in on the gag. But at the same time, the film takes itself more than a bit seriously with the ghost story. The battles are tight and well choreographed (seriously, Yeun Biao never fails to deliver in that aspect), and the effects were solid for the time. I will complain a bit that the wire work was a bit TOO obvious for a 1987 film (by that time they were good enough to not let that show as much), but overall, Picture of a Nymph is a fun little romp that is best watched in a non-serious manner.




Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

According to the back cover, Picture of a Nymph was given a new 2K remaster for this release, and the results speak for themselves. It’s not going to be awe-inspiring, but the image is very stable, very clean, and outside of a few grain spikes, one of the most revealing ones in recent years. There’s a lot of reds and blues in dark nighttime shots, and splashes of “Chinese Demon Green” to round things out in the underworld fight near the end. Fine details look great (sometimes a bit TOO great, as you can see the wires a lot more clearly than I expected, as well as the typical prosthetic and fake facial hair). Black levels are strong, and only a few times did I notice any major spiking in grain.








Audio:

The 2.0 Mono LPCM track is quite good, bordering on a 4/5 rating except for one minor quirk that had me deducting half a star. Vocals are pretty clean, with only minor harshness on some of the higher registers here and there. The flick is literally awash in crazy sound effects, though, giving us plenty of swooshes through the air, chirping of demons, and various fisticuffs along the way. The synth-laden score is a bit odd-sounding, and this is where my half-star deduction comes from. About halfway through the film, the score gets some annoying (and very obvious) distortion that comes and goes. It’s not enough to ruin the mix, but enough to where I felt I had to deduct half a star for its very obvious nature.










Extras:

• Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng
• Audio Commentary with David West
• Image Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Collector's Edition Slip Case
• Art Cards
• Art Booklet

Final Score: ​

Lots and LOOOOOTS of cocaine had to be flowing during the entire production, as this is one of the more gonzo productions I’ve seen come out of that time period in quite some time. While it shares some incredible similarities to A Chinese Ghost Story, the ingenuity and application of the ideas are a bit rougher and quite a bit sillier. Luckily for fans, 88 Films has provided a great-looking package for us here, with good video/audio, and some really nicely done physical swag to make this a really attractive collector’s edition on your shelf. A decent watch will be my final recommendation for this one.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Yuen Biao, Wu Ma, Lawrence Ng, Joey Wang, Elizabeth Lee, Wah Yuen
Directed by: Wu Ma
Written by: Wu Ma, Soongling Pu
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: Cantonese: LPCM 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English
Studio: 88 Films
Rated: NR
Runtime: 98 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: March 10th, 2026

Recommendation: Decent Watch