The Fake Ghost Catchers / Demon of the Lute - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Fake Ghost Catchers / Demon of the Lute



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
The Fake Ghost Catchers:
Kind of like how Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was basically a Shaw Brothers version of Spaceballs, The Fake Ghost Catchers was basically The Frighteners mixed with Ghost Busters, just in Shaw Brothers fashion. Then blended up with their trademark 80s Hong Kong humor and put out on screen. Once again, this Shaw Brothers going full gonzo on us in an effort to maintain audience attention spans during a time period when the entire industry was changing over to Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung after spending decades in period piece Wu Xia films.

Our film revolves around a similar story as The Frighteners, with a set of “fake ghost catchers” who basically scare their victims with fake hauntings, effectively drumming up some quick cash by gullible folks. Problem is, much like the Peter Jackson film, our heroes now have to come up against ACTUAL specters and ghosts after a while and dealing with the consequences. Unlike the Jackson film, this is a much less intense and Hollywood like affair, rather Liu Chia-Yung has to make use of the period piece costuming and juvenile humor to make his film interesting.

It doesn’t always work, but Fake Ghost Catchers lands more often than it misses, with non stop rapid fire slapstick screwball humor, and plenty of physical comedy. Sheng Fu and Chan-Peng Chang fire on all six cylinders with their comedy/action antics, and Lily Li is as gorgeous and adorable as she’s always been. My only complaint is that the humor goes way too far most of the time, undermining any real story development in the second half. Instead they’re comfortable playing with visual gags and over the top screwball “Three Stooges” humor to the point where it gets dizzying. It’s still a fun flick, and one of those forgotten ghost sotry comedies in the Shaw Brothers database, but still quite a ride.

Demon of the Lute:
Ah man, I almost feel like I’ve oversold the campiness and gonzo nature of the last couple of Shaw Brothers films in this set, as we run up against one of the craziest Shaw Brothers films of the time period. Once again, I MUST reiterated that during the early 80s the Shaw Brothers were going full on psychedelic on us, with silly and bizarre films that pushed the boundaries in order to gain notoriety in a time when they were struggling against the competition. So yes, 1983’s Demon of the Lute is absolutely bonkers to the point where even I had to step back and go “what were you guys smoking back then? And would you mind letting me know who your supplier was? Because that’s some strong stuff”.

Feng Ling (Kara Ying Hung Wai) is sent by her master to locate a special fiery bow and arrow set that are the only devices that can stop an unnamed villain from using the six stringed demonic lute to wreak havoc on the world. In order to accomplish her goal she has to team up with her brother Old Naughty, a thief, and a powerful martial artist known as the Woodcutter.

I’m not sure I can accurately describe the craziness, but here goes. Along the way Feng and her side kicks have to overcome enemies such as Red Haired Evil, a maniac with a flaming red wig who rides a chariot drawn by German shepherds, and just so happens to hurl his thunder flying wheel at his enemies. Then there’s Eagle Man, who can flap his costume wings to fly around, and Long Limb Evil, who can extend his arms like Mr. Fantastic. And yes, there are tons of screwball comedy antics thrown in for good measure. I can’t only say this. Demon of the Lute is one of the more child friendly and silly adventures in the 80s Shaw Brothers lineup. It’s fully of silly gags, slapstick humor that appeals to the young ones, and a light hearted adventure that doesn’t go too crazy like many other Martial arts period pieces.




Not Rated by the MPAA / Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Like the previous films in the set, Arrow has gone back to the OCN for each film to give us a new 2K master for this set, and both films look quite nice. Demon of the Lute is probably the most colorful film of the set, with garish reds, bright pinks, and hellish green/blues for the encounters. Fine detail is generally good, though there are some scenes with a little bit of distortion or fuzziness. Grain structure is clean and strong, without signs of clumping or other digital interference.









Audio:

I’m combining the video scores and the audio scores together this time as both films garnered a 4/5 rating for video and audio. Once more, the dialog is strong and clean, though it does suffer a little bit from some mild hiss and harshness at the end of words. Both the Cantonese and Mandarin tracks (which each film has as options) sound nearly identical, with just the dialects being different. Sound effects come through strong and powerfully, though being both tracks are Mono, don’t expect a massive sound stage.









Extras:

Demon of the Lute
• Commentary by Frank Djeng

Final Score: ​

Demon of the Lute and The Fake Ghost Catchers are some of the sillier films in the set, but it’s a nice change of pace from the hundreds of straight laced films that the Shaw Brothers put out for decades. I’m still amazed at the levels that they went to in order to shake things up, and I really like the psychedelic vibe that Demon of the Lute has especially. Both films look and sound good on Blu-ray, though there is only a single extra on the disc (and only for Demon of the Lute), which was kind of sad. But all in all, a fun addition to the set.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Sheng Fu, Chag-Peng Chang, Lily Li, Hou Hsiao
Directed by: Liu Chia-Yueng
Written by: Jing Wong
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 AVC (Both Films
Audio: Cantonese: LPCM Mono, Mandarin LPCM Mono (Both Films)
Subtitles: English
Studio: Arrow Video
Rated: NR
Runtime: 98 Minutes / 101 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: December 9th, 2025

Recommendation: Silly Watch