Film Name: 表哥到 / My Cousin The Ghost
Others eat shark fin soup, so you make shark fin soup—it’s all fate. —”My Cousin The Ghost”
People often say Sammo Hung spared no effort in promoting his protégés. With his backing, stuntmen Lam Ching-ying and Wu Ma—neither particularly striking in appearance—rose to become leading actors and directors, carving out their own niches in Hong Kong cinema. The 1987 film “My Cousin The Ghost” followed the promotional trend of “Mr. Vampire” but delivered a nonsensical indoor sitcom with zero horror elements. While the comedic effect wasn’t bad, it mainly relied on the strong performances of leads Sammo Hung, Ma Ngai, Jacky Cheung, and Meng Hai. The self-proclaimed “ugliest leading lady,” Huang Yunshi, looked passable in her bright red wedding attire, and an unknown supporting actress was quite pretty. Her screen time was limited, and her character’s abrupt shift in allegiance made her less endearing than Meng Hai. For a nearly forty-year-old fantasy comedy, it’s unfair to be overly critical. It surely amused many back then, and even today, it can still elicit a knowing smile from viewers.
The film masterfully preserves traditional Chinese culture within the Hong Kong context. Through this cultural thread, the Iron Lady declares in Britain her resolve to defend Hong Kong. Before mainland China could react, Hong Kong students already took to the streets protesting British colonial policies. “My Cousin The Ghost” appears simple in plot but actually incorporates distinct Chinese cultural elements in its narrative. After drowning unexpectedly in Britain, the eldest cousin remains unaware of his death due to the suddenness of the incident. Haunted by guilt over his cousin’s repatriation, his corpse remains stiff yet uncorrupted, prompting him to return to Hong Kong. Similar tales appear in “Fairy Ghost Vixen,” where unfulfilled desires after death create zombies—creatures suspended between ghost and human, life and death. Once their wishes are granted or they realize their mortality, they collapse instantly. Unmarried women sought ancestral worship and offerings through ghost marriages, a relic of an era lacking women’s rights. Yet such practices persist even today.
“My Cousin The Ghost” follows Wu Ma, who works illegally at his cousin’s home in England. After a dispute with his cousin, he’s deported back to Hong Kong by an immigration officer present at the scene. He ends up working in the food service industry with four younger cousins. Just when their luck hits rock bottom, their British cousin suddenly returns to Hong Kong with money to start a business. The cousins are ecstatic at this windfall, unaware that the returnee is actually a zombie haunted by unresolved attachments. While cleaning the house, they disturb the spirits of a female tenant who died violently after marriage and her bridesmaid. The two female ghosts seek human partners for ghost marriages, targeting the eldest cousin, played by Wu Yao-han, and cousin Meng Hai. After a series of chaotic and comical events, the deceased eldest cousin and the female tenant were happily united, continuing their romance in the underworld. Meng Hai, rescued by the others, was left separated from the female ghost by the barrier between life and death. However, due to his limited screen time and the film’s comedic nature, audiences found little to lament.
By now, many actors from “My Cousin The Ghost” have passed away, while the remaining ones are well into their seventies. It’s foreseeable that they will gradually fade from this world. Yet the film’s charm transcends time and space, still bringing laughter to middle school kids. Perhaps this is the most enviable aspect of film actors—their most beautiful and vibrant years are preserved on the silver screen, forever. The female lead, Wong Wan-sze, is quite intriguing. Though not conventionally beautiful, she rose to fame in Hong Kong with her witty and humorous hosting style. In “92 Legendary La Rose Noire,” she played a stoic female warrior whose acting and presence rivaled those of Fong Bo-bo, holding her own alongside Tony Leung Ka-fai. Her performance remains unforgettable to this day.
PS: Maybe it’s just getting older, but I find myself drawn to old movies. Those corny, clichéd scenes still make me laugh, while newer films slip my mind. After a month, I could watch one again and treat it as a new release. When my son watched “Ming Yun Luo Pan” after his exams, I sat beside him. It struck me how completely my memories of the theater experience had vanished—I remembered only the ending, forgetting nearly the entire plot.
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