''Haunted Mansion'' is a 1998 Hong Kong

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed and written by To Lai-chi, produced by

Wong Jing Wong Jing ( born 3 May 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, actor, presenter, and screenwriter. A prolific filmmaker with strong instincts for crowd-pleasing and publicity, Wong Jing played a prominent role in Hong Kong cinema duri ...

, and starring Anthony Wong,

Gigi Lai Gigi Lai (born 1 October 1971) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. Entering the entertainment industry in 1985, Lai was under a contract with the television station TVB from 1991 until she retired in 2008. Nicknamed by the Hong Kong media as the " ...

and

Law Lan Law Lan () MHAwarded in her original name Lo Yin-ying (born Lo Yin-ying (); 13 November 1934), is a veteran Hong Kong actress in both the film and TV industry. Career She first started out in the film industry in 1939, cast in antagonistic roles ...

Plot

Gigi and her husband, Fai, move into her old family mansion in a village at

Yuen Long Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north Nam Sang W ...

to join her mother and her sister, Fan. While moving in, they meet a feng shui professor, Tin Bo Chiu, who tells them that their mansion is located in an inauspicious location – an intersection of the

yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the c ...

worlds – so it is likely to attract ghosts. He also warns them that the power of the protective charms set up around the mansion is fading, so they should leave the mansion within seven days or they will get into trouble. Gigi and Fai ignore him. Strange things start happening. Gigi's mother is senile, but one night she appears normal and chats with Gigi. Ghosts kidnap Fai's spirit and refuse to let him leave until he wins a rigged game of

mahjong Mahjong or mah-jongg (English pronunciation: ) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-play ...

; a ghost possesses his body in the meantime. Fan also gets possessed by another ghost. The phone also rings frequently but no one is on the line and apparently only Gigi hears the ringing. At one point, a businessman shows up and tries to force Gigi's family to sell the land to him but they refuse. He then sends two thugs to burn down the mansion, but the thugs are scared away by ghosts. The businessman is later mysteriously strangled to death while his wife is sexually assaulted by an unseen force. Gigi seeks help from her boss, Uncle Ming, who lends her a pair of magic glasses which confirm that Fai and Fan are possessed by ghosts. Tin Bo Chiu also points out to Gigi that her non-senile mother she saw that night was actually her mother's spirit, which can temporarily leave her body and remains unaffected by her mental condition. As Gigi's mother used to be a ghostbuster, they summon her spirit out of her body and seek help from her. Gigi's mother tells them the paranormal events are actually linked to the

vengeful ghost In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crema ...

of Gigi's aborted daughter, who has been instigating other ghosts to help her take revenge on her mother. With help from her mother's spirit and Uncle Ming, Gigi saves Fai and Fan, and makes peace with her daughter's ghost, who forgives her for aborting her. Gigi and Fai decide to have another child.

Cast

* Anthony Wong as Fai *

as Gigi *

as Gigi's mother *

Spencer Lam Spencer Lam Sheung Yee (; 14 December 1934 – 23 April 2009) was a football defender, coach and announcer, as well as an actor. Spencer was a graduate of the Chinese University of Hong Kong with an economics major. He was once a secondar ...

as Uncle Ming * Shirley Cheung as Fan * James Lee as Tin Bo Chiu

External links

* * 1998 films 1990s supernatural horror films 1990s Cantonese-language films 1998 horror films Hong Kong supernatural horror films Films set in country houses 1990s Hong Kong films {{1990s-horror-film-stub