Ghostly Face, The (1973) Review

“The Ghostly Face” Theatrical Poster

Director: Yang Shih-Ching
Cast: Polly Shang-Kuan, Chan Wai-Lau, Chan Bo-Leung, To Wai Wo, Lenny Marlina, To Man-Bo, Chan Chue
Running Time: 85 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

There’s something undeniably alluring about stumbling across obscure slices of kung fu cinema from the past, and The Ghostly Face could easily be categorized as one such example. In the 1970’s the practice of Hong Kong and Taiwan filming (or in many cases co-producing) with their South East Asian neighbours was already a common one. Movies like the Angela Mao vehicle The Tournament and Chang Cheh’s Duel of Fists both used Thailand as their backdrop, while productions such as the Yasuaki Kurata actioner The Golden Triangle and Bruceploitationer Bruce the Super Hero utilised the Philippines.

Much less common though, was for crews to venture as far south as Indonesia. While today names like Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian have placed Indonesia firmly on the map for action cinema, 45 years ago that certainly wasn’t the case. In fact, the only other example I can recall of Indonesia being featured as a backdrop for some 70’s martial arts action is the rare Bobby Kim movie Flying Tiger. However even before then, perhaps the first example of a Taiwan-Indonesia co-production can be considered to be The Ghostly Face, a 1973 tale of vengeance based on a popular Indonesia comic book titled Panji the Skull Face. Much like the superheroes found in western comics, the heroic main character would be adapted several times over the years, appearing in another local production in the 1980’s, and getting his own TV series in the 1990’s.

However in this case, director Yang Shih-Ching decides to do the reverse of what Chang Cheh pulled in Golden Swallow, pushing the heroic title character to the sidelines, and instead making the main protagonist a vengeance filled daughter in the form of Polly Shang-Kuan. One of the most recognizable faces of the 70’s Taiwanese kung fu cinema scene, Shang-Kuan is always a joy to watch, even when she’s fighting giant lobsters (check out The Zodiac Fighters). After debuting in King Hu’s seminal Dragon Inn in 1967, in the 6 years spanning 1973 – 1978, on top of starring in The Ghostly Face she’d headline another 40 kung fu flicks, displaying a work ethic few other femme fatales could match.

The Ghostly Face would be the last time she’d work with Shih-Ching, having collaborated previously on The Grand Passion (1970) and A Girl Fighter (1972), all of which also shared the common denominator of having the action choreographed by Poon Yiu-Kwan. With over 20 movies under his belt as action director by the time of The Ghostly Face, including King Hu’s A Touch of Zen, it’s easy to surmise that Yiu-Kwan was most at home choreographing the entertaining sword clangers that dominated the Taiwan movie scene in the 70’s.

The biggest draw of The Ghostly Face though is the Bali location, which as far as I’m aware is the first and only time a martial arts movie has been filmed there (and a whole 8 years before the infamous Mystics in Bali!). The island of Bali has its own unique culture, and various aspects of it are featured throughout. While for some these travelogue sequences will likely be tiresome, credit has to be given for the way they’re at least attempted to be integrated into the plot (has there ever been a kung-fu movie shot in Bangkok that doesn’t feature pointlessly lingering shots of The Grand Palace and Democracy Monument!?). These dialogue free scenes include a funeral procession along the beach for Shang-Kuan’s father, which contains the striking visual of her knelt down in the sand, as a towering funeral pyre burns to the ground, and later on a traditional Balinese play.

Shang-Kuan herself wears traditional Balinese attire, sporting a colourful sash and a flower adorned headband while she dishes out the pain to various bandits, which she does frequently. I’ve always loved the no-nonsense characters she usually plays, and here is no exception. When confronted by one bandit she asks him what he wants, to which he replies “I want to make love to you.” Suddenly surrounded by a small army, the resulting melee sees several of them end up with flower darts lodged in their eyes, one has his throat punctured by her fingers, before the original guy tries to escape, only to end up with his own sword lodged in his back. Indeed, this is not a girl to be messed with.

The plot itself involves Shang-Kuan seeking revenge on The Ghostly Mask, who she believes killed her father to steal his precious sword. It’s hardly a spoiler to say that the actual killer wasn’t the real Ghostly Mask, but it’d be no fun if she realised that straight away. The real man behind the mask is Indonesian actor Deddy Sutomo, a popular face of many 70’s Indonesian movies, interestingly he’s still active today. He can be found in The Raid 2, playing the floppy hat wearing official who persuades Iko Uwais to go undercover, which I never would have guessed. The Ghostly Mask itself definitely falls on the more curious side of heroic disguises. Essentially a mask that looks like a decomposing buck faced corpse, once seen it’s not easily forgotten, and I daresay the vampire from Sammo Hung’s Encounters of the Spooky Kind could well be a distant cousin.

Despite being the hero of the tale though, as previously mentioned, Shih-Ching gives him short thrift, with the real Ghostly Face not even making an appearance until 45 minutes in of a runtime that stretches just past 80. Thankfully though, when you have the burning intensity of an actress like Polly Shang-Kuan as your lead, this is entirely forgivable. The truth about The Ghostly Face is eventually revealed through her interactions with a villager, who she saves from a gang of pirates. It’s another satisfying one versus many skirmish, which at one point has Shang-Kuan pin a pirates hand to the deck by driving a sword through it. It’s worth noting that the villager is played by Indonesian actress Lenny Marlina, and not by Filipino actress (and Bruceploitation regular) Elizabeth Oropesa as stated in the Hong Kong Movie Database (who didn’t make her debut until 1975).

Events eventually culminate in a finale that sees Shang-Kuan, Sutomo, and another mysterious actress who appears out of nowhere face off against the bad guys, played by Chan Wai-Lau and Chan Bo-Leung (no relation). The appearance of the other actress, who’s only seen fleetingly in the opening scene, is likely indicative that somewhere in the depths of cinema obscurity, there could be a different Indonesian cut of The Ghostly Face, with more scenes of both the mystery actress and Sutomo. This practice was certainly common on many Hong Kong and Taiwan co-productions with Korea, with Don Wong Tao once recalling in an interview how, after the Chinese crew wrapped up filming, the Korean crew would stick around and film their own version with local actors. So it doesn’t seem outside the realms of possibility for it to also be the case here.

It’s an entertaining finish, made even more so by the revelation that perhaps Shang-Kuan’s character isn’t the sharpest tool in the box. Despite fighting another Ghostly Face imposter earlier on, inexplicably she still seems to believe Sutomo is her father’s killer, so he spends half the fight battling against the real bad guys, while also having to defend himself from Shang-Kuan’s fists and feet. In true old-school style though, the mystery actress declares in the middle of the brawl that Sutomo really is a good guy, which Shang-Kuan accepts no questions asked, leading to them finally teaming up to deliver violent retribution against the sword stealing crooks.

Half Bali travelogue, half Polly Shang-Kuan rampaging through hordes of human punching bags, The Ghostly Face may be far from perfect, but it’s so brief that it’s rarely anything other than entertaining. Fans of Shang-Kuan will find plenty to enjoy, and for the male population at least, it serves as a warning that if a woman asks what you want, be careful how you answer.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6.5/10