Out of the Dark (1995) User Reviews

stephen chow goes horror comedy

[bcheng93 · 7/10 · 16 March 2014]

i believe firmly in the fact that if one is to enjoy a stephen chow movie one has to suspend ones belief in what is real. this movie is weird, with no real sense of direction, but it does have stephen chow in the garb that jean reno wears in the movie " leon, the professional ", including the shades. oh, his name in the movie is also Leon.

this movie is a first for stephen chow cause it also has elements of horror and Chinese superstitions about ghosts and the afterlife abundantly mixed in.

i don't really know what to say about this movie except that its weird, but it does have its funny moments though. as a matter of fact, the comedic moments are scattered thru-out the film.

it is definitely not one of his best, but i still enjoyed it. if your watching for the first time some of the stuff is pretty creepy too. its just a weird mix of comedy horror that is totally different then the ones made in the west.

what one has to do before watching the movie is to put the belief in normalcy aside and just try to enjoy it. there are some really funny moments in this movie but it doesn't know if its a horror or a comedy movie, but the actors look like they are having fun doing it and that is very important for me.

Wulitou ghost film

[g-89622 · 6/10 · 2 January 2022]

Spoofing < This Killer Is Not Too Cold >, it doesn't seem to count as a tribute! There will be no nonsense funny and ghost films forcibly grafted, some are neither fish nor fowl. Douban is such a high score, is it forced to deconstruct the force, or feelings?

Out of the Light..

[morrison-dylan-fan · 6/10 · 5 February 2017]

Having fond memories of seeing Stephen Chow in Justice,My Foot for the first time recently,I was thrilled to spot a rare Chow Horror about to go from Netflix UK,which led to me looking into the dark

The plot:

Starting their new job as security guards to a luxury apartment building with a shopping centre on the lower floor,the guards soon begin to fear that it is they who needs security,due to the peculiar inhibitions of the building being joined by headless ghosts out for revenge. Wanting to help rid the building of the ghosts, ghostbuster Leon decides to train the security guides and some residence of the building in the best way to fight out of the darkness.

View on the film:

Flying into the dark on a pillow of warm shot on Video fuzz,writer/director Jeffrey Lau & cinematographer Chi Wai Wong turn the light on to an atmosphere of pure kitsch,which bounces along with playful, rubbery gore being drenched in stylish filters Lau slices into to crack open the absurd state of Leon's ghostbusting. Pitching the Comedy chops broadly,Lau makes the kitsch mood run deep,with gleefully extended comedy sequences exposing Leon's lack of real "skills",and also allowing Leon to push the Horror Comedy into over the top Fantasy.

Drawing the most basic outline for the characters,Lau makes this basic sketch one that is easy to forgive,thanks to Lau never pausing for breath,as the film leaps from hilarious overripe Soap Opera Comedy to kitsch,chainsaw-welding ghosts making sure that for Leon and the guards,bustin makes 'em feel good. Chasing after ghosts with sexy Karen Mok,Stephen Chow gives a fantastic performance as Leon,brimming with an arrogant wit that allows Leon to casually hold dynamite,as the ghosts come out of the dark.

Hilarious stephen chow ghost movie.

[secrective · 10/10 · 17 October 2002]

Stephen Chow plays an "insane" person who is not afraid of anything. He also appears to be parodying Leon (the professional). Carrying his trusty plant and bag of cling wrap and chocolates he helps a young girl to rid her building of a couple mean ghosts.

This is a must see for any Stephen Chow fan, and at least a renter for any fan of chinese comedy. This ranks up there with Shaolin Soccer and God Of Cookery on my list.

For fans of nonsensical and absurd humour.

[jesatsu · 10/10 · 17 November 2007]

Truly, one of Chow's best efforts to date. The first twenty minutes or so is pretty uneventful save for a few scenes with the now well-known crew, but the moment Leon (Stephen Chow) enters the stage hilarity ensues. His appearance (black round glasses, a plant by his side etc) as well as his name is an obvious parody of Leon the Professional, especially if you add the silly outfit Kwan (Karen Mok) sports later on, deliberately reminiscent of Natalie Portman's garment in the said cult movie. Make no mistake, this is a ghost movie, the kind only Stephen Chow could make. Wui wan yeh is a must for any fan of Chow's and beyond.

Strange Film

[gavin6942 · 5/10 · 3 October 2015]

Stephen Chow, Hong Kong's biggest star and international comic genius, leads a great cast of new faces and old favorites to take on ghost busting in a film full of both laughs and thrills.

Hong Kong ghost comedy? Well, that is something different. The humor is a bit odd. It is not bad, but it seems like the timing may be just slightly off, and this probably has something to do with the subtitles... what people say takes a moment longer to register than what we see (unless, of course, we understand Cantonese).

I find the cultural differences (or similarities) interesting. Although there is virtually no overlap between the religions of the West and the East, it seems like we share a very similar view about ghosts. Now, personally, I do not believe in ghosts... but what is presented here for a Chinese audience still makes perfect sense for an American audience. Interesting.

About the end of the film.

[k-56652 · 10/10 · 23 May 2023]

About the end of the movie, there are some things, ah, what, what, come up, come up, who can't come up. What is it? Take the scrubbing knife quickly. What is the previous one? Now is the time to make up the number of words 123, that is to say, there are always one or two people in the legend. About the end of the movie, there are some things, ah, what, what, come up, come up, who can't come up. What is it? Take the scrubbing knife quickly. What is the previous one? Now is the time to make up the number of words 123, that is to say, there are always one or two people in the legend. That is to say, the legend always. Anyway, I won't do it. If I don't do it, I will come up quickly. If I don't get it, I won't get it before.

This story is in the dark.

[OllieSuave-007 · 1/10 · 18 October 2013]

A Hong Kong horror-comedy about a partially mentally-impaired professional wannabe (Stephen Chow) who attempts to help an apartment building rid itself of evil ghosts. He trains a bunch of clueless security guards in warding off the ghosts, providing them with off-the-chart techniques.

What started out as a pretty intriguing horror flick quickly loses steam afterward. This movie is basically forced comedy with poor slapstick humor and childish tactics that rendered the cast extremely irritating. The acting was awful and the story was riddled with sloppy editing.

Some Hong Kong filmmakers are sometimes notorious for winging its movies - filming them in an impromptu manner with limited editing, no post-production and little preparation. The crew clearly didn't want to take this film seriously - they just had fun with it, suspending their imagination and creativity, but failing to provide us with an impressive product. Some of these filming techniques is called nonsensical comedies - you either love them or hate them. When I watch a comedy, I hope to get humor that just flow naturally, not over-the-board slapstick gags and goofy puns.

Stephen Chow is known for his slapstick comedies and I equate him to the likes of Jim Carrey. However, this movie is one of Chow's worst pictures and I recommend that people stay way from this film!

Grade F

Watchable, but rather generic mid-1990s stuff...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 6 June 2022]

Oddly enough with my fascination and love of the Hong Kong cinema then it wasn't before now in 2022 that I actually watched the 1995 horror comedy "Wui Wan Yeh" (aka "Out of the Dark") for the first time. Truth be told, then I had actually never even heard about this movie from writer and director Jeffrey Lau before now as I stumbled upon it.

Needless to say that I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch it, especially since the movie had Stephen Chow and Karen Mok in the leading roles.

Now, the storyline in "Wui Wan Yeh" is very archetypical for a mid-1990s supernatural movie such as this from the Hong Kong cinema, for better or worse. So if you have watched movies of that genre from the 1990s, then you know what you are in for. And sure, writer Jeffrey Lau did manage to put together a movie that was watchable and enjoyable enough for what it was. However, this wasn't a particularly outstanding moment in Hong Kong cinema.

The movie does have a good cast ensemble, with Stephen Chow and Karen Mok carrying the movie quite well in the leading roles. But the movie also have other familiar faces on the cast list, such as Yat-Fei Wong and even Suet Lam in a very short cameo.

While "Wui Wan Yeh" is watchable and semi-entertaining, it wasn't a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time. The comedy was just too mundane and weak in this movie from writer and director Jeffrey Lau.

My rating of "Wui Wan Yeh" lands on a bland five out of ten stars.

Part comedy horror, part Leon homage, all Stephen Chow

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 10 April 2017]

OUT OF THE DARK is a typically slapdash and knockabout comedy from star Stephen Chow, here directed by Jeffrey Lau who also wrote the script. The story is in part a throwback to the 1980s comedy horror genre and sees Chow playing a lunatic who decides to help a disparate bunch of characters in their efforts to exorcise a haunted apartment building.

The whole thing is an excuse for lots of ludicrous and low brow comedy in which all kinds of things kick off. There are references to THE EVIL DEAD throughout and scenes of characters being chased around by chainsaw psychos. Chow's character is inspired by Jean Reno in LEON and he even carries a pot plant around while Karen Mok wears Natalie Portman's outfit from that movie. There are criminals, gangsters, murderers, gore, and severed head spirits, and a super-fast pace that means things never become boring. It's not one of Chow's best movies, but it does the job well enough.