Film Review: Troublesome Night 4 陰陽路4與鬼同行 (1998) - Hong Kong
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critic Circle of Australia)
I rated it 5.5/10
Rating: ★ ★ 1/2
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There is something endearingly shameless about the Troublesome Night series, those low-budget Hong Kong ghost-comedies that treat the afterlife like a raunchy vaudeville show. The fourth installment, released in 1998, is neither the best nor the worst of the bunch — which, depending on your tolerance for Category III slapstick and prosthetic ghosts, is both a recommendation and a warning.
The film unfolds as a loose anthology of stories set mostly in the Philippines, where groups of Hong Kong tourists and travelers run afoul of restless spirits. One segment involves a courier delivering ashes and confronting the lingering presence of the deceased; another follows a honeymooning couple (Louis Koo and Paulyn Sun) whose romantic getaway is interrupted by jealousy and the paranormal; the longest and most energetic piece concerns three libidinous friends whose search for paid companionship leads them into increasingly chaotic encounters with the undead. The tone ricochets wildly between mild scares, broad farce, and moments of unexpected tenderness, all wrapped in the series’ trademark mix of Cantonese humor and mild eroticism.
What works is the cheerful lack of pretension. Herman Yau, a veteran of both horror and exploitation cinema, keeps things moving at a brisk clip. The comedy, while often juvenile, lands when the actors fully commit to the absurdity — Simon Loui and Wayne Lai, in particular, bring a rubber-faced energy that recalls the glory days of Hong Kong comedy. Louis Koo, even this early in his career, shows the easy charm that would later make him a superstar. Some of the ghost effects, cheap as they are, have a certain grotesque charm, and the Philippine locations add a pleasantly disorienting flavor to the usual haunted-house proceedings.
Where it falters is in consistency. The segments vary wildly in quality and tone; what begins as a lightly spooky romance can suddenly lurch into crude sex farce, then pivot toward half-hearted sentimentality. The humor is pitched at the lowest common denominator, with too many gags relying on shouting, falling down, or startled reactions to rubber masks. The film never quite decides whether it wants to chill you, titillate you, or make you laugh, and the result is a tonal stew that occasionally satisfies but rarely coheres.
Still, Troublesome Night 4 has a scrappy vitality that many slicker productions lack. It understands its audience: people looking for undemanding late-night entertainment that delivers ghosts, giggles, and the occasional glimpse of skin without asking for much intellectual investment. It’s the cinematic equivalent of street food — not gourmet, sometimes greasy, but strangely satisfying when the craving hits.
I enjoyed parts of it more than I expected, and rolled my eyes at others almost as often. It’s far from essential viewing, even for fans of Asian horror-comedy, but it passes the time with more personality than most modern streaming filler. (Neo, 2026)