AllMovie

Hong Kong filmmaker Dennis Yu directed this effective horror film which contrasts ancient magic against modern settings with commendably frightening results. Some construction workers accidentally unleash a cat demon with nine lives which returns every 50 years to terrorize Hong Kong. This is its ninth incarnation, and the Cheung family -- which has been entrusted to keep the creature contained over the past 400 years with their magical Mao Shan techniques -- is down to the deathly ill Master Cheung (Lau Kar-leung), who is determined to finish the beast before he expires himself. Aided by his daughter (a beautiful television reporter) and a chauffeur whose employer has been possessed by the demon, Master Cheung attempts to exorcise and destroy the ghostly evil cat. Mark Cheng stands out as Long, the chauffeur who must learn the secrets of Mao Shan in a hurry, and Wong Jing provides comic relief as a goofy policeman in love with Cheung's daughter. Tang Lai-ying co-stars.