REVIEW:
As a filmmaker, where do you go after creating "A Touch of Zen," one of the most influential Chinese films ever made? Well, even if you're the great King Hu, not even a masterful understanding of cinematography, mood and casting can make up for a lethargic story of a man who encounters members of the spirit world.

Filmed in Korea, "The Legend of the Mountain" features some truly stunning landscapes. King opens the story with a series of broad shots of mountainous terrain and flowing water. Similar scenes appear throughout the film. While pleasant, this slows down the film. This is unfortunate as the film's greatest flaw is the sluggish pace of the story.

Shih Jun plays Mr. Ho, a scholar who treks off into the wilderness to meet with Mr. Tsui, secretary to a military general. Perhaps miscast, Jun has no charisma here and remains nothing more than a naive victim. This is not a desirable trait for your lead character. Hoping to have a quiet place to revise a sutra, Ho soon learns that the general has died and some of his other former attendants are still hanging. Tin Fung, who is easily recognizable for his role as the elder student in "Fist of Fury," plays one of the more intriguing characters, a mute madman named Chang who seems to know more about Ho's situation then he lets on. Hsu Feng, who also appeared in King's "A Touch of Zen" is the femme fatale named Melody, an evil spirit who tricks Ho into marrying her so that she can be reincarnated with the aid the the completed sutra. She is well-cast in the role of a charming concubine, turned ruthless demon. While some suspense is mustered early on as Ho begins to settle in, its mostly deflated by Melody's all-to-obvious intentions and Ho's unbelievable ignorance of the plot unfolding around him.

There isn't much action to behold here. After its learned that a mysterious llama is actually another dead spirit who is intent on saving Ho, a climatic battle takes place between the llama and Melody using nothing more than drums and a lot of smoke. The evil spirit eventually is put into an underworld prison but soon escapes, leaving Ho only moments to complete the sutra which he can use in conjunction with a series of hand gestures to defend himself. Finally, after defeating the spirit, Ho wakes up to the full extent to which the ghosts have fooled him and in an anti-climatic finish appears briefly back at the Buddhist Temple where he had begun.

The fate of these spirits are never clearly explained and a growing love with another female spirit played successfully by Sylvua Chang is left unresolved. Although perhaps more of a difference between American and Chinese storytelling, King never bothers to share Ho's feelings about the events and we're left with nothing as closure. Yet this can fairly be considered a flaw since Shih never really shows any emotion and given the nature of the film's other main characters, its a fatal oversight.

Quite unlike Tsui Hark's "A Chinese Ghost Story" and Kobayashi's "Kwaidan" (1964), this supernatural tale lacks the human element that even King himself is better known for in his earlier work. Too much attention to scenery, not enough character development and slow pacing hurts a mildly successful attempt to create a suspenseful ghost story.