Ghost Nursing – Vinegar Syndrome (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1982
Director: Wilson Tong
Writer: Team Kam Shing Screenwriter's
Cast: Norman Chu, Shirley Yim, Melvin Wong, Chin Yuet-Sang, Billy Chan, Tong Tin-Hei

Release Date: September 26th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 90 Minutes 9 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono Mandarin
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $42.98

"Jackie is having bad luck with her life in Hong Kong so she travels to Thailand, believing that a change of scenery will do her well. Shortly after arriving, she learns from a mystic known as the "God of Gold" that if she agrees to “nurse” a ghost child, her fortunes will change for the better. Deciding that anything is worth trying, she sets up the required altar and begins to feed the ghost drops of her own blood. The protective young spirit helps turn her life around, but when she becomes distracted by a new boyfriend and forgets to feed the ghost, all hell breaks loose, leading the ghost to fight off an academic studying the occult and posses Jackie’s boyfriend, thus setting into effect an increasingly violent chain reaction." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm original camera negative."

Ghost Nursing comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 30.2 GB

Feature: 25.8 GB

The source used for this transfer is in great shape. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and compression is solid.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Cantonese), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono Mandarin)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese and a DTS-HD mono mix in Mandarin. The Cantonese language track is noticeably more robust than the Mandarin language track. That said, dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well represented. Included are removable English subtitles for the Cantonese-language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a video essay by Samm Deighan titled Ghosts and Black Magic in Hong Kong Cinema (18 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH), an interview with actor Billy Chan titled From The Big Boss to Ghost Nursing (8 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), reversible cover art, and an spot gloss slipcover limited to 6,000 units.

Summary:

Directed by Wilson Tong, whose other notable films are Invitation of the Ghost, A Bloody Fight, and A Fiery Family.

The narrative revolves around a woman who consults a mystic about her bad luck.

The narrative can be broken into two distinctive halves: the first half leans more towards exploitation, while the latter half is all about supernatural horror. And though blending genres can lead to tonal shifts, fortunately, these tonal shifts are never jarring. That said, Ghost Nursing is a good mix of supernatural horror and exploitation cinema.

The performances range from serviceable to good. With most of the cast falling into the latter category. Shirley Yim’s performance in the role of Jackie, a woman plagued by bad luck, and Tong Tin-Hei’s performance in the role of a sadistic crime boss who's obsessed with Jackie. These two are the most memorable performances.

Though Ghost Nursing has a solid premise, it is not a film without its shortcomings. After a strong opening setup, there are many moments where the narrative drags. Fortunately, things pick up considerably in the last thirty minutes when the supernatural elements kick into overdrive.

When it comes to special effects, they actually hold up well, and there is an ample amount of gore. Also, there are some genuinely creepy moments, notably the moment with the ghost child. And the score, which has some recognizable music cues from Psycho and Maniac, does a great job setting the mood. Ultimately, Ghost Nursing’s positives outweigh its negatives.

Ghost Nursing gets a first-rate release from Vinegar Syndrome that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a pair of informative extras.

Written by Michael Den Boer