A common ploy in the creation of anthologies is to attempt to complete a picture by using uncompleted or unfinished work from several sources and merging them together in order to make a return on the investments. Such is the case for this amalgamation of tales, as the backstory of each segment is equally troubled as much as enjoyable. The first segment from Yuen Chor was started five years earlier as a film titled “Hellish Soul” before it got shelved and needed reshoots by Ho Meng Hua several years later as “The Ghost” before that got shelved again. Meanwhile, Mou Tun-fei's film “The Prize Fighter” was eventually halted midway through production and turned into a short. These two shorts then form the basis for this solid Shaw Brothers anthology.
First, in the Yuen Chor/Ho Meng Hua version of “The Ghost,” Yali (Ching Li) and her husband Lifan Zhou, (Yun Ling) are living in their house when she becomes concerned about Su Liang (Lau Luk-wah) and his wife Meimei (Lin Chen-chi) who they've just met despite all evidence to the contrary on their friendly natures. As it gets worse and soon grows to terrifying levels as her sanity is tested by everything happening around her, it all leads to a rather terrifying ordeal that might cost her life and sanity.
Overall, there's a lot to like here. The atmosphere is pretty impressive with the slow build-up of the haunting that's in store as what goes on around Yali is handled quite well. The psychological mistrust that emerges after she sees strange actions that her husband doesn't concern the neighbors makes for a fine time here before ramping up the terror considerably introducing the series of ghostly visions and figures appearing to haunt Yali. That this is genuinely terrifying helps to build sympathy for everyone which helps to make the atmosphere of the situation that much more effective for the ghostly encounters to have their full benefit with some great shocks at its core. That becomes especially true in the final half where she learns of the truth behind everything which includes black magic, ghosts, zombie-like slaves, and a really surprising revelation that twists everything on its head. The segment does grow a bit long-winded with the repeated attempts to kill her and take over the family, causing a somewhat overlong running time which is a direct result of its origins coming into play, but beyond this factor, the segment doesn't have much else wrong with it.
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Then, in Mou Tun-fei's “The Prizefighter,” Ah Chang (Chan Shen), a down-on-his-luck hotel owner, accepts help from a bizarre kids' game and magically finds his life changed when the game accurately predicts the winning lottery numbers. Granted more money than he's ever had in his life, he begins to partake in the type of lifestyle and debauchery he had always dreamed of, but when it comes time to collect on his promise to the spirit board, he finds himself in grave danger.
This one works best as a highly effective morality tale which is how the best of these types of segments are supposed to work. Featuring the kind of setup that screams a person unable to learn a humble lesson despite every indication that that's the whole point of their interaction and then being forced to pay for it later on, Ah Chang's arc becomes quite appropriate within the confines of the genre. Seeing the change in him from the poor loser who can't get anything in life to a person who's got more money than he knows what to do with, can get any woman he wants to do whatever debaucherous activity with, and has the money to get away with it is a perfect way to pay off this setup. The need for revenge manages to bring about an expected but no less effective means of the spirit getting revenge that gets quite bloody, and while there's an overly familiar sense here that leads to a rather obvious conclusion, there's not much in the way of flaws.
A generally effective anthology that gives the shelved projects a means of viewership, “Haunted Tales” is a rather odd feature as the needs to use its origins as a caveat before watching since that clearly affects the final product even if only slightly. If you're fine with the concept at play , are a Shaw Brothers' completist, or are a hardcore anthology fan will have the most to like with the film.
