Troublesome Night 9

Number nine in the Troublesome Night series continues the trilogy's decline. The movie all but steers clear of anything hair-raising, chilling or ghostly. There are only a couple of instances where we see any ghost elements in the movie, but much of the plot involves Bud Pitt (Simon Lui) getting a job as an employee on a gambling ship and him helping bad luck-plagued Liu Ah Yee (Maggie Cheung Ho Yee) score gambling wins.

The movie, I thought, tried hard to follow in the footsteps of the God of Gamblers movies, and there are too many instances of screwball comedy and forced humor. While Simon Lui, Maggie Cheung and Lan Law make good screen presence, the filmmakers could have utilized them in a much better way.

It's not an entirely horrible movie - it's merely like you're watching a retread of the excessive God of Gamblers movie or a copycat. The acting and music score were good, but script was very average and plot was a little slow-paced.

Grade C-