Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe (2015) (Blu-ray) (2D + 3D) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) Blu-ray Region A

The auteur behind controversial masterpieces Kekexili and City of Life and Death, Lu seemed an odd choice for an epic fantasy adventure based on a populist novel with an established fanbase. The situation, though, was actually somewhat similar to the run-up to his previous The Last Supper, which went into production around the same time as another film about the Feast at Hong Gate (Daniel Lee's White Vengeance). For that match-up, Lu Chuan turned his first commercial costume film on a safe historical subject into a moody, mesmerizing piece that reinterpreted one of the most famous events of Chinese history with subversive themes.

Considering his past body of work, it really shouldn't be too surprising then that Lu Chuan took Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe in his own different direction. How different? I haven't read the novel, but let's just say that after watching the movie, Zhang Muyue filed a lawsuit accusing Lu Chuan and production company China Film Group of violating the integrity of his work. Chinese netizens also lambasted the film and mocked it as a tomb-raiding movie with no tomb-raiding. If you're a fan of the original novel, Mojin is definitely the more faithful adaptation of choice, on top of being a generally entertaining and audience-friendly blockbuster that was very well-received in China. If you're going in with no prior expectations from the novel, however, Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe is arguably even more entertaining and intriguing thanks to its fantastical monsters and mysteries.

Using newspaper clippings and stock footage to create its faux history, Chronicles begins in 1979 at Kunlun Mountains where our hero Hu Bayi (Mark Chao) joins an expedition led by archaeologist Professor Yang (Wang Qingxiang) to investigate strange fossils of mysterious creatures. The expedition leads them to another realm holding creatures, curses and a Demon Pagoda that houses the secrets of the Ghostly Tribe – a tower that for some reason Hu Bayi and Professor Yang's daughter Yang Ping (Yao Chen) together can unseal. The entire expedition gets wiped out except for Hu Bayi who miraculously survives. A few years pass with Hu Bayi growing increasingly bad-looking hair while learning more about the Ghostly Tribe at his library post under the watchful eye of a mysterious librarian (a bald Li Chen). In the meantime, Yang Ping and Professor Yang both return from the dead and unknown giant creatures destroy an outpost town. Bureau 749, the government agency investigating the incidents, sends an expedition team that includes Yang Ping and Hu Bayi back to Kunlun Mountain to get to the bottom of it all.

Chronicles builds its own set of otherworldly mythologies and shifty characters revolving around the murky enigma of the Ghostly Tribe and the Demon Pagoda. Many of the story's details won't make much sense as they're happening because everything is shrouded in an inexplicable mystery. Character establishment is also on the weak side – Mojin does better in this respect – as the central characters seem to have more secrets than personality traits, and some main supporting cast members are expendable including Tiffany Tang, as a Bureau 749 agent with few lines and no character arc, and Daniel Feng in the important-in-the-book role of Wang Kaixuan.

What Chronicles lacks in character development, it makes up for with narrative development and dazzling visuals. The story all eventually falls into place according to its own mystical logic, and Lu Chuan has a firm grasp of pacing such that the roundabout mystery moves along briskly between action and revelations. Though nowhere as accomplished or thought-provoking as the director's previous films, Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe is effective as a strangely suspenseful and atmospheric action fantasy that keeps you guessing about what comes next while also grabbing attention with kaiju-looking creatures and surprisingly good special effects. That the film managed to incite such strong reactions for departing from the source material just goes to show that even when playing by commercial genre rules, Lu Chuan manages to upset the norm.