Troublesome Night - Hong Kong's Longest Running Comedy Horror Film Series
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What's the longest horror film series you know? I'm guessing most people might think of Halloween, Friday the 13th, or Nightmare on Elm Street. Maybe even some that began more recently than those like Saw or The Conjuring film series. Those are all pretty long-running series, but even the longest of the ones I named, Halloween, only has 13 films as of January 2025.
Here's one you may not have heard about: Troublesome Night. It's a film series from Hong Kong that absolutely puts Hollywood to shame with its comedy horror productivity. Between 1997 and 2003, the series churned out an astonishing 19 films—far surpassing anything Hollywood had managed in terms of sheer volume for a single horror franchise. To put that into perspective, the original Troublesome Night spawned more sequels in just six years than most franchises could dream of producing in decades.

The first six films were helmed by Herman Yau, who initially defined the series' odd mix of ghostly scares and dark humor. But after that, Yau lost interest in the project, leaving producer Nam Yin to step in and keep the ball rolling. The franchise didn't miss a beat—Nam Yin ensured Troublesome Night evolved and stayed relevant, even introducing a recurring set of protagonists, the Bud family, who became the series' heart from the eighth to the nineteenth films.
And if you thought the series was dead, grab your favorite zombie weapon because in 2017, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first film, the franchise returned with a twentieth (and supposedly final) installment called Always Be With You—written and directed by the original captain of the Hong Kong comedy horror franchise, Herman Yau.

Why so many films in such a short time? The answer lies in Hong Kong's unique filmmaking culture of the late 1990s and early 2000s, where speed and efficiency were the name of the game. If something resonated with audiences—even a little—it was almost guaranteed to spawn sequels or spinoffs faster than you could say "box office hit." Troublesome Night was no exception. Its mix of comedy and horror found a niche, and the anthology format made it even easier to churn out films without worrying too much about continuity.
Production was fast and cheap, with recycled sets, recurring cast members, and flexible stories that leaned into local ghost folklore and dark humor. Combine that with the series' ability to adapt to audience preferences (like introducing the Bud family as regulars), and you have the perfect storm for rapid-fire filmmaking. This wasn't about spending years perfecting a masterpiece—it was about striking while the iron was hot and giving the audience more of what they wanted. It's a style of filmmaking that Hollywood couldn't quite replicate, but for Troublesome Night, it worked brilliantly.
With that many films in a series, what can you really say about it? That's over 30 hours of movies if you watch them all in one go, not to mention the sheer number of cast and crew involved in such a massive franchise. So, instead of exploring the nuances of the production, let's look at an overview of the films. The descriptions you'll find about them are boring, so here are entirely new ones created to capture that comedy horror movie magic.
Troublesome Night Film Series
Troublesome Night
When Ken and his friends stumble upon a mysterious grave during a camping trip, their carefree adventure becomes a nightmare. Haunted whispers and chilling apparitions follow Ken home, but his horrors are only the beginning. A grieving widow prepares for an anniversary—only to uncover sinister truths lurking in her home. Meanwhile, a ghostly romance turns tragic, and a haunted theatre becomes the stage for unspeakable terror. In this anthology of spectral vengeance, the question isn't who will survive but how anyone can escape the relentless grip of the supernatural.
Troublesome Night 2
A prank call to a radio station unleashes the fury of a vengeful spirit bent on retribution. On the open sea, a mysterious woman's rescue ignites a chain of eerie events that push a group of friends to the brink of madness. And for a street racer haunted by his past, the road becomes a battleground where the living and the dead collide. In these three interconnected tales, no one escapes unscathed.
Troublesome Night 3
Death is only the beginning in this chilling tale of life and loss within the cold walls of a mortuary. A grieving mortician's obsession with a deceased singer takes a macabre turn, drawing him into a ghostly world of terror. A daughter's memorial for her mother awakens a spirit that will stop at nothing to protect her honor. And when betrayal sparks a lover's revenge, the darkness within the morgue becomes all-consuming. Death's unyielding grip tightens with every story, leaving no soul untouched.
Troublesome Night 4
A group of tourists seeking paradise in the Philippines are trapped in their own paranormal terror. Restless spirits stalk them through moonlit nights while eerie screams pierce the air, defying explanation. As their tropical dream becomes a ghostly torment, the tourists must confront their fears—or become the next victims of the haunted land.
Troublesome Night 5
A taxi driver's passengers include a ghostly officer and a woman hiding deadly secrets—but it's the passenger he can't see who leaves him trembling. A gambler's pact with a vengeful spirit delivers fortune… and a deadly price. And a haunted office holds echoes of a family torn apart, where the sins of the past come to collect. In these three tales, horror takes many forms, but the end is always the same: no one escapes the cost of their choices.
Troublesome Night 6
Four paparazzi find fame after exploiting the tragic death of a model, but their dark secret comes back to claim them. Stalked by her ghost in a blood-red dress, they fall one by one, each meeting a fate more gruesome than the last. For Inspector Chak, uncovering the truth means facing his own haunted past—and the horrifying price of breaking a promise to the dead.
Troublesome Night 7
On a remote island, a film crew unravels a chilling mystery buried in time. Eerie screams echo through the night, a feral child haunts the shadows, and the ghosts of star-crossed lovers seek justice. As the crew struggles to survive the island's cursed history, they must uncover the truth behind its restless spirits… or become part of the legend themselves.
Troublesome Night 8
What begins as a suburban retreat turns into a supernatural battleground for the Bud family. Their neighbor Olive becomes possessed by a grieving mother searching for her lost son. As ghostbuster Mrs. Bud Lung delves into the mystery, the truth behind Olive's torment leads to a final confrontation with the spirit world that no one will forget.
Troublesome Night 9
A compulsive gambler's disrespect for the dead sets off a chain reaction of hauntings that spiral into chaos. Bud Pit and Mrs. Bud Lung must face off against enraged spirits determined to punish the living. In this tale of greed and reckoning, the dead hold all the cards, and they're playing for keeps.
Troublesome Night 10
A stingy boss rents a vacation home with a sinister past, dragging his employees into a weekend of unspeakable terror. As ghostly apparitions and eerie coincidences mount, a mysterious woman's connection to the cursed house reveals truths that are as horrifying as they are inescapable.
Troublesome Night 11
When a hustler's greed leads to murder, the victim's spirit returns with vengeance in her heart. Possessing one woman after another, the ghost sets a deadly plan in motion. With Mrs. Bud Lung racing to uncover the truth, the beach where it all began becomes the battleground for a final, ghostly showdown.
Troublesome Night 12
Trapped in a haunted hotel, beauty consultants Sun and Aki find themselves at the mercy of vengeful spirits. When the undead patrons of a cursed disco and a ghostly couple unleash their fury, Mrs. Bud Lung must intervene to save the living—and send the dead back to the darkness.
Troublesome Night 13
A murdered woman's ghost drags Bud Gay into a chilling web of vengeance and betrayal. As the truth of her death unravels, alliances are shattered, and justice takes a terrifying turn. In this harrowing tale, the living and the dead collide, proving that some secrets refuse to stay buried.
Troublesome Night 14
Christin's death in a red dress transforms her into a vengeful spirit who wreaks havoc on those who wronged her. Mrs. Bud Lung and a rival ghostbuster must put aside their differences to confront Christin's fiery wrath. In a battle of love, loss, and unrelenting rage, can they put this restless soul to peace?
Troublesome Night 15
A father's pact with ghostly patrons to protect his family comes at a deadly cost when greed threatens their fragile peace. As spirits and betrayal collide, Mrs. Bud Lung uncovers a heartbreaking tale of sacrifice and redemption. In the end, the ties that bind prove stronger than even death itself.
Troublesome Night 16
Bud Gay and Bud Yan find themselves flung into the ancient world of Water Margin, altering history as they tangle with legendary heroes and vengeful spirits. Hilarity and horror intertwine as the brothers navigate a fantastical past where the stakes are life, death, and destiny itself.
Troublesome Night 17
Imprisoned for drug trafficking, Bud Gay discovers his cellmate isn't among the living. A vengeful ghost seeks closure for her husband's wrongful death, but when the truth eludes her, her wrath turns deadly. With Mrs. Bud Lung racing against time, the prison becomes a crucible of terror where no one is safe.
Troublesome Night 18
Born with the ability to see spirits, Kong Lik-son's life descends into chaos when a ghostly mother seeks his help to save her unborn child. As the balance of Yin and Yang collapses, Kong must navigate a world of spectral vengeance and impossible choices—before the living pay the ultimate price.
Troublesome Night 19
When Audrey finds haunted sunglasses, she becomes the key to solving a long-forgotten murder. Guided by Mrs. Bud Lung and haunted by the victim's spirit, Audrey unravels a deadly mystery where some crimes demand answers… even from beyond the grave.
Always Be With You
Cursed objects, haunted vacation homes, and a grieving fiancée's shattered world converge in this final chapter. As restless spirits and chilling revelations surface, a taxi driver with a terminal diagnosis becomes the unlikely hero of a story where death is only the beginning. The boundary between the living and the dead fades forever in this haunting conclusion.
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Okay, so there are actually horror film series that are longer than Troublesome Night. For example, The Amityville Series technically has over 30 installments if you include the low-budget spinoffs like Amityville in Space. And, if you count The Universal Monsters Series as one series, then it also has over 30 films. But those aren't comprised of a single series of direct sequels, so I think Troublesome Night still wins.
Relevant & Related
- Check out LoveHKFilm.com's review of the first installment, and explore the rest of the site for even more of Hong Kong's films.
- More Hong Kong horror in 10 Classic Hong Kong horror movies that will chill you to the bones.
- Yet more in 10 Creepiest Hong Kong Horror Movies. (I like foreign horror...)
- Like reading about horror films? Try Hong Kong Horror Cinema by Gary Bettinson and Daniel Martin.
- Wondering what happened to Hong Kong cinema? Learn more in The Rise and Fall of Hong Kong Cinema.
- And don't miss The Animated History of Hong Kong.
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