Painted Skin Movies in Order & How Many Are There?
In this article, we will let you know exactly how many movies are there, what is the best way to watch Painted Skin movies in order, what are they about, do you need to watch them in order, and whether will there be more movies. So, let us begin with the article and answer all your questions about Painted Skin movies.
Painted Skin movies are based, very loosely, on “The Painted Skin”, a short story from the collection Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.
Let’s now find out exactly how many Painted Skin movies are there.
How many Painted Skin movies are there?
There are currently three Painted Skin movies and two TV shows that follow the movies. We will now show you what they look like in order by the release date.
- Painted Skin (1992)
- Painted Skin (2008)
- Painted Skin (2011) – TV Show
- Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012)
- Painted Skin II (2013) – TV Show
Now let’s see what is the best way to watch Painted Skin movies in order, what are they about and how are they connected to each other.
Painted Skin movies in order
As we have shown you above, there are three Painted Skin movies in the franchise. Now, what you need to know is that the first Painted Skin movie, from 1992, has nothing to do with the other two movies, which are directly connected. So, let’s find out what is each movie about, and how are they connected to each other.
We won’t be sorting TV shows on this list, but they follow the movies, so you can watch the first show after the Painted Skin from 2008, and then the second one after The Resurrection from 2012.
Painted Skin (1992)
A scholar encounters a beautiful maiden in an alley on his way home and leads her to his house, where he tries to marry her as a concubine. By chance, his wife and he discover that she is in fact a ghost, who must “paint” and graft a facial skin mask over her face to look human. Terrified, the scholar enlists the help of two Taoist priests, who give him a magic whisk to keep the ghost at bay.
However, it appears that the ghost is benign – she merely wants to escape the clutches of an evil Yin-Yang King, a faceless, powerful spirit-king who shuttles at ease between the mortal world and the spirit, and who seems to be controlling the destinies of some recently deceased souls.
The two Taoist priests battle the King to release the ghost, but realize their magical prowess is not sufficient. Instead, they use the ghost to track down a highly skilled Taoist Master in the countryside. Meanwhile, the Yin-Yang King has possessed the scholar and is wreaking havoc in the mortal plane. The priests finally discover and convince the Taoist Master, who decides to destroy the evil spirit-king so as to guide the ghost back to Hades.
Painted Skin (2008)
Painted Skin is based on one of Pu Songling’s classic short stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Zhou Xun stars as Xiao Wei, a fox spirit that feasts on human hearts in order to maintain her lovely, youthful appearance.
When General Wang Sheng (Chen Kun) ‘rescues’ her from a band of bandits and brings her home, trouble brews as the demon falls in love with the general.
Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012)
An ancient fox spirit embarks on a diabolical quest to become human after escaping an icy prison, and becomes bound to a disfigured princess who seeks the love of a noble guard as her kingdom crumbles in this lavish supernatural epic. Confined to a frozen cell for centuries, malevolent fox spirit Xiaowei (Xun Zhou) regains her freedom and seeks to preserve her beauty by seducing men and consuming their hearts. Should a man offer her his heart willingly, Xiaowei will become mortal, breaking free of the underworld and experiencing living among the living.
Meanwhile, as a dark cloud falls over her kingdom, Princess Jing (Wei Zhao) flees, hiding her deep facial scars under a mask of pure gold while seeking the love of her former protector, who remains haunted by his failure to save her years prior. When destiny brings Xiaowei and Princess Jing together, the battle for the princess’ heart begins.
Do you need to watch Painted Skin movies in order?
You should watch Painted Skin movies from 2008 and its sequel, The Resurrection in order as they are directly connected. The first Painted Skin movie, from 1992 is not connected to them, so you don’t need to watch it in continuation with these other two movies.
Will there be more Painted Skin movies?
There are currently no announcements for the third movie. If something changes in the future, and they announce Painted Skin 3, we will surely let you know.
