Dennis Yu (born 1 November 1950) was born in Guangzhou, grew up and was educated in Hong Kong, then studied film at the University of California, Los Angeles. Returning home in 1975, he joined Television Broadcasts Limited as a screenwriter and then producer of information programmes and drama series, including the film-shot series CID, Young People and Interpol. He then entered the film industry, founding the production company Film Force with Yim Ho and others and directing his debut See-bar (1980), a crime comedy starring Chow Yun-fat, Pat Ha and Bai Ying; like many contemporaries who moved from television to the big screen, he came to be regarded as one of the Hong Kong New Wave directors. In 1980 he established Century Motion Picture & Distribution Co., Ltd., directing the controversial thriller The Beasts (1980) and the much-talked-about horror film The Imp (1981), the latter starring Chin Hsiang-lin, Pat Ha and Yueh Hua and produced by Jeff Lau, carving out a distinctive place in horror cinema; he also backed young directors in making films of stark realism, co-producing with Jeff Lau such works as Coolie Killer (1982) and the critically acclaimed Nomad (1982). After Century dissolved he ran Continental Century Motion Picture & Distribution Co., Ltd., directing the comedy Comedy (1984); in 1984 he started Dennis Yu Film Production Company Limited and worked with Cinema City, directing the musical The Musical Singer (1985), the SDU action picture City Hero (1985), the eerie horror film Evil Cat (1986) and the vampire film Vampire's Breakfast (1987). The company's last production was the Wong Chung-directed Run, Don't Walk (1989), which he produced. His subjects ranged from thriller and horror to musical and action. In the 1990s he left the film industry for the financial field.
One of the Hong Kong New Wave directors, Dennis Yu was known for the eerie atmosphere of The Beasts and The Imp and for a distinctive place within horror cinema; through producing he also backed young directors making realist pictures, taking a place in the industry's late-1970s and 1980s transition.
Achievements
- 1975 · Returned to Hong Kong and joined Television Broadcasts as a writer and director of film-shot series
- 1980 · Directed his debut and founded Century Films, emerging as a New Wave director
- 1981 · Directed the much-talked-about horror film The Imp, establishing a personal style in horror
- 1982 · Co-produced a landmark youth drama, backing realistic work by young directors