Painted Skin is a 2008 supernatural fantasy film directed by Gordon Chan, starring Donnie Yen, Chen Kun, Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei, Betty Sun and Qi Yuwu. Although the film is based partly on a supernatural premise, it is more of an action-romance than a horror film. Painted Skin is based, very loosely, on one of Pu Songling's classic short stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. The theme song of the film, Huà Xīn (畫心; Painted Heart), was performed by Jane Zhang.
Plot
The film is set sometime in between the late Qin Dynasty and early Han Dynasty. Xiao Wei is a fox spirit who feasts on human hearts in order to maintain her lovely, youthful appearance. When General Wang Sheng rescues her from a band of Xiongnu and brings her home, trouble brews as the demon falls in love with the general, who is married to Peirong.
Another older love triangle is present, between Pang Yong, Wang Sheng and Peirong. Pang Yong is a former general who was in love with Peirong, but eventually lost her to Wang Sheng. Peirong asks Pang Yong for help as she suspects Xiao Wei for what she really is. Pang is aided by an inexperienced "demon hunter", a young female fighter called Xia Bing. Hints of a developing relationship between Xia and Pang are there, although this is never fully explored. Another subplot revolves around Xiao Wei's demon ally(Qi Yu Wu), who is actually morphed from a chameleon, and who also has unreciprocated feelings for Xiao Wei and helps her obtain all the human hearts she needs to maintain her human "skin", whom many a times almost got caught by Wang's soldiers, thus enraging Xiao Wei into chasing him off despite his pleas and advise that a love between demon and human is impossible and to let him stay by her side.
One night, Peirong finds out about Xiao Wei's true form when she undresses and peeled off her human skin right in front of her very eyes. Horrified at her findings, she tries again and again to tell Wang of Xiao Wei's true nature, but he brushes them off as her being tired and fatigued and tells her to rest more. Peirong goes back to Xiao Wei's residence and confronts her. Xiao Wei tells Peirong that she wants to be Madam Wang, and tells her to back down. Peirong makes Xiao Wei swear that she won't feast on another human's heart in order to be youthful and love Wang Sheng faithfully until they're aged. Xiao Wei agrees and forces Peirong to drink a potion which would make her the 'demon' while she becomes Madam Wang. After drinking the potion, Peirong's hair and skin turned white like Xiao Wei's true form and in order to keep her promise, she runs away from Wang residence while everyone thinks she is the demon. Pang Yong comes and rescues Peirong just as she is about to die and together with Xia Bing, they run off to a nearby mountain's cave and hide there.
Xia Bing recounts her grandfather's experience that the color white is the most poisonous form of demon's poison, and the whiter Peirong is, the closer she is to death. Wang Sheng arrived with his soldiers and Xiao Wei with her maidservants, whom all want to kill Peirong. Wang Sheng shouts to his soldiers that he will kill her himself if she really is the demon. Tearfully, Wang Sheng asks Peirong if she really killed humans and if she really is the demon, all of which she answers yes tearfully. Wang Sheng announces that even if she is a demon, she is his Peirong, and she is still his wife. Smiling, Peirong impaled herself with a dagger Wang Sheng was holding and dies in his embrace. Xiao Wei tries to gain Wang Sheng's affection by getting closer to him, but he only cries sadly while holding on to Peirong's body. At that moment, Xiao Wei realized that no matter what she did, Wang Sheng will never love her.
Heartbroken, Pang Yong shouted to the entire soldiers troupe that Xiao Wei is the real demon, not Peirong, and he proves it by trying to slash Xiao Wei but couldn't since Xiao Wei's body is as hard as steel. Pang Yong almost gets defeated when Wang Sheng coms towards Xiao Wei. He kneels down in front of her and tearfully begs her to bring Peirong back to life. Xiao Wei, heartbroken, asks Wang Sheng what would she get if she bring her back to life, and Wang Sheng tells her that he loves Xiao Wei, but he already has Peirong, and kills himself. Xiao Wei screamed her heart out and her skin whitened to her demon form but her hair still remained black. Xiao Wei willingly gives Wang Sheng her power in the form of a small sphere, but before she could bring Wang Sheng back to life, her demon ally, the chameleon comes and snatched it from her, reprimanding her for her willingness to sacrifice her power which she had cultivated for thousand of years. He swallows it and tells her that he is going to take her back home.
Pang Yong and Xia Bing fight the chameleon, and at last, Xia Bing draws out a demon slaying sword and kills the chameleon, but not before the chameleon kills Pang Yong. Xiao Wei tearfully gathered two of the glowing power spheres, one of hers while the other of the chameleon's. She crushed it and Peirong and Wang Sheng comes back to life. Everyone in the cave who had died were brought back to life as well, including Pang Yong.
In the ending credits, Xiao Wei is shown manifested in her white fox form without any special powers, having given up her cultivated powers from thousands of years to bring Peirong and Wang Sheng back to life.
