Rating: 2.5 Stars

Hell Has No Boundary (1982)

Hell Has No Boundary [魔界] (1982)

Starring Derek Yee, Kent Tong Chun-Yip, Leanne Lau Suet-Wah, Yueh Hua, Lo Yuen, Chui Gai-Heung, Si Ming, Teresa Ha Ping, Liu Suk-Yee, Wong Ching-Ho, Chow Kin-Ping, Ng Hong-Sang, Ting Tung, Yat Boon-Chai, Leung Hak-Shun, Ho Pak-Kwong, Fong Ping, Wang Han-Chen

Directed by Richard Yeung Kuen

Expectations: High, that title is awesome!

Hell Has No Boundary has a great title, and it has one hell of a poster, but its grasp of coherency isn’t quite there. The film contains a wealth of memorable imagery, but thanks to its haphazard structure it’s a lot less of a movie than it could have been. I remember feeling a similar feeling after watching Seeding of a Ghost (the only other Richard Yeung Kuen film I’ve seen), so perhaps I just don’t fully connect with his style. I have a suspicion a repeat watch would help the film play better, but that will have to wait. For now, Hell Has No Boundary is an entertaining film that never quite lives up to its potential. That being said, it’s packed with a lot of fun stuff, so fans of Shaw Brothers horror should definitely give it a go.

A loving couple, Cheung (Derek Yee) and May (Leanne Lau Suet-Wah), are out camping on one of Hong Kong’s outlying islands. May hears a voice calling her name when they arrive at their camping spot, and later she has a disturbing dream of a mysterious looking creature and situations of death. When she wakes, the voice calls to her again, and because this is a horror movie she goes to investigate. You know she’s in for something nasty, even before the trademark green light of Hong Kong ghost movies shows itself. This rogue spirit possesses May’s body, coexisting with her own consciousness, and soon it begins to assert itself. As with most ghost movies, the who and why of this particular ghost are eventually explored, providing all kinds of interesting, disgusting twists towards a rather inspired, supernatural-heavy third act.

Return of the Dead (1979)

Return of the Dead [銷魂玉] (1979)

Starring Ku Feng, Wang Lai, Lau Luk-Wah, Yeung Chi-Hing, Yueh Hua, Chan Wai-Ying, Si Wai, Yuen Sam, Cheng Miu, Ko Hsiang-Ting, Cheung Ching-Fung, Choh Seung-Wan, Tai Kwan-Tak, Chan Shen, Chun Wong, Wong Ching-Ho, Lau Wai-Ling, Shum Lo, Fung Ming, Lui Tat, Wang Han-Chen

Directed by Li Han-Hsiang

Expectations: Moderate. Hopefully it’s as good as The Ghost Story or better.

Li Han-Hsiang followed The Ghost Story with another horror anthology nine months later: Return of the Dead. It is a much more conventional anthology, with a framing story bringing together three stories which would otherwise have no connection. Return of the Dead is also not a sexploitation film (although it does brush up against the genre in a couple of scenes), so overall I imagine it is a much easier to digest film for traditional horror audiences. The only problem is that Return of the Dead just isn’t as good as it ought to be. The stories are all entertaining and engaging, but they lack a bit of oomph to really send them into a territory that inspires love. I liked the film, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that there’s not a lot to hang any sort of recommendation on.

The framing story is relatively light, showing the protagonists of the individual stories explaining how they came to reside in the insane asylum they all call home. The first story is likely to be familiar to horror fans, as it is an adaptation of the time-honored tale, The Monkey’s Paw. Here the paw is a necklace with a charm depicting the three wise monkeys (See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil). Ku Feng and Wang Lai play husband and wife, with their son played by Lau Luk-Wah. Lau works at a local factory, while his parents have a small, but successful fermented tofu business. Ku Feng’s character has adopted the name Wang Zhi-He to help sell his goods, as the real Wang Zhi-He was the man who discovered and popularized bottled, fermented tofu. If you know the story of The Monkey’s Paw, you’ll know what comes next. It is a simple, but effective moral tale, and Li Han-Hsiang adapts it well.

Magic in the Mirror: Fowl Play (1997)

Starring Jamie Renée Smith, Kevin Wixted, Saxon Trainor, David Brooks, Godfrey James, Eileen T’Kaye, Gerrit Graham, Bryan J. Terrill, Eugen Cristian Motriuc, Ion Haiduc, Brent Morris, Iulia Gavril, Ileana Sandulescu, Daniela Marzavan, Stelian Nistor, Mihai Niculescu

Directed by Ted Nicolaou

Expectations: Moderate. I liked the first one.

On the general scale:

On the B-movie scale:

The first Magic in the Mirror film was a great blend of weird B-Movie thrills and kids’ movie charm, so I was hopeful that the sequel could deliver more of the same. It turns out that the sequel does just that, but upon receiving it I’m not sure that I actually needed any more. Magic in the Mirror: Fowl Play tries its best to move the adventure in a different direction, but even with this shift the story still boils down to the same beats as the original. For kids who enjoyed the first film, this will likely be a good thing, as the sequel scratches the same itch, but do kids who enjoy these movies still exist? If you’re looking for a bit more, you should probably look elsewhere, although if you’re reading this I’m not sure this applies to you. You’re a special type of person if you’re reading reviews of low-budget kids’ movies from the late ’90s. 🙂

After returning home from her adventure in the mirror world, Mary Margaret (Jamie Renée Smith) is helping her parents prepare for her mother Sylvia’s upcoming party. I honestly don’t remember why they were having a party, but I know it wasn’t a birthday, and I’m pretty sure it was something to do with Sylvia’s work in the field of making lasers that rip holes into other dimensions. Meanwhile, her partner in this work, Dr. Lazlo Tuttle (Mihai Niculescu), has decided to go rogue and use the machine for his own purposes. In doing so he lasers himself directly into Dragora’s palace, and if you forgot who Dragora is, she’s the Drake queen who enjoys nothing more than a good cup of “people tea.” This allows Dragora to enter our world unchecked, bringing with her a couple of Drake underlings and a serious grudge against Mary Margaret.

Magnificent Wanderers (1977)

Magnificent Wanderers [江湖漢子] (1977)
AKA Magnificent Kung Fu Warriors

Starring David Chiang, Alexander Fu Sheng, Chi Kuan-Chun, Li Yi-Min, Shan Mao, Yeung Chung-Man, Lee Ying, Lam Fai-Wong, Han Chiang, Wong Cheong-Chi, Yu Heng, Cho Boot-Lam, Chiang Sheng, Phillip Kwok Chun-Fung, Lu Feng

Directed by Chang Cheh (with Wu Ma)

Expectations: Moderate.

Ever the innovator, Chang Cheh’s final film under the Chang’s Co. banner was new ground for the director. Magnificent Wanderers brings together “Chang Cheh” and “comedy,” two concepts that seemingly couldn’t be further apart. I love a good kung fu comedy, but I never imagined Chang Cheh would throw his hat into that ring. Nothing about Chang’s films suggests he had any interest in making a comedy, in fact, the kung fu comedies that arose from this era seem like a specific reaction to the ultra-seriousness of Chang Cheh’s genre-defining work. I don’t know what compelled him to attempt a comedy, but judging from Magnificent Wanderers I think it’s safe to say it wasn’t a great fit.

Lin Shao You (Fu Sheng), Shi Da Yong (Chi Kuan-Chun), and Guan Fei (Li Yi-Min) are three poor nomads who make a living by hustling with a rigged fortune-telling stand. After a successful day, Lin suggests they all visit a real restaurant for once. They are stopped before they can sit down, but the well-known millionaire, Chu Tie Xia (David Chiang), claims they are his friends and invites them to dine with him. So begins a friendship upon which the rest of the film is built. There isn’t really much of a plot to the film; it’s more about the general struggle between our heroes (who are attempting to meet up with the rebellion) and the Mongols. This doesn’t accurately represent the movie that well, though, as the tone is always lighthearted and jovial. It’s a comedic struggle with bungling, farcical Mongol villains.

Deadly Angels (1977)

Deadly Angels [俏探女嬌娃] (1977)
AKA Bod Squad, Women Detectives

Starring Lau Wing, Nancy Yen Nan-See, Siu Yam-Yam, Evelyn Kraft, Dana, James Nam Gung-Fan, Kim Jeong-Nan, Shut Chung-Tin, Si Wai, Cheng Miu, Lee Hoi-Sang, Chin Chun, Gam Biu, Fung Hak-On, Chan Shen, Wu Ma

Directed by Pao Hsueh-Li

Expectations: Low, but part of that is the print quality.

In 1980s Hong Kong cinema, the “Girls with Guns” sub-genre of action was very popular. I’ve seen Deadly Angels referred to as the progenitor of the genre, and perhaps that was the case, but there were definitely similar films made prior to this (1974’s Virgins of the Seven Seas is the one that immediately comes to mind). The film’s success is also up for debate, as the Movieworld box office site lists it as the top Hong Kong film of the year, while the HK Urban Council’s 1984 book A Study of Hong Kong Cinema in the Seventies (1970-1979) doesn’t show it at all in their Top 10 Box Office listing. I have previously found slight discrepancies with Movieworld’s site, and the film’s seven-day run would correspond more accurately with a less successful film, so I’m leaning heavily towards the HK Urban Council. Whether it was successful or not, Deadly Angels has fallen into obscurity and is only available in low-quality VHS prints. I’m sure the film would play better in its original language, remastered and in its intended ratio, but the film was a co-production with the South Korean company Woosung Productions, and if I’m not mistaken Celestial hasn’t remastered any of Shaw’s major co-productions (due to licensing issues, I’m guessing).

Deadly Angels opens with a woman walking into a darkened room. A man asks, “Did you bring the stuff from Hong Kong?” She answers to the affirmative, the man walks out of the shadows and violently rips off her bra. Small packets containing diamonds are ripped out of the bra’s lining, and before the woman can leave the room, a throwing knife plunges into her neck. To combat such a violent and ruthless criminal organization, the police must come up with something special. The gang only uses showgirls to smuggle their stolen diamonds out of the country, so the team must be composed of beautiful women. Good thing the Hong Kong police has Evelyn Kraft on its force, as she has assembled a “special action squad” of three foxy females ready to take on organized crime. I didn’t catch their character names, but they are played by Nancy Yen Nan-See, Siu Yam-Yam, and Dana. Each one carries a unique weapon in addition to their firearm and martial arts expertise: a small spiked ball on a long chain, a mini-crossbow, and a slingshot disguised as a hair tie (with explosive-shot earrings)! All this adds up to a James Bond meets Charlie’s Angels meets the Shaw studio sort of thing, and it’s pretty darn entertaining at its heights.

Evil Bong 777 (2018)

Starring Sonny Carl Davis, Robin Sydney, Jessica Morris, Michelle Mais, Brooks Davis, Mindy Robinson, Peter Donald Badalamenti II (as The Don), Caleb Hurst, Adam Noble Roberts, Elina Madison, Tonya Kay, Jillian Janson, Tanya Tate, Circus-Szalewski, K. Harrison Sweeney, Noelle Ann Mabry, Leya Falcon

Directed by Charles Band

Expectations: High times.

On the general scale:

On the B-movie scale:

Another 4/20, another Evil Bong movie! Somehow the last entry, Evil Bong 666, was one of the series’ high points, but I’d be lying if I said this gave me too much hope for the next film; it’s always better to have low expectations and be surprised, than to expect everything and be disappointed. In any case, my fears were mostly for naught, as Evil Bong 777 is nearly as fun and inventive as the film before it. My main complaint is that it’s more of a tease than a movie; the villains don’t do much of merit, and it ends on a fairly unsatisfying cliffhanger. That being said, the Evil Bong films were never about delivering a complete and balanced experience to the audience. Instead, they offer a range of oddball characters in oddball situations, and on these terms Evil Bong 777 does quite well.

Evil Bong 777 begins with a short recap of the events of Evil Bong 666 for those who forgot what happened, which is likely a large portion of the “medicated” audience. I definitely didn’t remember the specifics, and if there’s one thing I know about Evil Bong, it’s that intricate knowledge of the plot is essential to the series. 😀 Anyway, upon seeing the colorful images from a 4/20 gone by, I recalled all the weird fun that made up Evil Bong 666. To my surprise, this helps the Evil Bong 777 experience considerably, allowing you a minute to readjust your mind to the whacked-out world of Eebee and friends before diving back in. The recap also gave me the idea of a DVD extra where fans of the series try to explain the movies to people who have never heard of them; I’m positive the reactions would be hilarious. For my purposes here, though, I’ll just say that Rabbit, Faux Batty Boop, and Misty (along with the Gingerweed Man and Eebee) are behind the Venice Beach Magical Weed Dispensary where many of the films have taken place, but before you can say “Puff, Puff, Pass” they’re taking the weed circus on the road to Vegas thanks to a convenient Splyft limo ride.

Lady Exterminator (1977)

Lady Exterminator [阿Sir毒后老虎槍] (1977)

Starring Chen Ping, Yueh Hua, Chung Wah, Derek Yee, Shirley Yu Sha-Li, Shut Chung-Tin, Wa Lun, Zheng Lou-Si, Jamie Luk Kim-Ming, Yeung Chi-Hing, Keung Hon, Chiang Tao, Ku Wen-Chung, Ng Hong-Sang, Stephan Yip Tin-Hang, Kong San

Directed by Sun Chung

Expectations: I enjoyed The Sexy Killer. I hope the sequel is fun, too.

Lady Exterminator is an ultra-rare Shaw Brothers film, as far as I know only surviving as a horribly degraded, full-screen bootleg of a Lebanese film print with English-dubbed dialogue and French & Arabic burned-in subtitles. Bootlegs have done a lot of harm to the kung fu DVD industry, but there are a few instances like this where bootlegs help the fan base keep an otherwise lost film alive. While this mangled print theoretically shouldn’t have any bearing on the film’s quality, it inevitably made it difficult to get into the film. I’m not usually a fan of English dubs anyway; I have a hard time connecting with characters emotionally when their dialogue doesn’t accurately reflect the emotions on-screen. Even with these factors stacked against my enjoyment of Lady Exterminator, I was still able to extract a fair amount of entertainment. The fact that it was a sequel helped, too, because I was already familiar with the characters that Chen Ping and Yueh Hua play.

A gang of criminals have discovered a police informer in their midst. They chase him through the streets and into the dank tunnels under the city, leading the pursuit to the subway system. The criminals catch the fleeing man and brutally beat him. They tie him to the subway tracks on all fours, so he is looking directly at the oncoming train as it plows into him. It’s a gripping way to open a film, and these moments of intense brutality are one of the few things helped by the horrific quality of the print. Shot in real locations around Hong Kong, filtered through multiple generations of video dubs, the brutal violence takes on the vibe of a snuff film found at the bottom of a well. Anyway, with his lead informant murdered, police detective Geng Weiping (Yueh Hua) must find a new way to get information out of the heroin-dealing drug gangs running rampant through the city. He turns to Gao Wanfei (Chen Ping), now in prison after the events of The Sexy Killer, where she took on the drug gang that killed her sister. Gao agrees, but she wants to do it right. She decides to shoot up some heroin, addicting herself so the gang believes her and easily accepts her into the fold. Now that’s commitment!