The Seventh Curse

THE SEVENTH CURSE is an unusual little film from Hong Kong, set in Thailand for the most part and featuring plenty of action and very little plot. It's a dark horror/fantasy that has its basis in the queasy Hong Kong horrors like BLACK MAGIC and HEX, as the central character discovers that he's been put under a 'blood spell' which spells imminent death unless he can kill the evil wizard who put him under it.

This is the most popular of the Chinese film series featuring the character of 'Wisely', a pipe-smoking professor who fights evil in his spare time. Chow Yun-Fat essays the role here, but as this was before he really hit the big time, he doesn't have a great deal of screen time, although he does make the most of when he appears and that bit at the climax is a hoot.

Chin Siu-Ho is a rather stolid lead, and the storyline gets saddled with an ultra-irritating Maggie Cheung as a reporter who tags along for the ride. But the supporting cast is much better: Joyce Godenzi (EASTERN CONDORS) shows up alongside Sibelle Hu, Kara Hui, Yasuaki Kurata, and best of all one of my favourite Hong Kong stars, Dick Wei, who ISN'T cast as the bad guy for a change! Seeing Wei rip up the screen on the side of good is a real treat, and makes this a film impossible to dislike.

Elsewhere, THE SEVENTH CURSE is a film fuelled by effects-enhanced mayhem, featuring all manner of bizarre creations. There's the usual army of black-clad cult members, some acrobatic Buddhist monks, a couple of living skeleton monsters, and creatures that look like the alien from ALIEN in both baby and adult form. The effects are rubbery but fun, and there's plenty of artery-spraying gore for the horror fans to enjoy. Alongside ALIEN, a big inspiration here seems to be RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, as THE SEVENTH CURSE has the same kind of madcap, action-heavy exotic adventure. It may not be high art, but it is a lot of fun.

THE SEVENTH CURSE (1986) is something of a companion feature to WITCH FROM NEPAL (1986) a similarly themed Hong Kong supernatural thriller which also features Chow Yun-Fat. CURSE is the more entertaining of the two, thanks to its frequent action and impressive gore effects, although WITCH had a more interesting premise and would have made a better film with more imaginative direction. CURSE has plenty of imagination, but not enough of a story to keep us involved in the twists and turns of the convoluted plot about a Hong Kong doctor seeking to rid himself of a blood curse by going back to Thailand to confront the sorcerer who cursed him. (WITCH was about characters from Nepal who come to Hong Kong to follow the central character.)

SEVENTH CURSE is a film in the `Wisely' series about a young expert in the occult, played by a different actor in each of the films (the others include LEGEND OF WISELY and BURY ME HIGH). Wisely, here called `Wesley' in the subtitles, is played by Chow Yun-Fat, who has only a supporting role as he is called on to help out his friend, the doctor, at various points. Chin Siu Ho plays the kung fu-fighting doctor and may be known to kung fu fans for his roles in the Jet Li films TAI CHI MASTER and FIST OF LEGEND. Maggie Cheung plays a nosy lady reporter, the kind that barges into every dangerous situation imaginable. Dick Wei, the Nepalese sorcerer in WITCH FROM NEPAL, plays a good guy here, a Thai warrior who helps the doctor in Thailand.

There are lots of action scenes involving kung fu combat or shootouts in which the heroes face down dozens of anonymous Thais. The white-faced sorcerer, Aquala, played by Elvis Tsui Kam-Kong, makes quite a formidable villain and has a pack of monsters at his disposal, all created with make-up effects similar to those used in the ALIEN series and numerous Hollywood monster films of the time. Given the lower HK budgets, the effects here are quite good. There is a Crypt-Keeper-style living skeleton called `Old Ancestor' who, at one point, sucks what appears to be the spinal cord from a man's back.

The problem with the gore effects is that no one really takes the monsters very seriously. Chow stands around smoking a pipe incessantly, even in the midst of peril. We're never actually scared by the over-the-top effects. Only Maggie reacts with fright and emotion, although her character is so quick to scream, like so many old monster movie heroines, that we don't really feel any tension. Still, HK fans will be hard-pressed not to drop their jaws at the sight of two of HK's greatest stars, Chow Yun-Fat and Maggie Cheung, battling bloodthirsty reptilian monsters in a giant cave in the film's finale.

There are cameo appearances by kung fu vets Wang Lung Wei, Yasuaki Kurata, and Kara Hui Ying Hung in the opening action scene, a terrorist/hostage/SWAT team standoff in an office building.

Crazy and very fast-paced Hong Kong action/adventure/fantasy/horror/comedy that seems to dip its toe into almost every genre besides musical.

There's even a cop/crime element at the start, small amounts of romance, and a scene that feels like a riff on a Rambo sequel where it almost becomes like a war film.

It feels like it changes gears/genres every five minutes, and that's part of its charm. It always remain fun and fast paced, no matter what it's trying to do.

Of course there's not much by way of a coherent story or great characters, the fantastic Chow Yun-Fat's presence is unfortunately exaggerated by the poster (he's really not the protagonist), and honestly I wished it could have been a little bit longer, because with a fast pace and a 78 minute runtime, it's over very quickly.

But if you like movies that pull off tackling numerous genres at once, this is pretty easy to recommend.

If this had been the first Hong Kong action-horror film I'd seen, it would've stuck with me for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, The Seventh Curse comes on the coattails of some of the most crazy, awesome movies I have ever seen from the director Kuei Chih-Hung. Do you want a movie about a character that has a curse that causes wounds to appear on their body, and with gross worms? Watch Bewitched (Gu), which came out five years earlier.

And I know what you're saying, this movie is an adventure, not a Shaw Brothers film-which is definitely true. Seventh Curse often feels like the craziest Spielberg film you've never heard of. But I find it hard to keep thinking that when watching the more graphic and gross-out scenes, reminiscent of something from The Boxer's Omen.

All that being said, I still think it's at least a 6. The effects are great, the sets are particularly great, and Old Ancestor is probably my favorite movie skeleton. He's got that perfect mix of goofy, 80's glowy-eyes, and impressive editing hiding the transition from puppet to stunt actor.

So, is The Seventh Curse worth a watch?

If not for the fantastic skeleton (I seriously cannot state enough how great it is), I'd say no. I think there are other films that accomplish the same things this does with more interesting plots AND more fun. However, you guys gotta see the skeleton. You HAVE to see the skeleton. So yes, watch it.

In this collection of three horror stories, Chow Yun Fat is one of two storytellers at a dinner party, recounting his experiences. The last story, dealing with a gruesome creature that attacks him and the group he is with, has some scarey moments. This story goes over the top as the creature is killed in an explosive splatter of blood and flesh. The first story of the three involves a police siege at a hospital. It has a few tense moments but ends up going nowhere. The frame work of the stories, a party that goes on between episodes, is strange. People laughing and having a good time as either Chow or his associate discuss death, horrible creatures and gruesome events. This Golden Harvest production does nothing to enhance Chow Yun Fat's reputation. Not to end this review on a negative note, the special effects are well done.