La 7ème malédiction

Loaded with dazzling kung fu, silly monsters, stunts, and cheesy gore, and even managing to throw in the occasional naked oriental chick, The Seventh Curse is sheer entertainment from start to finish.

Chin Siu Ho plays Yuan Chen, a brave adventurer who rescues a beautiful Thai woman about to be sacrificed by the evil (and squeaky voiced) Aquala (played by Cat III fave, Elvis Tsui), leader of a bloodthirsty 'worm tribe'. Unfortunately, as a result of his bravery, he becomes the victim of a curse, which causes a series of arteries to burst from his body. With the seventh 'burst', he will die. However, this fate is postponed (for one year) by Betsy, the woman he has saved (who feeds him part of her breast!).

When, 12 months later, the curse inevitably kicks back in, Yuan Chen must once again head to the jungles of Thailand in search of the cure for his predicament: magical grains of ash from the eyes of a giant statue of Buddha. Unfortunately, this statue is smack bang in the middle of 'worm tribe' country!

Helping Yuan in his quest is a spunky reporter (a young Maggie Cheung), a Thai warrior (Dick Wei), and an expert in witchcraft (Chow Yun Fat). And he needs all the help he can get, since he not only has to battle the 'worm tribe' and its leader, but also a gang of kung fu monks, blood ghosts (vicious little buggers created from the blood of 100 children), and 'old ancestor', a skeletal zombie that can morph into a bat winged monster.

The fight scenes are fast, furious and typically 80s in style (meaning that quite a few people crash through glass); the gore is frequent, OTT and very messy; and the monsters are cheap and cheerful rubber creations that are impossible not to find entertaining—meaning that The Seventh Curse is an unmissable treat for any fan of weird Asian cinema.

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.

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.

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.

I have seen many a horror film in my day; Americain, Canadian, European, Japanese, Korean and Hong Kong. The Seven Curses brings cheesey eighties horror to new heights for gore and blood. Not to say that this is anything remotely scary, but a couple of scenes are brutally gory. Best part of the film: check it out in slow-motion in the scene where they drive the jeep through the worm-tribe's hut and up the steps of the temple. Just after they drive the jeep through the hut, one of the extras is a little slow on his feet and gets PLOWED by the jeep! I can't believe they used that take! OUCH! Anyways, if you're a fan of cheesey horror, and like gore and splatter-fests, check it out. If you like doing the whole MST3000 thing, check it out. If you're a big fan of horror, check it out. Otherwise, find something else to watch...