La terreur de Shaolin

I really don't know what to think about this film. I don't know if it's a lame attempt at a serious kung fu movie or a low-budget parody. But I do know that I've rarely laughed as hard as I did when I saw this movie for the first time. It's a shame that the movie is so rare. My friend found it in Wal-Mart (ha, of all places...) and bought it for less than two dollars. But, good Lord, what a find. If anyone ever finds this film again, and happens to read this review before watching it, let me say this: Do not take this movie seriously. Whether the humor is crafted or unintentional (or both, for that matter,) just regard this movie light-heartedly. It's a blast.

It starts with a group of monks carrying scripture are stopped by a group of phony monks demanding said scripture. The abbot calls "Bullcrap" and they fight. Abbot is forced to retreat. He escapes with the paid (by Carrie in man's clothes) help of a boat man, Mike Wong Lung. He has good kung fu but is dumb enough to hide inside a bell being rung.

This movie was made in South Korea and that makes me change my mind set while watching it. Movies made in South Korea at that time were not made to show the world their version of what a martial arts movie should look like. The South Koreans made these movies to look exactly like the Hong Kong and Taiwan movies. They were made to copy what was being done in those two cultures. Success was measured by if you could not tell the difference. In this movie that mission was accomplished but that doesn't mean it was any good.

Making the movie becomes like this – "Let's do a scene like that one in Come Drink with Me". So they put Carrie in a large tea house. Then they decide "Let's set up a fight like that scene in that Taiwanese movie". Boring exposition dialog has to be added to try to thread all this together. That's what you get for the whole show. They forget the gratuitous nudity unfortunately. Plus Mike Wong Lung cannot act at all so he starts to copy Bruce Lee.

What you get in the end is a total mess. Sometimes we fans of this genre watch movies that we know are bad because we get a kick out of how bad they are. When you are in the mood to do exactly that this movie fits the bill, otherwise it is useless.