MishaD

This is the movie that got me hooked on Hong Kong action cinema, so regardless of its faults, I will always have a weak spot for it. Most ingredients are standard HK action fare: wooden acting, some forgetable cantopop song, dubious humor, and a slightly incomprehensible plot. Yet there's also lots of action, and this is where the film really shines. There is swordplay with flexible swords, there are vicious yo-yo's (!), there are silly supernatural villains, and there's a hero whose shirt keeps slipping from his shoulders. This hero is Andy Lau, who lets his charisma do most of the acting. he is supported by Aaron Kwok and Anita Mui (in a semi-funny double role). All in all, it's better-than-average HK fare, that probably will also appeal to non-fans.

As can be gathered from previous comments, this movie is weird beyond belief. I could not really detect a plot, but my guess is it has something to do with naked she-barbarians with masks and bearskin strings. The film seems to be shot through some kind of filter, giving the effect of a constant fog hanging in front of the camera. The splatter is not as abundant as in Fulci's better-known zombie-films, but there's still the occasional bloodletting.

Worthwhile, but only of you're into cinematic curiosities.

Lucio Fulci set a standard of sorts with movies like Zombie and The Beyond. This effort is rather stiff and boring compared to those movies, but less critical gorehounds who don't mind a little living dead fun could do much worse.

That said, I have to admit that the gore is about the only thing worth watching for in this overlong movie. It doesn't come by the bucket, as in some of Fulci's other films. But hey, any film that features a 'Dr. Freudstein' can't be completely wrong!

Still, this is mainly for fans of the genre.