TROY'S REVIEW: Brace yourself, for here's yet another assault on all that is decent by the infamous Tomas Tang! In this warped entry we have a sketchy story revolving around the pursuit for a microfilm containing some highly sensitive strategic map data. Also, we have a husband and wife hit team called originally enough, The Killer Couple, who decide go into early retirement in an attempt to go straight. Bad move because retirement is ostensibly not mob policy as it turns out and they are subsequently sanctioned for extermination themselves. To make matters more complex, their only child is suffering from diabetes and I can tell you now that he doesn't make it to the end credits! Wide eyed, bad actor supreme, Mike Abbott appears as the bad boy head ninja whilst an uncredited Stuart Smith appears as the stunt double for Edgar Fox who stars as the hero in this (and pulls many odd facial expressions whilst doing so). I know what you're thinking... Mike Abbott AND Stuart Smith, two legendary bad acting maestro's on screen at once?! - It's amazing how such a cataclysmic event didn't trigger Armageddon or something! Sadly the film isn't one of the best of its kind but is still nonetheless well worth a watch, not least of all for a number of hilarious scenes featuring obvious dummies which wouldn't have looked out of place on the late, great Benny Hill show!

The loyalty towards Chang Cheh post-Shaw Brothers certainly is uplifting as Ti Lung, Chen Kuan-Tai and one of the Venoms Lu Feng appears in Death Ring. But that joy becomes conflicted because the movie is too. We get a very basic, flat entry into the story via the murder by Dai Chi (Lee Chung-Yat) of Lo Pang Fi. Lo is jealous of Dai's relationship with Lin May (Chen Kuan-Tai plays her father) and being from rival martial arts schools doesn't help either. Dai Chi flees to Thailand, goes back after 3 years for some lovin' but is discovered by the revenge-driven family of Lo Pang Fi's (headed by the father played by Chan Sing). A pimp (Ti Lung) steps in the way of the Lo's achieving revenge the unjust way and off to Thailand Dai Chi goes again to find his father. Here is where the titular death ring comes in as he gets involved with underground boxing matches...

Downright sloppy (study the timeline of the film and the various aging vs- non-aging process some of the characters go through) is the verdict and it's sad to see Chang Cheh having fallen so far from grace, even though some of the martial arts scenes shot in Hong Kong gives way for some watchable fluidity. Switching to Thailand, this is where Lu Feng's direction takes over and the flat mess it once was now turns into boredom, disinterest with a twist of muddled storytelling. Chang Cheh's stamp may have been fading but that stamp was the only thing keeping Death Ring alive for a little bit. As an aside, as with many later Chang Cheh films, they echoed stories, settings and ideas from past productions and Death Ring could be argued to be a little re-thread of Duel Of Fists (1971).

Buy the DVD at:
HK Flix.com

Flying fairy Yun Yuk Yi (Joey Wong) and her assistant Siu Yi (Gloria Yip) battle against Evil (Meg Lam) as she's killed their master. In the aftermath of this particular battle, Yun Yuk Yi is along with her opponent transported to the modern era. Here she meets and shacks up with womanizing cop Mambo (Jacky Cheung) but love is soon in the air as well as more magic battles...

A pre-credits sequence set in the supernatural netherworld gives the impression that few out of the crew and cast have their heart invested in this film. With one hand creating wirework and animation, the other quickly gets busy being craaaaazy and wacky once we switch settings. To more than an unbearable degree, director Jeng Wing-Chiu gives us clownish triads and pretty much retarded cops around the character of Mambo. All while Jeng tries to play up this nonsense comedy stylistically also but there's no talent to add sparks to this choice. When Hsiao Ho enters as the spirit master destined to provide answers about how you battle Evil, you at least get a worthwhile cartoon side to Demoness From Thousand Years... literally. Often calling upon the King Of Hell for advice, that being is manifested as a wonderfully insane looking cartoon character. It adds a little dedication to the proceedings and the Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain style ending contains better action directing by Hsiao Ho. But as yet another love story about man and spirit plays out, Demoness From Thousand Years early and forever seals its fate as an emulation of other emulations. Also with Andy Hui, Fennie Yuen and Ku Feng.

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Yesasia.com

Recurring actress in 70s and 80s Taiwan melodrama, Shirley Lui decides to bare it all (yes, that does mean nudity) in this rather ineffective drama. She plays Daisy who has a tendency to be drawn to and draw attention from bad men. Men like Fan who takes her virginity but never goes through on his promise to marry her. Instead, it's off to the next girl. And with another wolf out there to get Daisy, the character of Shek who doesn't consider marriage should stop one from sleeping with others, the marriage to timid Dr. Kong (Jonathan Lee, also a composer on the likes of Princess D) doesn't signal safety for Daisy. Desire screws with you, both males and females. Something which is the strongest thought in Ho Fan's direction as Daisy naturally feels guilt and believes fate has dealt her this hand. But intelligence stops there as the idiotic characters of the piece, the horny males, becomes increasingly sillier as they portray desire on a deeper level. All culminating in a car race. Oh boy. I think Shirley Lui deserved a little bit better and genuine artist Ho Fan (mainly in Yu Pui Tsuen) nearly desperately tries to make visual art of his smut. Doesn't quite work outside of the period arena. Released as The Lock of Hearts on Ocean Shores laserdisc.

The desperate plight of the literally poor Mainland Chinese immigrants gets a spotlight but the crude dramatic treatment here makes one appreciate Long Arm Of The Law so much more. It's tragic fates galore, led by a pouting Kenny Bee as Cheng who goes through being a prison bitch, being disliked by his relatives and on top if it all, has a girlfriend who has to chose abortion. Uplifting stuff and the reasoning for all this that leads to criminal action is inane and basic. The film contains some raw power in the violent sections but its aim is still to be a valid drama and you don't get anywhere with the sledgehammer making one. The Ocean Shores vcd contains two endings to the film. First the Mandarin dubbed Mainland Chinese one plays out followed by the more immoral and inconclusive (meaning one character gets away) Hong Kong coda. Wong Man, Ho Pak-Kwong and Walter Tso also appear.

Buy the VCD at:
HK Flix.com
Yesasia.com

Jimmy Wang Yu is Lung Tai (or The White Dragon) who's gained a reputation as a top spear fighter. When stopping a bunch of the emperor's henchmen bullying young beggar Ni Chiu (Yau Lung), he finds out Ni Chiu is carrying a namelist of rebels opposing the ruling emperor. Bringing it to its destined owner, it turns out the leading rebel is the son of a fighter Lung Tai disgraced once to the point of suicide. But what matters most? Personal revenge or fighting for the well being of the people? And the troops are closing in...

By female director Kao Pao-Shu comes a surprisingly intelligent genre excursion. Never complicating the drama as The Desperate Chase lives and breathes via its frequent fight scenes, it's nevertheless entirely engrossing the journey's on display. Lung Tai has a chance to break his cycle of violence and make a serious, heroic contribution. A journey carried very well within Jimmy Wang Yu while he also with a spear in his hand never misses a beat in providing trademark/requisite fury. Of note is the terrific finale where Jimmy goes toe to toe with multiple henchmen and elite warriors with sneaky weaponry. The heroism of The Desperate Chase resonates here. That's such an important key. Released in America as Blood Of The Dragon and sporting, for the genre, a well-performed dub job but an awful re-score by Flood. Also with Wang Yu's One-Armed Swordsman co-star Chiao Chiao and Taiwan martial arts cinema token baddie Lung Fei (who's taken down to earth a few notches here).

While I know IFD used to make up their credits, this is the flick blessed with the most "creative" thinking in that regard (look at the name of the director above!) and for maybe half a flick, Desperate Desperados (which is just a production IFD provided a dub for) is a goofy dub experience on wheels. After a while it falls and breaks its jaw however. Presumably shot in Taiwan as it stars O Chun-Hung as a veteran police officer and mentor, he dispenses advice to rookie Benny who is in conflict with his elder brother about how to conduct yourself in the name of the law. Lessons will be learnt and blood spilt as the Black Dragon gang case lands on their desks. Straight, basic and totally ordinary, the original flick clearly would never be a standout so IFD decided to dub the hell out of it to at least generate the chuckles. They do in combination with basic story coherency but around the halfway mark ordinary turns incoherent and confusing is not even beginning to describe matters. Not even the most awkward dialogue in the dub can remedy that although I have to say the dubbers occasionally seems to want to match the exaggerated, wacky performers on-screen... for once.