Tag Archives: film

Project Wolf Hunting (2022)

Lots of fighting!
Lots of fighting!

Starring Seo In-guk, Jang Dong-yoon, Choi Gwi-hwa, Sung Dong-il, Park Ho-san, Jung Moon-sung and Jung So-min. Written by Kim Hong-sun, directed by Kim Hong-sun, and produced by Gu Seong-mok.
Cheum Film/Contents G

Guns!
Guns!

More guns!
More guns!

Wow! This is a really visceral, cool & bloody action-horror-sci-fi flick!

Lots of blood!
Lots of blood!

A group of South Korean prisoners are transported from the Philippines in the cargo ship Frontier Titan, overseen by a large team of Korean police officers, led by Seok-woo (Ho-san). The  surly cons are kept in line by the cops, but it all gets very bloody as a murderous team takes over the vessel, the prisoners are freed, and then an unstoppable being escapes from his restraints in the bowels of the ship…

Poster
Poster
There's a lot of stabbing in this flick
There’s a lot of stabbing in this flick
Just to reiterate: this ultra-violent flick is fond of knifings (and shootings, bludgeonings, etc)!

The start of PROJECT WOLF HUNTING is paced nicely, showing us around the ship and introducing the cops, the cons and the ship’s crew members. But soon the killings start and we’re left in no doubt that director Kim Hong-sun intends to deliver a non-stop, blood-drenched, action-filled movie where the visceral, violent aspects of the story take precedence over the plotting and characterisations. This approach has been criticised by some reviewers, but I appreciate Hong-sun’s commitment to making such a no-holds-barred production where the brutal carnage and action is the whole point of the movie. And, anyway, this isn’t to say that the characters are blandly sketched, because the director still manages to imbue many of the bad guys with a warped, sick charisma, especially the tattooed psycho Jong-du (In-guk) and the ruthless, machine gun-toting inside man Kim Gyu-tae (Moon-sung).

Kim is a cold-blooded killer, like many of the other characters!
Kim is a cold-blooded killer, like many of the other characters!

When the superhuman killing machine Alpha (Gwi-hwa) begins his murder spree at the midpoint, the carnage intensifies. Alpha, who has swollen flesh around his eyes that are sewn shut with outsized staples, stomps loudly about the ship like a part-zombie terminator. This monstrous dude cannot be reasoned with and is revealed to be a lobotomised human weapon test subject for the Kemono Project, a Japanese-run experiment dating back to the Second World War. We’re even treated to a flashback that shows Alpha bludgeoning a team of Japanese soldiers to death with a human skull!

Alpha is initially in storage below deck...
Alpha is initially in storage below deck…
...but once the zombie-like Alpha awakens he really goes on a killing spree!
…but once the zombie-like Alpha awakens he really goes on a killing spree!

An extra layer of complication is added for the surviving cops (and several ‘nice’ cons) when it’s divulged that the pharma company Aeon Genetics is behind the presence of Alpha on the ship: they’d been bringing Alpha to South Korea to find out why he doesn’t age. With chaos reigning on the cargo vessel, Aeon flies in a helicopter full of mercs, but these all end up dying in grisly ways too, just like most of the cast.

This isn't merely 'a super soldier extravaganza', it is an 'extraordinarily gory super soldier extravaganza'!
This isn’t merely ‘a super soldier extravaganza’, it is an ‘extraordinarily gory super soldier extravaganza’!

In a film where various characters are revealed to be the super-powered results of experimentation, arterial blood-jets go off like lawn sprinklers, and heads get caved-in on a regular basis, this well-shot, ultra-violent sci-fi-horror-actioner keeps you constantly guessing as to which characters might stand a chance of surviving until the end of a movie that’s awash with puddles, squirts, rivulets and torrents of blood. In case you didn’t know already: I think this flick is bloody ace!

This scene doesn't end well for all the Japanese characters!
This scene doesn’t end well for all the Japanese characters!

Alright then, one more shot from the movie…

Seo In-guk, as a tattooed psycho-killer, kills yet another victim!
Seo In-guk, as a tattooed psycho-killer, knifes yet another victim!

The Heroic Trio (1993)

Hong Kong action madness!
Hong Kong action madness!

Starring Anita Mui, Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, Anthony Wong, and Yen Shi-Kwan. Directed by Johnny To, with action by Ching Siu-Tung.
China Entertainment Films Production/Paka Hill Productions.

Criterion Collection cover
Criterion Collection cover

A villainous Evil Master (Shi-Kwan) dwelling in the sewers below a city sends an invisible assailant out to kidnap children, one of whom may be the preordained ‘King’ of China’…

The Evil Master
The Evil Master…
...and here's what he turns into later!
…and here’s what he turns into later!

THE HEROIC TRIO is the gold standard Hong Kong sci-fi/comic book-style super-femmes movie (okay, I know that there were not exactly loads of this specific kind of movie back in the early 90s!)

Fighting and twirling!
Fighting and twirling!

Though directed by Johnny To, the film has action director Ching Siu-Tung’s stylistic fingerprints all over it. This is a prestige, sumptuous genre production dripping with lush lighting, large sets and audacious, over the top action moments, spiced up with humour, violence and lashings of manga aesthetics.

It's the Heroic Trio!
It’s the Heroic Trio!

Anita Mui, Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Cheung play heroines Wonder Woman, Invisible Woman and Thief Catcher, in a preposterous yarn about an Evil Master (Yen Shi-Kwan) forcing the Invisible Woman to steal babies in the hope that one will turn out to be the next Emperor of China. Invisible Woman switches sides, after some face-offs with the other two super-babes, and the trio clash with the Master and his roaring, bird-eating super-minion Chan Gau (a fit, agile Anthony Wong).

Anthony Wong plays Chan Gau
Anthony Wong plays Chan Gau

All right then, I know that in today’s world one shouldn’t objectify women… but, boy, these three actresses were at their beautiful best here. The late Anita Mui demands the viewer’s attention whenever she’s onscreen, playing the most empathetic of the three and looking great in her silver mask. Michelle Yeoh is always a good reason to watch a movie, and here she gets to play both a (blackmailed) associate of the bad guy and also a hero. Maggie Cheung, as Thief Catcher, wearing kneepads, small black shorts and stockings, gives her character an irreverent, mouthy attitude at first, but she begins to add more gravitas to her role after being poisoned by needles and suffering from guilt after the death of a baby. 

Anita Mui is Wonder Woman
Anita Mui is Wonder Woman
Maggie Cheung is Thief Catcher
Maggie Cheung is Thief Catcher

When I saw this on its release, when Hong Kong films were still at their zenith, it was perhaps easy to take THE HEROIC TRIO slightly for granted, but now I appreciate much more the full-on commitment the filmmakers’ had to producing a colourful, outrageous entertainment, using all the techniques and skills at their disposal, piling on tons of wirework stunts and practical effects.

A fight in the Evil Master’s underground lair
A fight in the Evil Master’s underground lair

The film features some great sets, including the Evil Master’s subterranean lair beneath the city, where babies lie in numerous bird cages suspended from crisscrossing lengths of chain. There’s also a big train station set, which is rigged so that a full-scale train can be slammed through a wall in a standout set piece action scene!

Battlin' babes at their best!
Battlin’ babes at their best!

The film is full of incident and fun visuals: the Master looks evilly resplendent in a grand costume, Chan Gau goes on a killing spree with a flying guillotine, and Wonder Woman’s cop husband gets to stoically put his life on the line several times. But the main focus is always on the three heroines, who are willing and able to use throwing weapons, dynamite, swords and machine guns to beat their enemies!

Another shot of the Evil Master
Another shot of the Evil Master

With on-the-nose sentimental scenes that work within the heightened, pulpy world of the story, and a mad finale in which the skeletal corpse of the Evil Master latches onto Invisible Woman by entwining around her with his limbs & ribcage so that he can use her like a human puppet to battle her friends, THE HEROIC TRIO may occasional contain action shots in which you can see the wires, and maybe the Invisible Woman is not invisible very often in the story, but who really cares? This is the kind of production that was made by Hong Kong creatives operating at their peak, something you’ll never see again.

The Evil Master becomes a raw-fleshed, skeletal monster!
The Evil Master becomes a raw-fleshed, skeletal monster!
Close-up of one of the living skeletal corpse's legs!
Close-up of one of the living skeletal corpse’s legs!
Invisible Woman (Michelle Yeoh) gets grabbed!
Invisible Woman (Michelle Yeoh) gets grabbed!

If you haven’t seen this film before, track it down and give it a watch!

It's a lot of fun!
It’s a lot of fun!

The Dragon Lives Again (1977)

Bruce is surrounded by kung fu-skilled mummies!
Bruce is surrounded by kung fu-skilled mummies!

Starring Bruce Liang (aka Bruce Leung), Shen Ie-Lung, Tang Ching, Alexander Grand, Nick Cheung Lik, Eric Tsang, Lily Foo Lai, Jenny, Bobby Canavarro, Fang Yeh, Wong Mei, Cheung Hei and Yuen Siu-Tin. Written by Chi Lo, and Liang Wei. Directed by Lo Chi and produced by Hendrick Gozali for Goldig Film Company.

Poster!
Poster!

Bruce Lee dies and wakes up in the underworld, makes friends with some of the nicer folks there, including Popeye and the One-Armed Swordsman, and clashes with other characters, such as James Bond, the King of the Underworld, The Godfather, Clint Eastwood, Dracula, Emmanuelle and Zatoichi!

James Bond!
James Bond!
Emmanuelle!
Emmanuelle!
Dracula!
Dracula!

Aka DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU, this is a movie that has to be seen to be believed!

Another poster!
Another poster!

After a caption that reads ‘This film is dedicated to millions who love Bruce Lee’, ENTER THE DRAGON music kicks-in and then the Bond theme takes over, as James Bond faces-off against Bruce Lee! Awesomeness! This film is immensely enjoyable from the get-go, as characters we’ll be meeting in the movie strut their stuff during the extended shot-against-red credit sequence. 

We’re then shown Bruce Lee’s body lying in the cavern/throne room of the King of the Underworld (Ching)… and it looks as if Bruce died with a massive erection… but this impressive stiffness turns out to be his nunchucks!

Bruce and his nunchucks...
Bruce and his nunchucks…

Lee is played by Bruce Liang (aka Bruce Leung) who, let’s be brutally honest, is probably the Bruceploitation star who looked least like Bruce Lee, and the filmmakers obviously know this, so they have a character comment that, “It so happens when a person dies their face and their body undergo a change.” This explanation must also be the reason why Clint Eastwood, Popeye and Dracula are all asian in this film!

The good guys!
The good guys!
Eric (INFERNAL AFFAIRS) Tsang as Popeye!
Eric (INFERNAL AFFAIRS) Tsang as Popeye!

Bruce soon comes to terms with the fact he’s dead and that he’s in hell, which pretty much resembles a Chinese town with a small casino and restaurants. There are also some cavern dwellings and a quarry. The underworld’s residents defer to the King, mainly because he has the power to cause earthquakes by shaking a pillar, though a shady cabal led by The Godfather have plans to take over the territory.

Don't mess with Bruce Lee!
Don’t mess with Bruce Lee!

Bruce visits the main town restaurant and encounters Popeye (a youthful Eric Tsang), while elsewhere in the establishment Zatoichi the blind masseur/swordsman catches flies and puts them in his food, so that he can get out of paying his bill. Then Zatoichi, along with James Bond, Clint Eastwood (dressed as the Man With No Name), and a bunch of dudes in skeleton costumes confront Bruce in the restaurant, and Bruce starts to feel sweaty and dizzy, making it easy for Clint to beat him up. Fortunately for Bruce, he’s cared for afterwards by Wa To (Siu-Tin), the doctor to the King of the Underworld, who’s such a good doctor he even helps skeletons! Bruce admits during his convalescence that his Achilles heel when he was alive was that he played around too much and says aloud that he’s sorry to Linda, his wife.

Zatoichi, Clint Eastwood, James Bond and their zombie henchmen (wearing skeleton costumes) confront Bruce Lee!
Zatoichi, Clint Eastwood, James Bond and their zombie henchmen (wearing skeleton costumes) confront Bruce Lee!
I want my mummy!
I want my mummy!

What makes this production so enjoyable are all the famous characters added to the mix, with some of them depicting real-life people like Bruce Lee and Clint Eastwood and others representing fictional characters like Popeye, the One-Armed Swordsman, Zatoichi and Kwai Chang Caine from the KUNG FU television show.  So it’s great fun when the film cuts to Clint Eastwood, The Exorcist, Emmanuelle, Zatoichi and James Bond hanging out together in The Godfather’s cavern HQ. There’s no rhyme or reason to why some characters, like Bond and Emmanuelle, are played by western actors, and why Clint Eastwood, The Exorcist, etc, are played by asian actors. I guess we just have to remember that ‘when a person dies their face and their body undergo a change’, even when they’re fictional characters like The Godfather!

Clint Eastwood! Honest!
Clint Eastwood! Honest!
Zatoichi!
Zatoichi!
The Godfather and The Exorcist! Honest!
The Godfather and The Exorcist! Honest!

Bruce does a little gambling at a casino, but he then tells everyone they should stop gambling because that is probably the reason they ended up in the underworld. He meets the One-Armed Swordsman here and strikes up a friendship with him.

We also get to see some of the naked underworld concubines in a large bath, chatting about Bruce Lee, discussing the Hollywood actors he trained, and musing about how they’d like to go out with him.

Bath time in the Underworld
Bath time in the Underworld

The movie jumps from obvious sets to obviously real-world locations without attempting to disguise the transitions, mainly when Bruce and other characters dash from the town studio set and end up immediately in a bright exterior quarry location. I think this editing just adds to the hey-we-don’t-give-a-f**k-what-you-think mindset of the filmmakers!

Bruce, dressed as Kato, in the Underworld quarry location
Bruce, dressed as Kato, in the Underworld quarry location

At the quarry Bruce duels with Zatoichi, and each fighter takes turns to use different styles against the other, with the name of each technique superimposed on-screen. Zatoichi uses these styles: ‘Blind Man Finds Way’, ‘Blind Chicken Peaks’, ‘Blind Man Kills Mosquito’, ‘Blind Snake Climbs’, ‘Blind Fool Massages’ and ‘Blind Dog Pisses’! Bruce, meanwhile, uses these special techniques, inspired by movie titles: ‘The Big Boss’, ‘Enter the Dragon’, ‘Way of the Dragon’, ‘Fist of Fury’ and ‘Game of Death’!

Bruce's 'Fist of Fury' technique basically means that he bites his opponent's leg!?
Bruce’s ‘Fist of Fury’ technique basically means that he bites his opponent’s leg!?

For a while the movie shifts into sex farce territory, with the King of the Underworld cavorting and playing blind man’s buff in the hot tub with nude women, for no particular reason, plot-wise, other than to show off some attractive nekkid ladies. We also get one of the underworld concubines and the Queen of the Underworld planning to seduce Bruce, which involves them trying to give him a potion to ‘stiffen his resolve’. The foxy Queen even tells Bruce, “Beat me hard with that terrible weapon”! The concubine and the Queen end up forcing each other to drink the potion, however, and they both become scabby-faced hags. Meanwhile, sexpot Emmanuelle meets-up with the King of the Underworld. “You can spank my botty,” she informs him, and she promises to become the King’s wife.

The Queen of the Underworld and a concubine fight over who should have Bruce Lee!
The Queen of the Underworld and a concubine fight over who should have Bruce Lee!

Dracula (Hei) shows up now with his skeleton henchmen (referred to as zombies) and Bruce arrives to take them all on dressed as Kato from THE GREEN HORNET! Bruce gets pinned to the ground by the henchmen, who hold onto his arms and legs, so that Dracula can bend down, ready to bite him… and, suddenly, a third leg shoots up from Bruce’s groin area, booting Dracula in the face, as an on-screen title informs us this style is called ‘The Third Leg of Bruce’! Insane stuff!

Dracula's skeleton henchmen run rings around Bruce!
Dracula’s skeleton henchmen run rings around Bruce!
The henchmen pin Bruce to the floor and Dracula approaches...
The henchmen pin Bruce to the floor and Dracula approaches…

Back with Emmanuelle and the King, they have sex in his pink-lit bed. There’s lots of moaning and groaning and Bruce has to intervene to warn the King that Emmanuelle was trying to give him a heart attack through pleasure, and the King muses that, “Her pussy’s in this plot too, she was using it to murder me.” 

Bruce is made the new captain of the King’s bodyguards, triggering reprisals from The Godfather’s team, resulting in Bruce killing James Bond and then Clint Eastwood. The Exorcist and The Godfather decide to try and kill the King, who defends himself by creating an earthquake by shaking the pillar, so they then decide to attack Bruce. This fight between Bruce, The Exorcist and The Godfather is very nicely done, in fact it’s thrilling and totally ace, as Bruce finishes off The Godfather (played by a very cool-looking Shen Ie-Lung) by utilising his ‘Fingers of Fury’ technique!

The Godfather puts up a good fight against Bruce!
The Godfather puts up a good fight against Bruce!

Knowing that Bruce is angry with him for causing an earthquake that hurt innocent people, the King implores General Cheung Fei to help him rid himself of Lee… so Cheung Fei leads a mob of bandaged mummies to attack Bruce! Popeye, the One-Armed Swordsman and Kwai Chang Caine come to Bruce’s aid and a madcap final martial arts skirmish takes place in the underworld quarry. Popeye gets kicked about… so he eats a can of spinach and the ‘I’m Popeye the Sailor Man’ tune plays as he beats-up the mummies! The One-Armed Swordsman slashes the mummies with his sword and Bruce battles General Cheung Fei with nunchucks! This is excellent stuff, with Bruce finally being granted permission to leave the underworld.

General Cheung Fei, the King of the Underworld, and a bunch of mummies surround Bruce!
General Cheung Fei, the King of the Underworld, and a bunch of mummies surround Bruce!
Here's another pic of Eric (THE LAST BLOOD) Tsang as Popeye!
Here’s another pic of Eric (THE LAST BLOOD) Tsang as Popeye!

THE DRAGON LIVES AGAIN is a priceless, peculiar pantomime of preposterous proportions. The movie would have been a stand-out Bruceploitation flick solely because of its totally unhinged storyline, but what makes it even better, what provides the exciting icing on the crazy cake, is the fact that the action is really, really good. Bruce Liang may not resemble Bruce Lee, but in real life Liang was a very skilled (and tough) martial artist – and he looks extremely good on-screen in the many fight scenes that were choreographed by him.

Bruce Lee faces-off against Clint Eastwood in that same bloody quarry!
Bruce Lee faces-off against Clint Eastwood in that same bloody quarry!
Dutch VHS cover
Dutch VHS cover

Okay, one final look at Dracula…

He's so scary!
He’s so scary!

Squirm (1976)

Worm-face!
Worm-face!
Arrow Video Blu-ray cover
Arrow Video Blu-ray cover

Starring Don Scardino, Patricia Pearcy, R.A. Dow, Jean Sullivan and Peter MacLean. Written and directed by Jeff Lieberman. Produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff, Joseph Beruh, Edgar Lansbury and George Manasse.

Lobby card
Lobby card

Downed power lines in Georgia turn bloodworms into killer critters that begin to chow down on the local rednecks!

He's full of worms!
He’s full of worms!
US one sheet
US one sheet
Japanese VHS sleeve
Japanese VHS sleeve

SQUIRM is a cool example of the 70s trend for eco-horror/animal attack movies. The two young leads (Scardino & Pearcy) are likeable and, between the worm scenes, they try to figure out the identity of a missing skeleton in a SCOOBY-DOO-style mystery-solving fashion.

Worm-alanche!
Worm-alanche!

There are lots of shots of real bloodworms, which look gross when filmed close-up: they really do resemble mini-monsters! In this movie these worms scream too! Yes! Screaming worms! And they like to dangle from the shower as well!

They're in the shower!
They’re in the shower!

There’s some fine early makeup work by Rick Baker to look out for (and Rob Bottin was an uncredited assistant makeup artist on this production too). The ‘worm-face’ scene is great, revelling in shots of a character who has bloodworms crawling beneath the skin of his face! He yanks at the worms, trying to pull them out! These are really neat-looking practical effects! Rick Baker really shows here that he was a makeup effects expert worth keeping an eye on.

Bloodworms beneath his skin!
Bloodworms beneath his skin!
Wigglin' worms!
Wigglin’ worms!

The ending is a nice merging of creepy house thriller & critter attack genres. It’s during this finale that the film comes up with its most impactful image; a man becoming submerged in a sea of worms that fill the room! If you don’t like worms you will not like this scene (or the movie)!

Lobby card
Lobby card

This is an enjoyable, wriggly, writhing, creepy-crawly, low budget, well-handled creatures-run-amok B movie that keeps you entertained throughout: it’s squirm-tastic!

Here are some posters…

UK quad poster. Art by John Stockle 
UK quad poster. Art by John Stockle 
Australian daybill
Australian daybill poster
US half sheet
US half sheet poster
Italian poster
Italian poster
German one sheet poster
German one sheet poster
A proposed design for a UK poster
A proposed design for a UK poster by artist Vic Fair
A second proposed design for a UK poster by artist Vic Fair. The actual UK SQUIRM poster was finally drawn by John Stockle
A second proposed design for a UK poster by artist Vic Fair. The actual UK SQUIRM poster was finally drawn by John Stockle
Japanese poster
Japanese poster

French poster
French poster

Let’s finish with a close-up shot of one of the bloodworms…

Yuck!
Yuck!