Out of the handful of Hong Kong horrors I've watched, THE BOXER'S OMEN stands head and shoulders above the rest as the finest of its kind. Made with the packing of the Shaw Brothers studio, whose funds give this an expansive, colourful look that some of the low budget monstrosities lack, THE BOXER'S OMEN is a wild ride packed with special effects, violence, nudity and a simply insane plot covering the battle between good and evil. Forget the likes of ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND: in its depiction of battling monks and evil wizards, this is a film that goes one step further (and usually beyond the boundaries of good taste).Things kick off – literally – with a kickboxing match not too dissimilar from the likes of KICKBOXER. The big, brutish bad guy is fan favourite Bolo Yeung, here perfecting his evil sneer with relish. The hero of the piece is Phillip Ko, another Hong Kong mainstay usually known for playing bad guys in various kung fu outings; it's refreshing to see him cast as the good guy for once. Although he initially goes to Thailand to seek vengeance, he soon becomes involved in another story entirely that turns out to loosely follow on from the one in BEWITCHED (the airport finale of that film is reprised here).Before you know it, Ko is regurgitating live eels, shaving his head and following the Buddhist preachings as he joins forces with a dead and decaying abbot who forever gives him spiritual guidance. He's going to need it, as he's up against some particularly nasty foes: evil wizards who vomit up their foodstuffs and cast all manner of spells that usually involve bringing to life some unpleasant creatures. These range from spiders and weird snail-like alien creatures to a human mummy, who's put inside a crocodile corpse and covered in all kinds of crap before finding reincarnation as an evil queen of black magic who possesses all kind of deadly powers. There's real-life animal slaughter, tons of offal flowing around the screen, frequent nudity, rotting bodies, worms and maggots and laser beam special effects that would have been the best of its day. In fact many of the gruesome effects are still impressive today thanks to the sheer hard work that's gone into their creation.There are bizarre highlights here, from the flying severed wizard head attacking our hero (clearly influenced by the likes of Indonesian horror fare such as MYSTICS IN BALI) to the extended, good-vs-evil battle of the climax. It's not a film for the squeamish, certainly, as most of the stuff going on here is designed to make you bring up your lunch, but if you can handle the pace then you're in for a treat: this is one of the most creative, no-holds-barred black magic horror films ever made!

I reckon that if I were to ever try and compile a Top Ten list of the craziest Hong Kong films ever made, it's almost a dead cert that The Boxer's Omen would be in there somewhere: the film is bats••t bonkers from start to finish. I doubt that a mere written description of the weirdness on display could ever do the film justice, but here's my best shot....Chan Hung is a Hong Kong boxer who travels to Thailand to avenge his brother, who was crippled in a fight with unscrupulous opponent Mr. Bu-bo (played by martial arts movie legend Bolo Yeung, who rarely fights fair in his films). After agreeing to a boxing match against Bu-bo in three months time, Chan visits a Buddhist temple where he is drawn into a battle with an evil wizard who has used his dark powers to prevent the local abbot from achieving immortality.The supernatural skirmish that ensues sees the wicked magician using some bizarre techniques to try and gain the upper hand against Chan, including summoning killer bats from the eye sockets of crocodile skulls (which also come alive), using rat blood to bring a skeletal bat back to life, cutting off a chicken's head to perform a spell, conjuring up a flying alien head from a gloopy mess of puke, and ultimately removing his own noggin from his shoulders to launch a last-ditch attack. It's all for nowt, though, 'cos the wizard loses the fight when sunlight makes his head dissolve.After all of that, the film gets REALLY strange.A triumphant Chan arrives home to find his girlfriend in the shower and joins her for some soapy fun; unfortunately, this spot of impromptu sex saps him of his powers, which isn't great news for the guy when three more evil wizards start to cause him trouble. They use a dead crocodile to give birth to a naked witch that blinds Chan during his bout with Bu-bo and who attacks him while he is in Nepal trying to find a relic that can end the evil once and for all. There's also something about an extract from a 1000 year-old fungus smeared with honey that can make him invincible. Oh, and the witch has her skin pulled off by a dead lama and gives birth to the three wizards (wrapped in cellophane?!?!) who then sacrifice themselves to create an army of miniature one-eyed dinosaurs with crazy hair (I'm sure I've missed a lot of other equally insane stuff out, but that should be more than enough to give you an idea of just how bizarre the film is).The special effects used to realise all of this are undeniably cheap and unconvincing, but their shonkiness only adds to the fun. I rate The Boxer's Omen 8/10 purely for being such a relentlessly absurd—and, as a result, hugely entertaining—piece of Asian excess.

Is there such a thing as a film being TOO much fun? I dunno, it's a thought that has been running through my head whilst watching some of my recent sicko feasts. Some films may have a slow but steady build up with a wicked pay off, such as Re-Animator, Evil Dead and Braindead. These seem to get the balance right, courting the line between suspense, character, and balls out grossness with expert precision. However, if ever a film was said to be TOO much fun, The Boxer's Omen is sure to be it.The second of my recent Shaw Brothers viewings, The Boxers Omen is somewhat simple in terms of story. So there is this Chinese kick boxer in the ring with the dirtiest Thai fighter on the block. The Thai guy cripples our Chinese hero, and his brother swears revenge on the other scumbag. That night however, the brother is saved from a gang by the spirit of a Buddhist monk, who sends him on a mission to find a special temple. When he eventually finds it, he finds that the visiting spirit is in fact his 'kind of' dead brother from a past life, and he must now save this spirit from eternal damnation as his own fate is sealed to a premature death otherwise! In order to save the Buddhist he must battle wizards, demons, tentacled flying heads, re-animated crocodile heads, vomit eels, skeleton bats, skin a witch and THEN, kick the Thai guy's ass and travel to the Himalayan mountains! And this isn't even the half of it. I ain't kidding. Throw into that mix a fine pair of breasts being squished up against a window pane for 5 minutes and you got yourself a party.The Boxer's Omen literally rips along at a ridiculous pace. There was so much crazy stuff going on every two minutes that you will either throw your arms in the air, drop your pants and fire off several rounds of hot sticky love glue onto your remote control in pure glee, or else get extremely frustrated by the clear lack of regard for pacing and plot structure. But you know what? If this all doesn't sound like fun to you, I don't know what will. There is a good healthy heap of gore that runs non stop throughout, along with the ample nudity of curvy Chinese ladies. The boobs against the glass scene I mentioned was worth mentioning again. Simply sublime! It's also worth mentioning the eel vomiting scene again, this moment actually made me gag, which is saying something. In fact, there were dozens of vomiting scenes here, go figure.In terms of acting, I can't really say much, I don't remember any particular performance being bad, mostly just kinda OTT in a good way. They all seemed to do a fine job. Directing wise, imagine somebody mashed up The Holy Mountain, The Evil Dead and a big pile of vomit, and you pretty much get the idea. I must say though, the film looked damned pretty for its type, and the subs were spot on. The f/x are kinda hit and miss, but that won't stop you enjoying it as the sense of fun gets behind them and makes em work.The bottom line is this, get your hands on this and Seeding of a Ghost, and have yourself a party. Invite friends over, put some beers in the fridge. Expect pats on the back for such quality entertainment. I dare anyone not to like this one. Enough said.

As if Jodorowsky met Coffin Joe in Hong Kong and decided to collaborate on a supernatural martial-arts action film. Filled to the brim with visual overload, mystical drama, Buddhist symoblism and dark supernatural atmosphere, this film follows the life of a boxer embroiled in a vengeful feud sparked by the brutal, nearly fatal beating of his brother in a sparring match. He is overwhelmed one night by a vision, an omen as it were, which ultimately leads him towards the realization of his own destiny that takes him along a path of spirituality and a quest for the power and inner peace that may free his lineage from an ages old curse. This scenario is used as a launching point for what is surely one of the most bizarre, chaotic & excessive Hong Kong flicks ever made. Most of the movies effects are obviously low budget but the rather excellent filmwork and audaciously gonzo, over-the-top nature of the imagery far than makes up for any budgetary restrictions. The indelibly weird vibe that permeates the film is, in fact, partially due to it's low-fidelity nature. Those familiar with the "Chinese Ghost Story" and similar fare will be familiar with the themes conjured up by these supernatural Hong Kong action flicks and may know what to expect. But those who are not should get ready for a pretty wild trip down a road full of wild twists of logic that lead through glowing supernatural vistas, magical terrorist attacks, flying eyeball creatures, and wild clashes with demonic entities and manifestations of all sorts. A crazy little nugget of a film that could even be an accidental masterpiece. At the very least, a unique cinematic experience that's probably like nothing else you've ever seen. Virtually impossible to track down and not, as far as I know, offically available. In spite of this, fans of offbeat & mondo cinema should do whatever they can to track this gem down.