Arrow Video Synopsis:  A LONG TIME AGO, IN A MOVIE STUDIO JUST OFF CLEARWATER BAY.... As special effects-driven horror and sci-fi cinema dominated the global box office in the 1970s, Hong Kong's mightiest film studio Shaw Brothers not only followed suit but took things one step beyond! One of Shaws' most beloved cult classics, Hua Shan's tokusatsu tribute Super Inframan stars Danny Lee (The Killer) as the titular high-kicking superhero, defending the planet against a demon queen and her legion of subterranean mutant minions. Lee also stars as a monster vigilante issuing vicious justice in Ho Meng-hua's creeptastic Oily Maniac and as the prince granted magical powers in Pao Hsueh-li's fantastical wuxia Battle Wizard. Director Ho next treats us to a double-helping of occult mayhem with Black Magic and its sequel, where Ti Lung battles wicked voodoo doctors with the power to cast spells and raise the dead. Four more doses of unhinged madness follow from Kuei Chih-hung in the form of Bewitched and the Hex trilogy, an unforgettable quadruple serving of possession and witchcraft that presaged his notorious brain-melting classic The Boxer's Omen. Master filmmaker Chor Yuen adds a hefty dose of horror to his trademark wuxia-mystery style in Bat Without Wings, in which a young sword fighter must end a deranged martial arts master-turned-multiple murderer's perverted rampage. Hua Shan returns with Bloody Parrot, an eye-poppingly vivid horror fantasy about two swordsmen hunting a demon that offers to grant wishes, only to leave a messy trail of destruction in its wake. Lau Kar-wing's kung fu jiangshi comedy The Fake Ghost Catchers sees two conmen unwittingly enlisted to battle spirits from the underworld, while Tang Tak-cheung's hair-raising wuxia fantasia Demon of the Lute has to be seen to be believed. Yang Chuen's gruesome splatterfest Seeding of a Ghost has a taxi driver enlist a necromancer's help in avenging the murder of his wife, with sickening results; and Hua Shan returns with Portrait in Crystal, a deliriously imaginative tale of a murderous swordswoman brought to life through a crystal sculpture. Last but not least, Alex Cheung's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is an out-of-this-world comedy in which city girl Cherie Chung is abducted by aliens and taken to a galaxy far, far away... From slimy creatures to supernatural wizardry to sex-crazed serial killers, the biggest collection in Arrow Video's Shawscope series yet features sixteen of the wildest and weirdest films the company ever made, gorgeously restored in all their gory glory with an amazing array of never-seen-before bonus features.

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Over the last few years, Arrow Video have given fans of Shaw Brothers and Hong Kong cinema three amazingly gorgeous film collections with the Shawscope series. These were wonderfully presented pieces with fully restored feature films, newly commissioned artwork, and a host of extra features including soundtrack discs, all wrapped up in a beautiful 'Shawscope-style' hardback book and rigid case. While it seemed that the first three had came out within months of each other, fans were on the fence as to whether or not a fourth would be on the way. Thankfully, in the last quarter of 2025, we are getting the next addition to this very colourful and much loved collection...

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But there was a problem! Early word on the street and comments from the fan-based community weren't too positive, with many people claiming that Arrow's selection of films were too bizarre and, worst of all, repeat titles that UK label 88 Films had put out on Blu-ray only a few years before. Housed in a shiny big purple box, this fourth volume was all about the weird and the wonderful from the Shaw Brothers studios – horror, sci-fi, SFX filled wuxia and more. Films such as Super Inframan, Oily Maniac, Battle Wizard, Black Magic 1 & 2, Bewitched, Hex, Hex vs. Witchcraft, Hex After Hex, Bat Without Wings, Bloody Parrot, The Fake Ghost Catchers, Demon Of The Lute, Seeding Of A Ghost, Portrait In Crystal, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star help make this the biggest collection of films in any of the Shawscopes to date. But still, it is true that at least 7 of these titles were indeed previously released by 88 Films in recent years – so I can totally understand the concern and disappointment from the fans that have expressed their thoughts. Thankfully though, I am here to confirm that the upgrade is very much well worth it, and that this new Shawscope collection from Arrow Video is far from disappointing! As I own all the previous 88 Films Blu-ray releases of certain titles in this set, I was able to compare each film side-by-side, and happy to say that Arrow's versions come way out on top in every possible way. First of all, a lot of these these titles were some of 88 Films earliest Asian movie Blu-ray releases, but next to Arrow Films already seem lesser in picture quality and presentation. Now, fans can relish in these gorgeous 2K restorations which offer better colours, sharper images, and more contrast overall, while some offer longer running times than the 88 releases, alternate language options, and some fantastic new extra features. In a nutshell, you'll have no need to go back to your early 88 Films versions once you have this in your hands!

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First up, we have the downright insane and often hilarious Super Inframan starring the brilliant Danny Lee and always entertaining Bruce Le. The first superhero film made in Hong Kong/China and Shaw Brothers attempt at a Japanese-style tokusatsu film, Super Inframan was inspired by the success of the Ultraman and Masked/Kamen Rider TV series at that time – which is very obvious to see. Made in 1975 and set in 2015, the hero Inframan has to stop the Demon Princess and her army of monsters from conquering the Earth. Penned by the late-great Ni Kuang, Super Inframan is silly nonsense by today's standards, but it's campy fun, cheap monster costumes, clever model work and energetic martial arts action from Tong Gai, help to make it a winner. Starring alongside Lee and Le are the prolific Wang Hsieh, Terry Lau, Yuan Man Tzu, Chiang Yang, Yen Shi Kwan, and the infamous Yuen Clan among others. It was only the second directorial effort of Hua Shan who would go onto direct titles such as The Criminals (1976), The Flying Guillotine 2 (1978), Dynamo (1978), Crystal Fist (1979), Kung Fu Zombie (1981), and Little Dragon Maiden (1983) as well as Bloody Parrot (1981) and Portrait In Crystal (1983) which are also both in this collection. Running 3 minutes longer than it's previous release, Super Inframan offers three language options and a pretty good audio commentary with Frank Djeng and Erik Ko. We also get the alternate US Theatrical Version, running just slightly shorter and kicking off with an epilepsy warning as it's new opening credits use fast-flickering strobe lights. With a few changes throughout and it's English dub, it still proved to be a lot of fun and looked just as great. There's a brilliant new 24 minute interview with Bruceploitation legend and Super Inframan co-star Bruce Le, in which he discusses his time on the movie and working at the Shaw Brothers' studios. A piece called Super Ultra Infra Action is a 13 minute video essay from Steven Sloss about the studios brief foray into the tokusatsu genre. It's a beautifully put together video that's definitely well worth watching! And finally, a collection of fun and unrestored Super Inframan trailers, TV spots and radio spots help bring this first disc to a close and proves to be a great start to this heavily criticised volume.

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Oily Maniac and Battle Wizard follow on Disc Two, both starring the brilliant Danny Lee once again and both offering two very different experiences. Shot in Malaysia and based on some old folklore, Oily Maniac is actually a remake of a 1958 Malaysian-language film produced by Run Run Shaw and sees Lee back in superhero territory (to some degree) with the star playing a crippled man who gains the powers to turn into the titular hero-monster. In doing so, Lee sets out to take revenge on the very men who got his father-in-law incarcerated and take down any criminals that come his way! Part Toxic Avenger (1984) and part Swamp Thing (1982), this bizarre production features martial arts, nudity, violence, a silly storyline, and an oil-based monster. But what more would you expect from it's screenwriter Chua Lam, the very same man that produced crazy films such as The Seventh Curse (1987), Her Vengeance (1988), The Peacock King (1989), Robotrix (1991), Story of Ricky (1992) and The Blue Jean Monster (1991) – you should only expect the unexpected. Once again, Lee is joined by Wang Hsieh, while Ku Feng, Chen Ping, Lily Li, Wa Lun, and Tung Lin help fill out the cast. The usual cast of bit-players from this period also show up, including the Yuen Clan once again with Yuen Cheung Yan handling the fun action scenes. The film itself was directed by the prolific Ho Meng Hua, the same talent behind classics such as The Jade Raksha (1968), Lady Of Steel (1970), The Flying Guillotine (1975) and it's semi-sequels The Dragon Missile (1976) and The Vengeful Beauty (1978). But he also helmed the much loved Black Magic (1975) and Black Magic 2 (1976) which follow-up on Disc Three. While much more serious than Super Inframan (1975), Oily Maniac is still wild on many levels and – as expected – the FX work today often proves laughable, but it still has a certain charm and once again displays the wide range of roles Danny Lee has played throughout his career. Apart from running a few minutes longer than the 88 Films Blu-ray release in it's new 2K restoration with correct screen ratio, this version of Oily Maniac only comes with an informative audio commentary from Ian Jane as an extra feature.

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In Battle Wizard, Danny Lee plays Duan Yu, a handsome scholar that has no interest in learning kung fu and only wants peace in his life. But after he leaves home to begin a journey of learning, Yu soon meets snake-lover Zhong who forces on a friendship but also brings some trouble into his life at the same time. After she is kidnapped, Yu sets out to rescue her and, in turn, finds the skills to fight along the way. Loosely based on the first part of Louis Cha's Demi-Gods & Semi-Devils, Battle Wizard may be a little confusing at times, but when a film such as this is filled with glorious kung fu action, sex, rubber monsters, fantastical swordplay, comedy, lavish costumes and crazy weapons, you know for a fact that you're going to be entertained. But those with a fear for snakes be warned – there's plenty of them slithering about in Battle Wizard! The film was directed by the much celebrated Pao Hsueh Li who co-directed The Boxer From Shantung (1972), The Water Margin (1972), Man Of Iron (1972), and Iron Bodyguard (1973) with Chang Cheh, as well as self-directing Chen Kuan Tai's Hero Tattoo with Nine Dragons (1977) along with Ti Lung's The Revenger (1980), The Kung Fu Emperor (1981) and Ninja In The Deadly Trap (1982). And, once again, the legendary Tong Gai handles the martial arts action, delivering some very entertaining and wildly creative fight scenes. Starring alongside Lee is Tanny Tien Ni, Lin Chen Chi, Shih Chung Tien, Chiang Tao, Norman Tsui Siu Keung, Yuen Cheung Yan and Yuen Shun Yi as well as a young Corey Yuen Kwai, Yuen Wah and Brandy Yuen. Slightly bonkers yes, but never boring, Battle Wizard is a fun addition to the collection offering another gorgeous 2K print but only an audio commentary (this time with Jonathon Clements) as an extra feature.

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Disc three gives us the equally brilliant Black Magic and it's even wilder sequel, Black Magic 2, both of which were directed by Oily Maniac (1976) director Ho Meng Hua. Originally set in Thailand but moved to Malaysia, Black Magic was one of Shaw Brother's bigger attempts at getting into the voodoo-side of things, taking their horror and exploitation to another level. It tells the tale of an evil magician who makes his living by casting deadly spells and taking control of people, but when he gets a little out of control in wanting the fiancé of tough man Hsu Lo, the menacing magic-man soon finds himself up against a veteran witch doctor in a fight to the death! Shaw Brothers' legend Ti Lung leads the way as Hsu Lo in a non-fighting role, with the wonderful Ku Feng starring as the evil wizard Shan Chien Mi. The equally talented Lo Lieh also co-stars along with Lily Li, Tanny Tien, Lee Sau Kei, Yueh Hua, and Norman Tsui Siu Keung, with Ku Wen Chung appearing as the good priest. While it has it's flaws and some dated FX by today's standards, Ho Meng Hua's Black Magic still makes for an interesting and entertaining watch. Apart from giving us some insight to the supernatural traditions of South-East Asia, not to mention plenty of gore and gruesome moments involving maggots, breast milk, self-mutilation, blood and guts, and then some – the film is beautifully shot by Cho Wai Kei who filmed most of Ho Meng Hua's features, as well as a number of Chang Cheh's projects with the Venom Mob. Put up against the 88 Films Blu-ray release, we immediately see an upgrade in the picture quality as well as 2 extra minutes of footage. Again though, the only special feature with this is an audio commentary; this time with James Mudge who informs and entertains with his intermittent giggles and insights to those involved.

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Black Magic 2 follows, of course, with most of the same team returning – from the director to the cinematographer and cast members such as Ti Lung, Tanny Tien Ni, Lo Lieh, and Lily Li; albeit as very different characters to the unrelated first movie. In Black Magic 2, two doctors (Ti Lung & Wai Wang) and their wives try to figure out why so many people around them are getting ill with the same unknown symptoms. They soon learn of Kang Cong – an evil magician (Lo Lieh) who makes potions from pubic hair and breast milk, and controls his victims as zombies by driving a large metal spike into their head. But as our heroes start to feel his wrath, they struggle to put a stop to the black magic of the madman resulting in more blood, maggot-filled guts, decomposing, snakes and pulsating wounds! For me, this is a much better film than the first, not just in terms of story and horror, but in production value and effects. Shot in Singapore, Black Magic 2 wouldn't be Ho Meng Hua's last foray into voodoo, with the director returning to the genre one more time over 15 years later with Evil Black Magic (1992) starring Eddy Ko – which was also his last movie. Interestingly though, it would be Lo Lieh himself that would return sooner with his self directed sequel-of-sorts, Black Magic With Buddha in 1983. The great Yuen Cheung Yan handles the films few moments of action – much like he did for Ho Meng Hua in Oily Maniac – giving us just so-so fight scenes that are pretty uninspiring considering the talent involved. This includes the hilarious scuffle in, on, and around a cable car. Still, it's a fun show overall with the final 10 minutes carrying a Hammer Horror-style quality about them. Running for just over a minute longer than the 88 Films release, this version is also more superior in picture quality with vibrant colours and sharper image overall.

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On Disc Four we have Hex and Bewitched – placed in that order, which is a weird decision considering the following disc carries two Hex sequels. For that reason, I started with Bewitched, the 1981 film from director Kuei Chih Hung that continues Shaw Brothers fascination with witchcraft and black magic – and one of the better efforts in my opinion. After the police discover the body of young girl, they arrest her father as the murderer. But after claiming that he was possessed to do so, a police detective (played by the fantastic Melvin Wong) digs deeper into the case in order to find the reason behind his killing spree. The prisoner takes him through his story which starts in Bangkok, Thailand, where he meets a beautiful girl and starts an affair before returning to Hong Kong. But after failing to return to see her again, weird and disturbing things start happening to him. This, in turn, leads to him murdering his daughter. Now convinced, the detective makes his way to Thailand to try a find evidence of the black magic – but not without running into his own issues! I've always enjoyed Bewitched ever since I first saw it via the 88 Films Blu-ray release back in 2017. I was pretty happy with that release, but this new 2K restoration from Arrow absolutely tops it, giving us an extra minute or so of all it's gory glory and a much better picture. Of course, director Kuei Chih Hung is no stranger to horror having directed The Killer Snakes (1974), Ghost Eyes (1974), Spirit Of The Raped (1976), the amazing Corpse Mania (1981) as well as the accompanying movie, Hex (1980) and it's sequels. Of course, he was also the man behind the brilliant Killer Constable (1980) and delivered a follow up to this with The Boxer's Omen in 1983. As with the previous disc, the only extra feature here is an insightful audio commentary – this time from James Mudge.

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Next up, and made just a year prior to Bewitched, is Kuei Chih Hung's superb horror, Hex – another previous Blu-ray release on the 88 Films label. This is absolutely one of my favourites from this director, oozing the same visual style and atmosphere as his later film, Corpse Mania (1981), that followed a year later and stars two of it's main actors in Tanny Tien Ni and Wang Yong. If you're a fan of world cinema, you can see that Hex clearly borrowed the idea from the French classic, Diabolique (1955) but Kuei gives it enough of his own twist that it works. It tells the story of Yeung Chun Yu who has married the only surviving daughter of the once wealthy Chan family, but after her riches seemed to have dried up, he makes a point of making her life hell – even though she is already suffering from illness. After days of torment, a new housemaid arrives to help look after her and the house. But all is not as it seems and the torment continues. Madame Chan (Tanny Tien Ni) eventually dies, but not before learning that the pair have been working together to get rid of her. Thinking they have gotten away with it, the husband and the housemaid soon experience a week of ghostly vengeance that pushes them to the limit! What a film, and what a classic title from the extensive Shaw Brothers catalogue. While, once again, this Arrow release of the film presents a much more stunning restoration and a very welcome extra three minutes of footage, it lacks any bonus features at all – not even an audio commentary – whereas the original 88 Films release offers two decent (albeit cheap looking) Bey Logan featurettes and the original trailer. This is a damn shame considering Hex is one of my favourite titles in the collection, but I'd also loved to have heard the likes of James Mudge or otherwise share their thoughts on it. Still, it is vital considering what follows on the next disc...

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Kuei Chih Hung season continues on Disc Five with Hex Vs Witchcraft and Hex After Hex – two movies that really surprised me. This was for no other reason than the fact that they had nothing to do with the original. In fact, I'd go as far to say that Kuei Chih Hung went full Wong Jing in that he basically spoofed the very thing he perfected. Hex Vs Witchcraft is just that – a wonderful and often genuinely funny horror-spoof that really caught me off guard! Made the same year as Hex, the film stars James Yi as a desperate nobody who has lost everything to gambling. In trouble with gangsters, he tries repeatedly to kill himself but with no luck (I mean, it gets ridiculous in a fun way). Eventually, he finds a bag of gold and feels like his luck has changed, but the bag belonged to a young girl that had recently been kidnapped, raped and killed. It doesn't take long for her dad to find him and makes a deal that, if he marries his dead daughter to bring her peace in the afterlife, he can keep it. Thinking nothing of it, he agrees. But after the ghostly wedding, Yi still finds trouble around every corner and with his spirit wife possessing those nearby to keep him on his toes. Eventually though, he wins her over and, feeling sorry for his bad luck, helps him win big at a local casino! I'm really still trying to wrap my head around this one. While I did laugh many times and found it to be a very well made movie, I just didn't know where it was going. But that was down to my own expectations I guess. James Yi was a very weird choice as a leading man, but has been working in film since the late 1950s and actually does a great job as this unfortunate being. There's some fight action, some great stunts, but lots of crazy comedy – as well as some ghostly goings-on of course. Regardless, I enjoyed it although I can see that it won't be for everyone. The restoration looked fantastic and the only extra feature was a 40 second extract (in Mandarin) which has Yi delivering a voice-over in the middle of a suicide attempt. I liked how it was done, but it was hardly an exciting extra in the grand scheme of things. An audio commentary would have been better!

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And then there's Hex After Hex from 1982, another horror-comedy from this prolific director which has the best opening-credit sequence of all three films. Oddly, this is kind of connected to Hex Vs Witchcraft with a similar story that sees a man finds a bag of gold (complete with spiritual tablet) and the same old man appears to make the same deal. This time though, the man in question is Muscle – a stunt man from the Hong Kong film industry who happens to be the neighbour of James Yi's character from Hex Vs Witchcraft. We know this because he is played by kung fu legend Lo Meng, who cameos in the previous film as a neighbour. This time, the ghostly bride possesses another woman to seduce him and, as expected, all kinds of crazy kick off! Now, when I say all kinds of crazy – I actually couldn't be any more literal with that!! I'm beginning to think that Kuei Chih Hung has been criminally overlooked as a comedy director, because this movie (and the last) show a very competent director of the genre. From lampooning Shaw Brothers themselves to Lau Kar Leung, Peking Opera to Star Wars (1977) where Yoda appears very casually before Darth Vader enters the room with a light-saber to slice everyone's clothes off. In another scene, our hero must call upon the Monkey God to do battle with a copper statue of Thomas Jefferson that has come to life – and that's before it turns into a slot machine and dishes out the jackpot from it's mouth. Honestly, this film is just sheer and utter madness (but in a good way of course). Fellow Venom, Cho Ko, also makes an appearance as a drunk beggar, getting to bust some moves against Lo Meng in one of the few, but pretty exciting, fight scenes of the film. It really is a different kettle of fish to the other two movies, but if you go in knowing it has absolutely nothing to do with the classic original horror, you'll enjoy it even more. Hex After Hex is a very enjoyable and very well made movie – it's just a shame that it was void of an audio commentary of any bonus features like the rest.

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Disc Six gives us two exciting martial arts titles such as Bat Without Wings and Bloody Parrot, both of which are making their debut on Blu-ray in the UK via this set. The first, Bat Wiithout Wings, is a Chor Yuen picture from 1980 that has gained more notoriety due to the villain having his face painted just like Gene Simmons from the rock-band KISS. The wonderful Ku Feng plays this demon-like rapist of the martial world, although we soon learn he is only masquerading as so having locked the real 'Bat' up after he lost his memory during a fight in the past. Naturally, a small army of China's finest swordsmen are gathered to try and put a stop to his madness,but only two are left for the majority of the film after a deadly battle! While it carries elements of horror throughout it, Bat Without Wings is very much a wuxia thriller and brilliantly done as with most of his works, littered with dozens of characters and some exciting swordplay action courtesy of the great Tong Gai. I really enjoyed Bat Without Wings! From Ku Feng's wild performance as the titular Bat, to the creative set pieces and aforementioned fight scenes, there's definitely enough going on here to keep even the most hardened Shaw Brothers fan very happy. Aside from Ku Feng, the fantastic Derek Yee leads the way, with actors such as Ching Li, Wang Yong, Tang Ching, and Jason Pia Piao joining the cast. It was great to see a young Yuen Wah and Yuen Bun also show up throughout. Wonderfully shot with a great use of coloured lighting and smoke, as only Hong Kong cinema does best, the film is often atmospheric and colourful, coming across like a live-action comic book for the most part. Thankfully, this film does come with an audio commentary as a special feature – this time from the very informative Samm Deighan – who does her best to help you understand the typically complex character set-up of Chor Yuen's work.

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Joining that on the disc is Bloody Parrot – a first time watch for me, and actually a film I'm very excited to get back to watching once more. After a creative and fun animated opening credit sequence, the story tells of an expert swordsman that is accused of stealing some treasure that was meant for the Prince. This, in turn, creates havoc in the martial world. Both intrigued and attempting to clear his name, the swordsman starts to investigate the theft and quickly learns of the mystery of the supernatural 'Bloody Parrot'. While not uncommon for Shaw Brothers movies around this period, this 1981 production is indeed pretty different from the majority of them, blending horror and fantasy with hyper-kinetic swordplay action – and I loved it. Directed (once again) by Hua Shan, the same man behind Super Inframan (1975) and Billy Ching classics like Crystal Fist (1979), Sun Dragon (1979) and Kung Fu Zombie (1981), he would follow this up with the wild Portrait In Crystal (1983) also contained in this set. I also enjoyed how cinematographer Nico Wong captured it – the eye behind the lens of classics like the aforementioned Hua Shan titles, Five Element Ninjas (1982), Iron Angels 2 (1988), Look Out Officer! (1990), and Drunken Master 2 (1994). The fantastic, and criminally underrated kung fu star, Jason Pai Piao leads the way alongside names such as Lau Wing, Kwan Fung, Teresa Ha, Ku Kuan Chung, Chan Shen, and Yeung Ching Ching. The awesome fight scenes where handled by the 'Stick King' himself Hsu Hsia along with his brother Chui Fat and the great Yuen Tak – with both brothers playing small roles. Once again, the film comes with a stunning restoration and a pretty informative audio commentary by Samm Deighan.

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On Disc Seven we get two more very different titles to what we've already seen – The Fake Ghost Catchers and the utterly bonkers Demon Of The Lute! At a time when Sammo Hung's Encounters of a Spooky Kind (1980) and Yuen Woo Ping's Miracle Fighters (1982) where putting bums of seats for Golden Harvest, Shaw Brothers had to do what they could to keep up. Written by Wong Jing, The Fake Ghost Catchers was one such offering – an often funny and very entertaining kung fu-horror-comedy that tells the story of a young man (played by the energetic Hsiao Hou) who works as an aide for a fake Taoist priest. After convincing a friend to join him, they are asked to transport the soul of a young women, harassed in the afterlife, to her place of peace at her sisters in order to find justice against the man who killed her! From murderous bandits to Peking Opera, possession of bodies to gambling and more, The Fake Ghost Catchers isn't perfect, but still proves to be worth the watch. Next to Hsiao Hou we see Alexander Fu Sheng appear in a supporting role as an opera performer who gets possessed by the ghost lady, while his more handsome brother, Cheung Chin Pang, co-stars in what would have been only his second role. Lily Li, To Siu Ming, Lam Fai Wong, Shum Lo, and legendary bad guy Johnny Wang Lung Wei help flesh things out. The very awesome Lau Kar Wing directs, having just directed the Wong Jing scripted Treasure Hunters starring Fu Sheng, Cheung Chin Pang and Gordon Liu (as well as the man himself). Interestingly, the same year as this, he would also direct the horror-comedy Till Death Do We Scare starring Alan Tam and David Chiang. Lau doubles up duties as the fight choreographer, aided by King Lee and Yeung Sai Gwan who deliver some quality kung fu action in between the comedy and ghostly goings-on. Unfortunately with this one – no bonus features – but a very fun film all the same and it looks fantastic!

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Joining it on this discs is one of my favourite crazy movies, and that is Demon Of The Lute – a wild OTT martial arts-fantasy from 1983, and the directorial debut of the little known Tang Tak Cheung whose only other film as director was the brilliant, Long Road To Gallantry (1984). He's also the man behind the outrageous fight action! After we are treated to another fun set of animated opening credits complete with foot-tapping musical number, the following text on screen reads, 'a wuxia film dedicated to kids'. To be honest, if I had seen this as a kid, my mind would have been blown! It tells the tale of good versus evil, and how Flying Monkey must find the only weapon that can defeat the demon lute. Throw in a wild range of bizarre weapons, a very cute kung fu kid, a flying swordswoman, a drunken master, a demon whose arm can keep growing, and a red-haired demon whose hair becomes his weapon, and then some! If you are a fan of Buddha's Palm (1982), Holy Flame of the Martial World (1983) and Miracle Fighters (1982) then you'll really enjoy this – but take that inspiration and crank it up to eleven. It's hugely entertaining and plays like a live-action anime for the most part. I swear you'll never have seen anything quite like it, which is why it's definitely one of my favourites in this collection. It also helps that there's an awesome cast involved starting with Chin Siu Ho as Flying Monkey, Kara Hui as the Rainbow Sword, Philip Kwok as the beggar thief, and Kei Kong Hung as his super-cute kid. The great Jason Pai Piao stars as the titular Demon, while Kwan Fung, Yuen Tak, Lee Hoi Sang, and Wong Lik appear as some crazy characters – and the list goes on. As with the rest, the 2K restoration is just gorgeous and, thankfully, we get treated to an audio commentary as a bonus feature; this time from Frank Djeng.

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Disc Eight gives us Seeding of a Ghost and Portrait In Crystal, two productions that offer two very different experiences next to each other. Directed by Richard Yeung Kuen, who was also behind films such as Duel Of The 7 Tigers (1979), Read Lips (1980), Ghost's Lover (1987), and Moon Lee's Revenge Of Angel (1990), Seeding of a Ghost tells the tale of a taxi driver whose life takes a turn for the worst after he knocks down a voodoo priest. Cursed, his wife starts to cheat on him but is later raped and murdered by some thugs. In finding out about the curse, the distraught husband visits the black magician to plead with him to remove the hex and, in doing so, bring his wife back to life. Naturally, this comes with some major consequences! Also previously released by 88 Films, Seeding of a Ghost is an interesting piece. Wonderfully made and featuring some disturbing moments, the film was written by Lam Yi Hung – a Taiwanese director who had made his own fair share of ghostly horror. The brilliant Philip Ko Fei and Norman Tsui Siu Keung lead the way as husband and lover of the lady victim, Wai Ka Man, who actually played Ko Fei's girlfriend in The Boxer's Omen that same year. Popular Shaw Brothers bit-player Hung San Nam plays one of the rapists, alongside very handsome one-time actor Foo Ling Kei, who go on to suffer the wrath of a vengeful curse. Featuring strong performances from everyone involved, lots of sex, brutal fight action, black magic, undead gore, creative practical effects, and some genuinely eye-popping moments – such as the scene featuring anal rape with a giant matchstick and it's grand finale, Seeding of a Ghost is definitely one of the strongest horror titles of the collection. I must also mention just how beautifully shot and lit the film is for the most part, which was one of the highlights for me. Gorgeously restored, the film also comes with a fantastic audio commentary from James Mudge that makes for an interesting listen.

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Super Inframan (1975) and Bloody Parrot (1981) director Hua Shan returns with the bizarre Portrait In Crystal, the shortest movie in the collection and a pretty exciting one at that. Although an additional 10 minutes might have helped set-up a stronger introduction, the film evens-out after it's extremely fast beginning allowing for plenty of hyper-kinetic wuxia action, wild effects, gorgeous set pieces, and plenty of interesting characters. It's a very wild ride that feels like it came straight from the pages of a Jademan comic book, but I really enjoyed it! After spilling blood on a crystal carving of a beautiful woman, a swordsman sculptor much track down the deadly assassin he created who is causing havoc in the Underworld! This FX-filled wuxia-horror may seem a little chaotic to the untrained eye, but all flaws aside, it's actually one of the most creative and fun Shaw Brother's titles from this period – and that's saying something. Think Tony Lou's Lady Assassin meets Tsui Hark's Zu Warriors (which were also both from 1983) and you'll get a fair idea of what to expect. But it still has it's own uniqueness! The great Jason Pai Piao leads the way again, and does a fantastic job at the same time. He is joined by Chun Wong as his hilarious sidekick, Teng Wei Hao as Poison Yama, Hsiao Yu as Yama's son, and the lovely Lau Yuk Pok as Crystal. Popular bit-player and talented choreographer Tang Tak Cheung handles the awesome action-pieces – and yes, it is the same Tang Tak Cheung who directed Demon Of The Lute. Fans of The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974) will enjoy the antics of the Poison Clan, while others will have fun catching the music cues from My Lucky Stars (1985). Overall, a great first watch for me and one that I look forward to going back to for a full review. The restoration is just gorgeous but unfortunately, once again, it lacks any audio commentary or special features with it which is a shame.

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We now get to Disc Nine which, like Disc One, just carries a single film on there and collection of bonus features (thankfully). That film is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, another 1983 production that offers sci-fi, action, comedy, drama, romance and then some. Written by no less than 6 screenwriters and taking almost 2 years to complete, the film was directed by the great Alex Cheung. Oddly, this was his follow-up to the pretty dark Cops & Robbers (1979) and Man On The Brink (1981). Perhaps this is the kind of thing he needed after such serious projects as it lampoons Hollywood classics like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Star Wars (1977) and others, as well as Bruce Lee, Marilyn Monroe, and even Shaw Brothers themselves (once again). Comedy actor and Hex Versus Witchcraft (1980) star, James Yi, returns for more crazy antics with rising star Cherie Chung co-starring, David Lo, Tam Tin Nam, Leung Tin, and Fung Fung with cameos from many familiar faces including Tsui Hark. Tang Tak Cheung returns to choreograph the action, but it's all very tongue-in-cheek for the most part with the end fight scene proving to be one of my favourite James Yi moments and greatest Star Wars spoofs ever. Pure and utter lunacy maybe, but great fun and if you'd told me Wong Jing and Stephen Chow Sing Chi were behind it all I would have believed you! Aside from it's gorgeous 2K restoration, the disc also includes an insightful audio commentary from Frank Djeng. There's a great 34 minute interview with director Alex Cheung – a wonderful piece filmed especially for this release and well worth watching. Such a nice guy! Film scholar Victor Fan gives his thoughts on the film for a good 25 minutes and two versions of the theatrical trailer (available in Cantonese or Mandarin) finish it off. It's also worth noting that you can play the film in it's Cantonese or Mandarin version also, or the Cantonese version with an additional Mandarin scene that was initially cut...

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So that's pretty much it for the feature film content in this latest volume from Arrow Video – and what a visual adventure it was! As always, the menu art is taken from all contributors seen throughout the book from artists such as Ilan Sheady, Matt Frank, Chris Malbon and others. After watching though, I can understand that with the discs that house two full movies and audio commentaries on there, that adding more features to it may indeed lessen the quality of those features. However, releasing some without any commentary or bonus feature at all is a pretty poor move. That said, a number of bonus features for a lot of those films in question are compiled on the last disc – Disc Ten – which includes a host of video essays, appreciations, trailers and more. This is broken into four sections on the menu. The first is called Hong Kong: The Show of Mister Shaw, an archival French television report on Shaw Brothers from 1972. Presented in 4:3 black & white, although restored for this release, the 13 minute documentary gives us a great insight to the workings of the studio's Movie Town, some glimpses of it's young stars, and a look behind the scenes of Ho Meng Hua's Lady Hermit starring Cheng Pei Pei. Following that is The Movie Maniac: The Legacy of Ho Meng Hua, a brand new 14 minute video essay on the prolific director by Grady Hendrix – again, another well put together piece that covers some informative stuff and makes for a great extra. In the section called Critical Appreciations, we get just that; six in total such as Leon Hunt and Luke White on Super Inframan, Kim Newman on Super Inframan, Victor Fan on Battle Wizard and Demon of the Lute, Wayne Wong on Bat Without Wings, and Luke White on Demon of the Lute. All deliver interesting points and views in their own way, with each piece ranging from 12 minutes to 23 minutes approximately. And finally, there's the trailer gallery which offers a healthy 24 trailers and TV spots – mostly unrestored by in HD offering multiple versions in multiple languages, which make up for their lack off on many of the double-film discs.

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Unfortunately, as many have stated with disappointment, there's no additional soundtrack discs with this release, and while I feel this was a nice touch with the rest I can understand them swapping the music out for feature films. It's hardly a deal-breaker for me, and who knows, they might just have released all the library music they could by this point. Truth by told, and as much as it will pain many straight-forward kung fu and wuxia fans to know, the Shawscope Volume 4 is a wonderful addition to the collection offering sixteen wild and wonderful Shaw Brothers titles that definitely show the more creative and versatile side of the studio. While they are all horror, sci-fi, or fantasy themed films as such, a number of them do indeed feature some fantastic martial arts action and (as we all know) some of these where previously released by 88 Films, I still feel that the upgrades, such as the 2K restorations and longer running times, make their addition absolutely worth it. Not to mention the fact that, based on Arrow's current pricing of 120 pounds, that's just over 7 pounds for each restored movie. And aside from that, you're getting an additional 60 page jam-packed book and the housing for the discs featuring brand new artwork which is just stunning in itself. Overall, a must for any true Shaw Brothers fan and a set with plenty to love in my honest opinion!

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Shawscope Volume 4 is out now from Arrow Video and don't forget – if we don't support this one, we may not see the next...

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Support the site by getting your copy HERE

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Watch my full video breakdown HERE