88 Films UK Blu-ray Synopsis: Amidst a long-held rivalry between two distinguished gentlemen is an unbalanced and aggrieved craftsman of lanterns who seeks bloody retribution. Featuring the Shaw Brothers custom brand of martial arts mayhem, HUMAN LANTERNS also taps into the craze for the American slasher film and the earlier Hammer horrors by providing a grisly take on the serial killer feature in an inimitable Hong Kong style. (99 Mins)

 

Momentum Asia UK DVD Synopsis: It's Lantern Festival time and Lung Shuai is determined to beat Tan Fu in the competition. He recruits the help of retired swordsman and aged lantern maker Chao Chun Fang, unaware of Chao's ingenious manner of avenging old wrongs. Following the abduction of his wife, Lung is intrigued by the rumour that Chao's lanterns are made from the skin of his enemies' sisters, mistresses and... wives! This is it: one of the most talked about cult films ever made – a maniacal masterpiece of the macabre, the martial arts, and the just plain weird. Insanely conceived, beautifully filmed, unashamedly performed, it must be seen not to be believed or forgotten! (94 Mins)

 

Views: This early 80s Shaw Brothers flick tells the tale of two old rivals, Lung and Fu, who have hated each other for a long time over the smallest of achievements. Both are successful and powerful men-about-town who are always out to do better than the other – no matter what it involves. But in taking one of these games a little too far, Fu hires out Lung's favourite hooker which angers him to no end and forces Lung to pull-off a stunt which should humiliate his old rival. With plans to produce a large number of large lanterns at the New Year Festival, Lung seeks help from an old foe called Chun, an eccentric lantern maker who secretly uses women's skin for his work. After he agrees to help, Chun sets out to find some fresh victims for his new project – dressed as a terrifying monster who kills anyone who gets in his way!

 

The wonderful Lo Lieh gives a top performance as the psychotic Chao Chun Fang, the lantern maker who dresses in animal furs and a make-shift skull mask to hunt his victims – kind of like a demon-monkey complete with a mean pair of sharp claws. At this stage of his career, Lieh had been in the business for almost 2 decades and had already starred in well over 150 titles – many of which were for the Shaw Brothers themselves. 1982 proved to be a busy enough year for the star, with 10 productions on the go including Kung Fu From Beyond The Grave, Buddha's Palm, Spirit Of The Sword, and Who Is The Killer – an action thriller he co-directed with the equally brilliant Chen Kuan Tai; one of his co-stars in Human Lanterns. It was only a decade before when Chen had made a name for himself as Ma Yung Chen in the hugely enjoyable Boxer From Shantung. Flitting between the Shaw Brothers studio and many independent productions, the star would appear in a host of classic titles as well as doubling-up for a small number of them as the director such as Iron Monkey and Big Boss Of Shanghai. Much like Lieh, 1982 would prove to be a busy year for Chen with no less than 13 films on the go such as Blood Brothers, The Tycoon, Dirty Trick, Seven Knights, and Don't Love Any Stranger – a film that would be cut-and-paste into Godfrey Ho's Mission Thunderbolt just a year later, for IFD Films. In Human Lanterns, Chen plays Master Tan Fu going on to face-off against the popular Lau Wing, who plays his rival named Lung. Wing, also known as Tony Liu and Anthony Lau, made his film debut in the fun Golden Harvest flick The Comet Strikes before making a name for himself alongside Bruce Lee in The Big Boss, Fist Of Fury, Way Of The Dragon, and even Enter The Dragon. Although he stuck with Golden Harvest for a number of years, Liu eventually shifted over to the Shaw Brothers studio where he would appear in a number of classic titles such as The Dragon Missile, Shaolin Temple, Clan Of Amazons, Legend Of The Bat, and more – many of which were alongside his aforementioned co-stars. Lau does a great job as Lung and holds his own against the studio powerhouses of Chen and Lieh. The trio are joined by two of the popular Venom crew in the shape of super-kicker Sun Chien and the wonderful Lo Meng who get to show their stuff with the former playing a law-man and Meng, a swordsman. The rest of the cast is filled out with a host of familiar faces including Wong Ching Ho, Shum Lo, Wong Siu Ming, and Shaw's ladies Tanny Tien Ni, Choh Seung Wan, Lam Sau Wan, and the great Teresa Ha Ping. A young Yuen Wah, Yuen Bun, and Lam Chi Tai also appear...

 

The action is handled by popular Shaw Brothers actor and choreographer Tong Kai (also listed as Tong Gaai and Tang Chia), a man who appeared in over 130 films, choreographed over 190, and directed 3 of his own for the studio such as Shaolin Prince, Shaolin Intruders, and the brilliant Opium And The Kung Fu Master with Ti Lung. He is joined by actor and choreographer Huang Pei Chih, who also plays a supporting role here as one of Master Tan's henchmen. Starting with the studio in the later mid-60s, Huang went onto star in over 150 films through to 1984 while working as an action-choreographer on over 80, returning briefly in the mid-90s for films such as Run & Kill, Brother Of Darkness, Red To Kill, and Ghost House – A True Story. For Human Lanterns, the pair create a host of exciting a fun fight scenes – many of which are packed with some fantastic weapons work – although there were a few questionable moments of wire-work that made me raise an eyebrow. Regardless, it most definitely works and shows the main stars of Human Lanterns in top form. The film is gorgeously captured by Cho On Sun, a cinematographer who debuted with Judgement Of An Assassin in 1977and ended his time with Yuen Cheung Yan's fun Kung Fu Vampire in '93. During his time in the industry, Cho lensed 25 films in total and many of which were for the Shaw Brothers studio including The Deadly Breaking Sword and What Price Honesty, as well as Lau Kar Leung's The Lady Is Boss, 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, and Martial Arts Of Shaolin – the third chapter of Jet Li's highly regarded Shaolin Temple series. Cho would stick with Leung for the excellent Tiger On The Beat before going on to capture the likes of Vampire Vs Vampire, Triad Story, Magic Cop, and Angel Force with Moon Lee.

 

As one of the co-writers alongside the ever-prolific Ni Kuang, Taiwanese director Sun Chung delivers a fantastic piece of entertainment that blends classic Shaw Brothers kung-fu action with atmospheric horror – clearly inspired by a host of late 70's US and Italian slasher flicks, albeit with a dash of classic Hammer horror. Although he had only just worked as the assistant director on Recalling My Dreams in 1967, Sun made his directorial debut the following year with Wild Girl, following up with Tops In Every Trade a couple of years later. But it would be 1972 that saw him secure a career changing gig with the Shaw Brothers, beginning with The Devil's Mirror. Over the years, Sun Chung would deliver a host of worthy titles for the studio including The Bloody Escape, The Drug Connection, Lady Exterminator, The Proud Youth, Avenging Eagle, The Kid With A Tattoo, Rendezvous With Death and so many more including Billy Chong's Fistful Of Talons, Chow Yun Fat's City War and Lau Ching Wan's Angel Hunter (which would also be his last as a director). Having enjoyed directing the fun Revenge Of The Corpse only a year before (which also starred Lo Lieh), Chung delivers one of his darkest and most exciting works with Human Lanterns that offers plenty of gore as well as one or two truly unsettling scenes!

 

Overall: Atmospheric, dark, and packed with some great fight scenes, Human Lanterns is a cult classic worthy of a watch!

 

88 Films Blu-ray Extras: Audio Commentary by Kenneth Brorsson & Phil Gillon, Interviews with Susan Shaw & Linda Chu, Lau Wing Featurette, Trailers

 

Momentum Asia DVD Extras: Trailer

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Watch my unboxing video of this 88 Films release HERE