Magic of Spell
Directed by Chung Wu Ching
Year: 1986
Part kiddie kung fu film and part acid trip, Magic
of Spell has gained a small cult status over the years even though no version
was around with English sub-titles, but that has finally been remedied with
this release from Joy Sales. Full of high voltage energy, bizarre fantasy,
high flying stunts, cheesy special effects and dollops of silliness it is
colorful fun for children and adults alike. It stars the diminutive dynamo
Lin Hsiao Lan as Peach Boy – a period superhero of sorts based apparently
on a Japanese folk tale called “Momotaro, The Peach Boy” (info from a Brian
Camp review on IMDB). Because Lin only seems to have appeared in a handful
of “B” Taiwanese films, she is one of the lesser known female action stars
from this period, but for those who have seen her in films like Kung Fu Wonder
Child, Magic Warriors or Heroic Fight she is certainly one of the most acrobatic
and impressive to watch. Her athleticism is on full view here and as goofy
as much of the action is in this film, the choreography and wire work is
first class and always frantic.
The people in the small village where he lives love Peach Boy – he stays
with his widowed mother (a nearly unrecognizable Cheng Pei-pei in old age
makeup) and is a super hero do-gooder saving animals and drowning kids on
a daily basis. On the other hand, a motley group of wizards and demons who
simply call their organization Evil have it in for Peach Boy due to an earlier
encounter that left many of them dead. The Elder of the group resembles a
rotting tangerine and is in dire need of regeneration. The recipe for this
is a thousand year old ginseng and that old standby, the blood of virgins.
In this case the blood of prepubescent boys from the village that he needs
to bathe in. There is perhaps something of a weird winking gay/pedophile
subtext running through the film – one of the wizards minces about and worries
about his well-coiffed hair and seemingly has forced sex with one of the
good guys in the midst of a battle – and the ginseng is also a young boy
that the Elder wants to devour. Even Peach Boy is something of a gender mystery
– played by a female but one has to wonder if in fact the character is a
girl pretending to be a boy after a bathing scene in which he is extremely
reluctant to be seen by a man. In the end Peach Boy has to swallow a male
to enhance his/her powers. Or maybe I am reading too much into all this!
After a few small action sequences, Peach Boy invades the hideout of the
Evils – a cave of sorts – and a rather marvelous lengthy fight ensues. Peach
Boy has been joined in his quest for vengeance by three friends – Dog Boy,
Chicken Boy and Monkey Boy - all with fine martial arts abilities. Lots of
bouncing off of walls, rock throwing, casting of spells, giant peach attacks,
marathon kicks, sword fighting and so forth ensues for the entertainment
of all. Though the good guys win to no one’s surprise, there are a few Bambi
moments in the film that may sadden the hearts of the sentimental out there.
The VCD is quite decent for a VCD – good colors, widescreen and o.k. subtitles.
My rating for this film: 6.5