The Phantom Killer
Director: Stanley Fung
Year: 1981
Rating: 5.5
This is a fairly obscure film from Golden Harvest that has much more of a
70's vibe than a 1980 film. By 1980 GH was the premier studio in Hong Kong
with the Shaw Brothers beginning to lag behind a bit. With Sammo, Jackie,
Yuen Biao, the Hui Brothers, Patrick Tam and others they were infusing HK
films with new blood and new energy. This film is scattershot fun at times
but doesn't bring anything new to the party. It is a period murder mystery
with a slab of kung-fu and some kung-fu comedy, but it never takes off and
just clunks along. A better plot than the execution. That may be because
of the director - Stanley Fung who became a very well-known actor in the
GH comedies of the 1980s but had only directed one film prior to this and
only a few after it. Billy Chan performs the choreography duties and the
action scenes are decent but there isn't much of it. There are also no stars
in the film though it has a few decent martial artists - Wai Pak, Chung Fat,
Eddie Ko, Lee Hoi-sang and then there is the veteran from tons of Shaw films,
Tien Feng - but with no star power I expect this disappeared quickly from
the theaters.
Siu Fong (Wai Pak) is the man. Wherever he goes the women chase after him
and try to bed him. He is a handsome fellow but has the charisma of a blank
page in a notebook. Rumor is he is coming back to a town where a few months
before he rid them of a gang of thieves. The women are all putting on their
make-up and their clean underwear in anticipation of his arrival. So is Kam
Tin-bar (Lee Hoi-sang) the leader of that gang and he wants revenge. As Siu
comes into town he hears a woman yelling for help and he rushes to her rescue
only to find out she wants rescuing between the sheets. He doesn't play that
game though because he is in love with Sin-sin (Lee Yuen-wa) and with a name
like that who can blame him.
But as soon as he leaves the bedroom the woman is murdered by someone with
what looks to be a lampshade covering their head. The killer leaves behind
a small skull and bite marks on her neck. Turns out she is victim number
eight and all of them were murdered soon after being visited by Siu. Suspicious
that. And the town's policeman played by Eddie Ko puts him in the suspect
box. Next the killer gets Madame Suet played by Siu Yam-yam aka Yum Yum Shaw
before she even takes her clothes off - unusual for Yum Yum who had shown
her finer points in many Shaw erotic films. Basically, the rest of the film
is Eddie Ko and Wai Pak running around trying to find out who the murderer
is and to protect Sin-sin and the daughter of Tien Feng. A couple good scenes
in there, a nasty kung-fu dwarf, a Red Skull like out of Captain America,
Chung Fat as an eccentric with good kung fu skills, a body inside a statue
and Kam showing up from time to time to kill Siu. A little bit of everything.
