Devil and Master
Director: Ma Tin
Year: 1991
Rating: 4.0
I had to shed
a tear for Wu Ma and Ku Feng for having to appear in this low budget Taiwanese
fantasy film. Two of the greats in Hong Kong film going back to the Shaw
Brothers and now in dreck like this. Oh well, a paycheck is a paycheck. At
least Wu Ma got to play a familiar role for him - that of a Taoist Priest
while poor Ku Feng as an Uncle, just stands around before he mercifully leaves
the film. There isn't much good to say about this but then a high percentage
of it is shot at night in the dark - either to hide how low-budget it is
or because that is when ghosts come out. In either case, the extensive wire
work is lost in the darkness. This may be the fault of the vcd I saw it on
of course. If this one gets a blue-ray treatment, I will eat my slippers.
There is apparently a Malaysian dvd for any interested souls out there. These
are the types of films that are slowly being lost as they become out of print
and no one can bother to make more.
Jay (Lau Siu-kwan) and the attractive Wendy
(Huang Nan-hsi) are out hiking looking for ancient artifacts. Jay makes this
look very authentic by every now and then using a brush to wipe dirt away.
They find a skull and a plate and take it back home. Setting the skull next
to his bed. Who wouldn't. The skull bites Wendy and the bit of blood brings
back the ghost - the lovely Joan (Lin Pei-un) - she announces to Jay that
she is a ghost to which he replies. "How can a ghost be so pretty". She is
able to possess the body of Wendy, but she isn't an evil ghost - only a trapped
one. She can't reincarnate because the Devil King has her under control and
has a few other female ghosts that are all kept in a multi-colored chamber.
The Devil King is played by Tu Kuei-hua, a name that may twinkle a bell for
the hard-core Girls with Guns enthusiasts. She was in a bunch of them though
in one of the lesser roles - Braveful Police, Big Circle Blues, Angel of
Vengeance and Pink Panther among others. She is a Taiwanese body builder.
Joan doesn't want to go back and Jay, Wendy
and their uncle Ku Feng send for a Taoist Priest to help. Enter Wu Ma and
his bag of Taoist tricks. The Devil King sends four of her ghost girls to
bring Joan back and it becomes an endless string of fights between them and
Joan and between them and Wu Ma. They are able to spit exploding balls. Finally,
the King Devil comes down and the big finale between her and Wu Ma.
Wu Ma must have been thinking I was in Mr. Vampire, Peking Opera Blues and
A Chinese Ghost Story and now this.
