Devil's Vendetta
Director:
Cheung Hoi-ching
Year: 1991
Rating: 6.0
Or Devil's Vindetta as the movie spells it.
This comedic supernatural film wanders around
like a drunken frat boy - sometimes very good and other times pretty awful.
My rating went up and down like a see-saw on cocaine as the film progressed.
It feels like a Lucky Stars film with the horny guys trying everything they
can to feel up, seduce or peep at girls. Except on this occasion, they are
all fairies with magical powers. If you think one of those Wuxia films with
multiple clans and characters and weapons can be confusing, this gives them
a run for the money. Loads of special effects that are clever and imaginative
and non-stop. It is kind of amazing really that for what is clearly a low-budget
fantasy film, they can just fill it to the top with supernatural wizardry.
Every scene is door to door special effects. This appears to be the directorial
debut for Cheung Hoi-ching and he only made two films after - The Sword Stained
with Royal Blood with Yuen Biao and something called Virtual Recall. They
throw everything into the soup - demons, hopping vampires, a giant cockroach
that turns into a beautiful woman, fairies, magical monks, horniness and
virginity.
Monks are chanting to keep a demon from
coming out into the world, but the head monk asks her if she promises not
to hurt anyone, he will give her his heart. Not as in love, but literally
his heart. She - called Twiggy (Mondi Yau Yuet-ching) - agrees and he digs
out his heart with a knife and tosses it to her. She laughs at him and calls
him a fool - now that is a broken heart - but some other force tells her
she better be good. She agrees. For now. But she grows a baby in a yellow
bubble and if she can merge with her daughter, she will be able to open the
door to hell. So, two female fairies - one older and one a small girl - beat
her to the punch and kidnap the baby and bring it up. But one small problem.
She has to get married when she grows up and lose her virginity before July
15th of her 18th birthday. Ghost Day. Well, by this time she is Vivian Chow
or Tracy, so this should not be a problem. The young girl has also grown
up and is Mandy played by Sharla Cheung Man. She is the head of a small group
of other female fairies with powers - all very cute.
But it is a problem. Her groom is also a
virgin and wants nothing to do with women or sex. Chun (Ngai Jan) runs out
the backdoor and into the woods where he finds Priest Yau (Stanley Fung)
hanging upside down from a tree and a giant cockroach is soon after both
of them. When it turns into a hot woman, Priest Yau wants to have sex with
it. Cockroach, woman, does it really matter. Chun is so impressed with Yau's
magical powers that he wants to become a fairy too. So he is sent to a group
of male fairies for training. Run by Billy Lau. And the film takes a near
fatal nose dive into cement. I find him so unfunny. So annoying. So painful
to watch.
And this goes on and on and I keep thinking
please bring back Sharla and Vivian - save me from this hokey horny comedy.
And they do. The main mission is to get Chun and Tracy together, put on some
Marvin Gaye music and let them get it on. Except they don't like each other.
And time is running out. Come on. To save the world. The final 30-minutes
is a blast of frantic activity as the demon returns to merge with her daughter
and a vampire is loose and Priest Yau just wants to get it on with Mandy
and Billy Lau wants to get it on with anybody. I am not sure where I got
the copy I watched it on - but it was taped from a TV station with the commercials
included - but that is what the fast forward button is for. When this is
good, it is great fun.
