BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

GL84 After a boxer is crippled in the ring, his brother seeks the party responsible which brings him into contact with a Thailand-based wizard attempting to conjure a spell that will grant him immortality and teams up with a good wizard trying to stop him in order to prevent his quest.Frankly, this is easily one of the finest examples of the genre around. One of the brightest spots of the film is the need to rely on a stylized series of over-the-top examples of black magic and sorcery. The film wastes no time at all detailing the kind of wild and extravagant sorcery-based tricks to be expected here, from casting spells that turns a person into a bat, reviving animal skeletons to be controlled hypnotically and utilizing hosts of creatures to do his bidding. The type of power evident here is readily apparent from the start, and this all happens within the first half-hour of the film so it only grows throughout the rest of the running time. A large part of this is due to just utterly disturbing and gross-out material as the idea of conjuring up spells that require people to spit up blood, piercing eyeballs with needles and finding mummified corpses sealed gigantic urns gives this a start to the sort of madness presented here is enough to settle on one of the most disgusting sequences ever featured. This is the celebrated reincarnation sequence wherein the dead wizard is brought back to life by his servants which has some of the most extreme visual gags ever and has plenty of staying power to this day as it mixes together every kind of gross activity imaginable as they raise their fallen leader. Beyond the gross-outs, the film works in other areas. The martial arts fighting is quite enjoyable, as the fight at the very beginning gives an idea of the brutality to be expected throughout here and a return battle is also rather brutal as it's mixed alongside the reanimation sequence which may or may not affect their brawl. Likewise, there's also an exceptional attention to detail about the different forms of sorcery here. There's obviously great care here to accomplish the transformation or spell-casting scenes with accuracy and detail, allowing for shining examples of both good and black magic. Examining the tribulations he goes through in order to be accepted into the monastery is a fine example, while the wizards' manipulation of various liquids and animal parts for his calculating spells gives this a great contrast. Even better are the massively entertaining and enjoyable battles the two endure, from animating bats and crocodile heads to relying on conjuring protective fields of self-defense, the battle soon degenerates into a duel with a floating head and using the dangling veins beneath it. The final battle that takes place inside the temple is where this one really picks up by offering a slew of impressive scenes utilizing the guardian statues to attack him before the demon wizard arrives and starts attacking which results in the resurrection of the monks' spirit from the main statue. This whole sequence is a well-spring of creative and visual imagination that offers a rousing fantasy-driven conclusion. There's plenty of stellar special effects courtesy of throughout the sequence, and the range of styles makes for an exceptionally fun viewing.Rated Unrated/NC-17: Extreme Graphic Violence, Full Nudity, Language and disturbing visuals of animal violence.

BA_Harrison I reckon that if I were to ever try and compile a Top Ten list of the craziest Hong Kong films ever made, it's almost a dead cert that The Boxer's Omen would be in there somewhere: the film is bats••t bonkers from start to finish. I doubt that a mere written description of the weirdness on display could ever do the film justice, but here's my best shot....Chan Hung is a Hong Kong boxer who travels to Thailand to avenge his brother, who was crippled in a fight with unscrupulous opponent Mr. Bu-bo (played by martial arts movie legend Bolo Yeung, who rarely fights fair in his films). After agreeing to a boxing match against Bu-bo in three months time, Chan visits a Buddhist temple where he is drawn into a battle with an evil wizard who has used his dark powers to prevent the local abbot from achieving immortality.The supernatural skirmish that ensues sees the wicked magician using some bizarre techniques to try and gain the upper hand against Chan, including summoning killer bats from the eye sockets of crocodile skulls (which also come alive), using rat blood to bring a skeletal bat back to life, cutting off a chicken's head to perform a spell, conjuring up a flying alien head from a gloopy mess of puke, and ultimately removing his own noggin from his shoulders to launch a last-ditch attack. It's all for nowt, though, 'cos the wizard loses the fight when sunlight makes his head dissolve.After all of that, the film gets REALLY strange.A triumphant Chan arrives home to find his girlfriend in the shower and joins her for some soapy fun; unfortunately, this spot of impromptu sex saps him of his powers, which isn't great news for the guy when three more evil wizards start to cause him trouble. They use a dead crocodile to give birth to a naked witch that blinds Chan during his bout with Bu-bo and who attacks him while he is in Nepal trying to find a relic that can end the evil once and for all. There's also something about an extract from a 1000 year-old fungus smeared with honey that can make him invincible. Oh, and the witch has her skin pulled off by a dead lama and gives birth to the three wizards (wrapped in cellophane?!?!) who then sacrifice themselves to create an army of miniature one-eyed dinosaurs with crazy hair (I'm sure I've missed a lot of other equally insane stuff out, but that should be more than enough to give you an idea of just how bizarre the film is).The special effects used to realise all of this are undeniably cheap and unconvincing, but their shonkiness only adds to the fun. I rate The Boxer's Omen 8/10 purely for being such a relentlessly absurd—and, as a result, hugely entertaining—piece of Asian excess.

John Mitchell This one's definitely one to see, just to say you've seen it. That's not to say you won't get something out of it, but it's weird… it's tremendously weird! It starts off predictably enough, with a revenge flick set-up, but soon goes off on superbly bizarre tangents involving flying heads, automaton Buddhas and tons of maggots and oodles of vomit. It seems that anything to do with magic also involves maggots and vomit.A word of warning to people - like me - who like to try to psycho-analyse weird films, books etc.; don't try. Your head will hurt. The best thing to do when watching this, is just to let it wash over you.

centurymantra-2 As if Jodorowsky met Coffin Joe in Hong Kong and decided to collaborate on a supernatural martial-arts action film. Filled to the brim with visual overload, mystical drama, Buddhist symoblism and dark supernatural atmosphere, this film follows the life of a boxer embroiled in a vengeful feud sparked by the brutal, nearly fatal beating of his brother in a sparring match. He is overwhelmed one night by a vision, an omen as it were, which ultimately leads him towards the realization of his own destiny that takes him along a path of spirituality and a quest for the power and inner peace that may free his lineage from an ages old curse. This scenario is used as a launching point for what is surely one of the most bizarre, chaotic & excessive Hong Kong flicks ever made. Most of the movies effects are obviously low budget but the rather excellent filmwork and audaciously gonzo, over-the-top nature of the imagery far than makes up for any budgetary restrictions. The indelibly weird vibe that permeates the film is, in fact, partially due to it's low-fidelity nature. Those familiar with the "Chinese Ghost Story" and similar fare will be familiar with the themes conjured up by these supernatural Hong Kong action flicks and may know what to expect. But those who are not should get ready for a pretty wild trip down a road full of wild twists of logic that lead through glowing supernatural vistas, magical terrorist attacks, flying eyeball creatures, and wild clashes with demonic entities and manifestations of all sorts. A crazy little nugget of a film that could even be an accidental masterpiece. At the very least, a unique cinematic experience that's probably like nothing else you've ever seen. Virtually impossible to track down and not, as far as I know, offically available. In spite of this, fans of offbeat & mondo cinema should do whatever they can to track this gem down.