Review of Evil Cult, The

Introduction

"don`t press my head with your ass"

Indeed! We are in the realm of bad Hong Kong movie translations. Now, at their best (or worst), and with the right environment (a couple of mates, some beer and a few pizzas), bad Hong Kong movies can be very entertaining. Now, I didn`t watch this in the correct environment, but I suspect that The Evil Cult, while bad, isn`t bad enough to be good. If you see what I mean.

And, if you thought that was confusing, wait until you hear the plot.

In ancient China, two factions compete for possession of two golden swords. A man from the "good" cult marries the daughter of a leader in the "evil" cult (King of Gold Lion). This obviously causes some unpleasantness. Our couple have a son. During a fight, the son get nobbled by the Jinx Palm which prevents him from learning Kung Fu. In the aftermath of this squabble, his father and mother kill themselves and the son (Mo-kei, but strangely called Zhang on the cover) swears revenge. Which is going to be a bit difficult because of the Jinx Palm.

After some serious weirdness involving a "cooking monk", a pretty girl and a large rock, he is cured, learns to fight, and the revenge begins in earnest.

Video

"we are from decent schools, we can`t be cowards"

First the good news, the disc is Anamorphic despite what it says on the cover. However, that is where the good news ends.

Colours seem to be poorly reproduced - saturation is poor. The image is riddled with sparkles, specks of dust and lines.

Subtitles contrast poorly with the background and are often unreadable. Which is a shame given that this is where most of the entertainment lies.

The special effects are, quite frankly, crap. Wires are visible, severed limbs are obviously papier mache and any explosions are damp squibs.

Audio

"how dare you seduce man in such critical moment?"

The sound is OK. The soundtrack is Chinese DD 2.0 stereo and is adequate. The music is pretty naff, though.

Features

"old duffer, step aside if you fear death"

There is a minimilistic selection of extras. You have static menus, a Theatrical Trailer (which is comically in English) and some Cast & Crew Information. You also get a selection of stills, some of which are of a reasonable quality.

Conclusion

"it`s all right if you don`t suck, but you shouldn`t kick me"

Chanches are the only reason you would buy this DVD is if you are a fan of Jet Li (after Lethal Weapon 4 or Romeo Must Die) or if you really love HK flicks. In either case you will probably be disappointed.

Jet Li doesn`t seem on form; his fights are lacklustre. The plot is confusing and the effects and acting (Samo Hung does OK though) are poor.

You get some kicking and swordplay, a few pretty girls and some hilarious subtitles but I don`t think it is worth the price of admission. For Jet Li and HK completists only.