“The Angry Guest” Chinese Theatrical Poster
AKA: Kung Fu Killers
Director: Chang Cheh
Cast: David Chiang, Ti Lung, Chang Cheh, Chan Sing, Yasuaki Kurata, Bolo Yeung, Cheng Lee, Woo Wai, Gam Kei Chu, Lee Pang-Fei, Yen Shi Kwan
Running Time: 93 min.
By Mighty Peking Man
Fan Ke (David Chiang) and Wenlie (Ti Lung) are back, and this time they’re up against a powerful Japanese crime syndicate (headed by director Chang Cheh, himself). Not only that, but Killer (Chan Sing), the head villain from “Duel of Fists,” has escaped prison and wants retribution. Killer’s revenge plot leads to Wenlie’s girlfriend’s kidnapping, and forces the two heroes to travel to Japan to set things straight and kick some ass.
Unlike “Duel of Fists,” this sequel doesn’t take itself seriously at all, which works great, considering its wacky content. Filled with non-stop action and far out situations, “The Angry Guest” feels more like a down ‘n dirty Golden Harvest exploitation flick (ie “Stoner”) than your average Chang Cheh joint. Complete with ultra-violence, cheesy gadgets, vehicle chases, cheap Bond-ish set designs, colorful villains (Bolo at his hippest), and a raunchy sex scene that titty-squeezers will get a kick out of, this movie will appeal to true fans of Chang Cheh at his playful best.
Though “The Angry Guest” succeeds where “Duel of Fists” didn’t, the film may have lost a point due to the bad presentation. The version I saw was PanMedia’s DVD release and even though it was in its original aspect ratio, the picture quality was like that of a VHS and its English-dubbing was awful (yet sometimes entertaining). Let’s face it, we’re all spoiled by Celestial’s line of remastered Shaw titles (well, most of them), so second rate quality really stands out. If it were the early 90’s, then my DVD virgin eyes would have thought differently.
Mighty Peking Man’s Ratin: 7/10
A total mess of a movie, that basically, killed whatever the first one built. Have they made this an independent story, it would be a blast. But being a sequel, it clearly was made to cash in the success on the first movie, and it didn’t worked well, as expected. It was supposed to have one last one, but they blewed the story so bad that it was scrapped. Still it’s a nice movie on it’s on right, it’s just Duel of Fists told a story with fights on it, and The Angry Guest is pure 70s entertainment without any hint of plot and continuity, except for the characters from the first movie returning. Pretend this is not a sequel, and have a blast with all of things, watching Chang Cheh on screen! Lmao And Kurata on his first Hong Kong Role, and a must see Bolo Yeung, man the 70s was a weird decade.
I wonder why Chang gave himself the role of the head of the Yakuza – he generally didn’t do acting. He’s quite a camp hoot, resembling Barry Humphries in Rocky Horror sequel Shock Treatment, and his teeth are truly shocking!