“Evil Hits Evil” Korean Theatrical Poster
Director: Lucifer Lai Wen-Hsiang
Cast: Kwan Yung-moon, Chan Sing, Robert Tai, Doris Lung, Alan Lau, Peng Kang, Yeung Hung, Cheung Ching Fung, Gam Wing Cheung, Kim Yu-Haeng
Running Time: 85 min.
By Paul Bramhall
If you’re going to watch a horror movie, then one which credits its director as Lucifer Lai Wen-Hsiang is as good a place to start as any. In what appears to be his first and last time in the director’s chair, Wen-Hsiang unleashed this Taiwanese and Korean co-production onto unsuspecting audiences in the wake of the kung fu horror genres revival in Hong Kong. Thanks largely to Sammo Hung’s productions such as Encounters of the Spooky Kind and The Dead and the Deadly (which was made the year prior), movies which feature as much Taoist magic as they did toe-to-toe showdowns had become a popular trend in the early 80’s. While Taiwanese and Korean productions of the same elk were always considered a tier below their Hong Kong counterparts, that certainly never made them any less fun.
Evil Hits Evil brings together an eclectic cast of talent. I’m not sure if there’s another movie out that that features the likes of Kwan Yung-moon, Chan Sing, Robert Tai, and Doris Lung all sharing the screen together, however Wen-Hsiang appears to have used his devilish ways to make it happen. What’s perhaps more surprising though, is that he decides for the majority of the runtime to keep it a straight faced horror movie, with very little kung fu action on display. While some would, understandably, cry foul at having such talents share the screen and not fully utilise their physicality, it’s certainly not the first instance of kung fu stars branching out into horror territory. Shaw Brothers stars Ti Lung and Lo Lieh famously paired up for Black Magic and its sequel, and Philip Ko found himself front and center of the madness that is The Boxer’s Omen, made the same year as Evil Hits Evil.
The plot opens with Kwan Yung-moon arriving home to find his parents murdered by a group of six assassins, which includes an axe wielding strongman with a mohawk, and a crossdresser. The assassins have been sent by a respected government official played by Chan Sing, who couldn’t tolerate Yung-moon’s lowly woodcutter harbouring a crush towards his daughter, played by Doris Lung. Yung-moon also ends up being beaten and left for dead, however once he dies his spirit is unable to rest and returns to seek vengeance, which he does via possessing the body of another woodcutter played by Alan Lau, a mainstay of many 70’s and 80’s Taiwanese movies.
All of this takes place in the opening few minutes, after which Lau becomes the plots main focus, with Yung-moon not appearing again until we get 50 minutes in. While fans of the Mad Korean will no doubt be disappointed by his prompt exit, his presence continues to be felt via Lau’s possessions, and when he does reappear it’s certainly worth it. As I mentioned, Wen-Hsiang chooses to focus on the horror element for most of the run-time, which actually serve to make Evil Hits Evil a refreshing piece of old-school Asian spookiness. Lau looks genuinely tormented whenever Yung-moon possesses his body, as he scratches his head wildly and the camera distorts the image onscreen. The fact that almost the whole movie takes place at night also adds to the supernatural atmosphere.
What’s perhaps most interesting though is the treatment of those spirits looking to seek vengeance. Essentially once Yung-moon returns as a spirit, he’s treated as much as a bad guy as Chan Sing’s murderous government official. As a spirit harassing the lives of the living, it quickly becomes apparent that he’ll do anything to ensure he gets revenge, and pays little regard to those that get in his way. As an innocent everyman that gets murdered, it’s an interesting tonal shift that suddenly sees him become a bad guy on equal footing with the character that had him murdered, and one that it appears as an audience we’re supposed to willingly accept. Such a turn in events is also likely the origin of the movies English title, Evil Hits Evil.
The arrival on the scene of a Taoist master, played with an energetic gusto by Robert Tai, leads to a series of Taoist rituals being conducted to try and remove Yung-moon’s spirit from Lau’s body, one which allows us the pleasure of briefly enjoying a Yung-moon vs. Tai face off. Unfortunately the introduction of a fake Taoist master trying to make a quick buck (think Richard Ng in Mr. Vampire Part 3), leads to a jarring comedic shift which threatens to derail the whole production. The scene involving the fake master and his assistant is overly long and a torturous affair to get through, but thankfully it doesn’t last, and the characters exit the movie as quickly as they entered it.
There are a couple of other comedic scenes thrown into mix, almost as if there was a comedy quota that had to be fulfilled, which stick out like a sore thumb amongst the darkness of the rest of the plot (both literally and figuratively). In one scene a pair of bandits attempt to mug a passer-by, one of them brandishing a pair of nunchucks, and the other tasked with keeping their pet Pug on a leash. Yes, before Pugs became the subject of countless Instagram accounts, one of them played a pet to a pair of bandits in a 1983 horror movie. The bandits ultimately end up being chased by a much bigger dog, which amusingly bites the arm of one of them. He then proceeds to try and get the dog to unlock its jaws by spinning in circles, but only ends up swinging it around by its teeth, like a canine version of an Olympic hammer throw. Dog lovers will likely not be impressed.
I would argue that these scenes could well have been filmed separately by Nam Gi-nam in Korea, who’s listed as the director on the Korean Movie Database. Gi-nam acted as a co-director on many Korean co-productions throughout his career, including the likes of New Fist of Fury, The Clones of Bruce Lee, and Ninja in the Dragons Den, so this kind of arrangement was certainly one that wouldn’t be new to him. The character that really steals the show could also be Korean, as frustratingly she’s not listed on any of the usual online movie databases. Later in the movie a female Taoist master shows up, dreadlocked, heavily tattooed, and wearing what can best be described as a fur leotard. Whoever she is, her character certainly leaves a lasting impression, especially in one particular scene in which she proceeds to do the splits while levitating above the ground.
It’s this mysterious female master who eventually coaxes Yung-moon to show himself, which leads to an entertaining showdown that involves him kicking someone’s head off (for the second time in his career, the first attempt belonging to Kung Fu Zombie), as well as witnessing him chewing the glass of a fluorescent light stick. Don’t ask how a fluorescent light stick ended up in a movie set during this era, but I have a feeling it was included for the simple reason to see Yung-moon eating it. During his martial arts demonstrations, Yung-moon would often smash a pair of fluorescent light sticks over his head, and then proceed to eat the glass of the smashed stubs like they were chicken legs. He wasn’t called the Mad Korean for nothing.
Yung-moon also gets to finally unleash some of his trademark kicks during the showdown, ensuring that those that have clocked in purely for his presence can leave feeling satisfied. Often in Evil Hits Evil though it’s the smaller details leave a lingering impression. The inclusion of a black crow, that follows Lau around whenever he’s possessed, pre-dates the same concept that was used in Brandon Lee’s fateful final movie by a whole decade, and who wouldn’t be entertained by watching steam come out of Robert Tai’s head? Throw in re-animated zombies, grizzly makeup transformations, and some worthy death scenes (the final scene with Yung-moon is a killer, pun intended), and while Evil Hits Evil is far from the best horror Asia has to offer, it’s still a whole lot of fun.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6.5/10
