The Demon's Baby (1998)

Director: Kant Leung Wang Fat

Producer: Wong Jing

Cast: Cheung Gam Ching, Annie Wu, Elvis Tsui Kam Kong, Lee Siu Kei, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Wong Ban, Lam Yuk Ji

Running Time: 85 min.

Plot: At the end of the Ching Dynasty, Tycoon General Hsu steals an ancient tomb; He mistakenly takes some artifacts back to his palace of worship. Initially nothing happens, until all hell breaks loose in the form of possession and even cannibalism.

GWAILO'S REVIEW: The scene is Ching Dynasty. An ancient Chinese curse spawns superstition of a demon that haunts pregnant women and their unborn. This curse will affect five unborn children. If these "5 evil babies" are born, they will bring about world destruction. A lone, brave monk intercepts these spirits and banishes them inside vases, guarded by a golden Buddha statue. Chinese lore dictates that if these spirits escape, they will not fail again. All this info in the first 45 seconds of the film! Chinese superstitions rule!

Cut to centuries later. On an expedition by the Chinese Army, led by General Hsu (Tsui Kam-kong), they unknowingly unearth these spirits mistaking their dwellings as lost treasure. Well, as the laws of 'finder's keeper's' dictates, the general brings them back home and their presence graces his nuptials to his 4th concubine. The staff at Chez Hsu includes Day Six (Emotion Cheung), a cook, and Little Fish (Annie Wu), a servant girl. Day Six and Little Fish 'fever' for each other and a romance buds. Horny General Hsu would also like to add Little Fish to his diet and make her concubine numero 5. The rest of his harem realize this and, jealous, they set her up, eventually leading to her being booted from the compound. Now with that distraction out of the way, it's Hsu for everyone.

The good general runs himself ragged around the joint giving all of his concubines donkey rides. Of course, for story purposes, they all end up with child. Hmmmm. Where is this leading? I hate complicated plots! After Hsu's wild night of procreation, the demon spirits awake. we know this because the camera illicits dutch angles and shakes profusely. Outside the compound, Little Fish has taken up with Day Six's family. After sneaking some food for her from the generals kitchen, Day Six stops by to see her. With evil spirits possessing him, his visit turns into a booty call. After their moment of romance, the fifth seed is now planted and the fun begins.

The seedlings incubation time is insanely brief and the swelling mother's stomachs split down center, revealing cheesy special effect baby fetuses. The baby's look a bit like that 'Ghoulie' who popped out of the toilet. Remember that? These oozing, jagged tooth orifices begin to munch on any and everything in sight, even humans. The compounds numbers dwindle, including Hsu, who bites it in a cool scene where one of his lovers savage stomach leaves him with just a skull atop his shoulders. Day Six calls upon a priest, played by Anthony Wong , for help. Wong plays Ching Hoi, "a descendant of the Esoteric Buddhism School!". Can the three get to Little Fish before it's too late?

As garbage-like as it sounds, TDB is actually quite fun. It's filled with those cool period horror film cliches-spell sqwaking taoist priests, hoping corpses, and weird ancient lore. The entire production is giggle inducing and it's cheap, camp attributes make it worth the watch. Kant Leung Wang-fat, who directed everyone's favorite, Legendary Tai Fei, actually makes good use of his low budget. I'm sure the film's success also has something to do with producer Wong Jing's stamp of approval. Also helping the production along are low budget stock company, Tsui Kam-kong, Anthony Wong, and Emotion Cheung('Sushi Boy' from Bio Zombie). Anyone else think Emotion's bulging eyeballs and chubby cheeks make him look like that alien from 'Mac and Me'?

GWAILO'S RATING: 6/10