The Seventh Curse (1986) User Reviews

Insane fantasy adventure from Hong Kong and by the madman who gave us Story of Ricky

[Bogey Man · 8/10 · 23 November 2002]

Hong Kong film maker Ngai Kai Lam (aka Laam Naai Choi aka Simon Nam) is one crazy fellow and I really admire his work. His filmography includes films like the truly over-the-top ultra violent hellhole prison spectacle STORY OF RICKY (1991), EROTIC GHOST STORY (1990) and THE PEACOCK KING (1989) to name just a few. His style is very hysterical and he easily belongs to the most interesting HK "genre directors" I know.

THE SEVENTH CURSE (1986) is a Hong Kong version of the traditional fantasy adventure films like Indiana Jones and Wisely films in Hong Kong (BURY ME HIGH and LEGEND OF WISELY.) CURSE stars Chow Yun-Fat (!) in a little role as Wisely who starts to help the hapless blood cursed protagonist Dr. Yuan played by the veteran Chin Siu Ho. He is a kung fu martial artist doctor who was cursed in Thailand as he visited it about a year ago. Now he's having some VERY severe symptoms of something very dangerous in his body: his body starts to "explode" in gory manner bit by bit and soon it turns out that the seventh "explosion" will be the deadly one. So he goes back to Thailand with an irritatingly curious and noisy reporter woman (Maggie Cheung) to search for the Worm tribe that cursed him. What follows is over-the-top continuous series of HK insanity in the gore, amazement, worms, black magic and so on departments! Definitely beware the blood curse while you visit Thailand next time!

The film is based on the original script by I Kuang who has written an incredible amount of HK films including some of the "dark horror" classics like BLACK MAGIC (1975) and BLACK MAGIC, PART II (1976) both directed by Hoh Mung Wa aka Ho Meng Hua. I Kuang also plays the little role of the narrator in the beginning of THE SEVENTH CURSE and he seems like a very nice guy. I'm pretty sure I Kuang has also written Yeung Kuen's incredible SEEDING OF A GHOST (1983) but I'm not 100% sure about this. Still SEEDING and CURSE have many things in common and have similar gross out moments and scenes of black magic carnage. SEEDING goes even farther in the dark horror department and that is also why it's so great film. CURSE has plenty of comical moments, too, and humor and also has some day time exteriors unlike SEEDING.

The film has one incredible scene after another. There is some martial arts and gunplay but what's the most memorable in this film is of course the black magic/voodoo related theme that is practised among the Worm tribe. This results of course some truly grossing gore scenes like human body turning into a bag full of living worms (very nasty!) as the hapless victim rips his own flesh off while worms come out everywhere. No need to say but if you fear of slithery creatures and worms, do not try to watch this motion picture; otherwise you'll have nightmares for the rest of your life. The alien creature (called "little ghost") the head villain/sorcerer uses is also a jaw dropping thing and very lethal. It goes inside the victim and then explodes through its stomach in the tradition of ALIEN (1979). There's also buckets of blood in various other scenes that will make the film too much for some. SEEDING OF A GHOST has some ultra fierce gore geysirs and scenes of carnage from the beyond and CURSE comes close to that occasionally but still never quite reaches the same level, and maybe it's because CURSE is produced by the "businessman film maker" Wong Jing who probably thought the film would have been too much for audiences if it was too dark and explicit and thus wouldn't make enough money. Even now the film is way beyond what Hollywood would ever dare to even think about.

The atmosphere and cinematography is also very great in the film and so the effects add to the real atmopshere and horror elements of the film. The scenes in the jungle are almost gorgeous in their lightning and menacing mist coming through and between the trees and rocks. Also the cheap but impressive effects used in the worm tribe scenes are fine and never dull. Also the finale battle between the sorcerer and the "little ghost" is again something outrageous.

Perhaps only thing that is an obvious negative point in the film is Maggie Cheung's character which is way too noisy and stupid in the film. But then again it is nice and interesting to see her in a film like this! Also a film that includes a bazooka wielding Chow Yun-Fat in its climax can't really be without its merits, I think. Overall, THE SEVENTH CURSE was more than I had expected and naturally it makes me even more interested in the work of Ngai Kai Lam. This film is among the things that make Hong Kong cinema so unique and special and also among the reasons that make me use word "insane" so often depicting these films, because they are, but in a very positive and innovative way! 8/10

Brilliantly silly Hong Kong action/adventure/horror.

[BA_Harrison · 8/10 · 12 June 2007]

Loaded with dazzling kung fu, silly monsters, stunts, and cheesy gore, and even managing to throw in the occasional naked oriental chick, The Seventh Curse is sheer entertainment from start to finish.

Chin Siu Ho plays Yuan Chen, a brave adventurer who rescues a beautiful Thai woman about to be sacrificed by the evil (and squeaky voiced) Aquala (played by Cat III fave, Elvis Tsui), leader of a bloodthirsty 'worm tribe'. Unfortunately, as a result of his bravery, he becomes the victim of a curse, which causes a series of arteries to burst from his body. With the seventh 'burst', he will die. However, this fate is postponed (for one year) by Betsy, the woman he has saved (who feeds him part of her breast!).

When, 12 months later, the curse inevitably kicks back in, Yuan Chen must once again head to the jungles of Thailand in search of the cure for his predicament: magical grains of ash from the eyes of a giant statue of Buddha. Unfortunately, this statue is smack bang in the middle of 'worm tribe' country!

Helping Yuan in his quest is a spunky reporter (a young Maggie Cheung), a Thai warrior (Dick Wei), and an expert in witchcraft (Chow Yun Fat). And he needs all the help he can get, since he not only has to battle the 'worm tribe' and its leader, but also a gang of kung fu monks, blood ghosts (vicious little buggers created from the blood of 100 children), and 'old ancestor', a skeletal zombie that can morph into a bat winged monster.

The fight scenes are fast, furious and typically 80s in style (meaning that quite a few people crash through glass); the gore is frequent, OTT and very messy; and the monsters are cheap and cheerful rubber creations that are impossible not to find entertaining—meaning that The Seventh Curse is an unmissable treat for any fan of weird Asian cinema.

Madcap slice of Hong Kong action/horror

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 22 June 2016]

THE SEVENTH CURSE is an unusual little film from Hong Kong, set in Thailand for the most part and featuring plenty of action and very little plot. It's a dark horror/fantasy that has its basis in the queasy Hong Kong horrors like BLACK MAGIC and HEX, as the central character discovers that he's been put under a 'blood spell' which spells imminent death unless he can kill the evil wizard who put him under it.

This is the most popular of the Chinese film series featuring the character of 'Wisely', a pipe-smoking professor who fights evil in his spare time. Chow Yun-Fat essays the role here, but as this was before he really hit the big time, he doesn't have a great deal of screen time, although he does make the most of when he appears and that bit at the climax is a hoot.

Chin Siu-Ho is a rather stolid lead, and the storyline gets saddled with an ultra-irritating Maggie Cheung as a reporter who tags along for the ride. But the supporting cast is much better: Joyce Godenzi (EASTERN CONDORS) shows up alongside Sibelle Hu, Kara Hui, Yasuaki Kurata, and best of all one of my favourite Hong Kong stars, Dick Wei, who ISN'T cast as the bad guy for a change! Seeing Wei rip up the screen on the side of good is a real treat, and makes this a film impossible to dislike.

Elsewhere, THE SEVENTH CURSE is a film fuelled by effects-enhanced mayhem, featuring all manner of bizarre creations. There's the usual army of black-clad cult members, some acrobatic Buddhist monks, a couple of living skeleton monsters, and creatures that look like the alien from ALIEN in both baby and adult form. The effects are rubbery but fun, and there's plenty of artery-spraying gore for the horror fans to enjoy. Alongside ALIEN, a big inspiration here seems to be RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, as THE SEVENTH CURSE has the same kind of madcap, action-heavy exotic adventure. It may not be high art, but it is a lot of fun.

Hongkong Fantasy at it's best

[Frenzy-9 · 6/10 · 25 July 1999]

The Seventh Curse (German title) can easily be the Hongkong Version of Indiana Jones.That means more crazy fun and splatter. Have you ever seen a blood-sucking monster embryo fighting against an other old monster?If not, than take a look!

Only suitable for people with an IQ over 160!

[DJ Inferno · 14 September 2001]

This Eastern movie has it all: Indiana Jones-like action, martial arts-performances, naked chicks, splatter, gore and monsters which look like if they were taken from an old Godzilla-movie. Don´t take this flick too serious in any way, folks! It´s the purest stupidity but great fun to watch! John Woo-star Chow Yun Fat is in, but his role is small and not very important for the film. Just another movie to laugh your head off! Highly recommended for your next trash video party!!!

Insanely messy!

[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 21 June 2005]

The slick Dr Yuan who' s searching for an Aids cure stumbles across a sacrificial ceremony to an ancestral god in the jungles of Thailand. So he risks his life to rescue Bachu and because of that he receives a blood curse from the evil sorcerer. For about a year or so the curse was halted, but now it's starting to affect him again. Pockets of blood burst from his veins and the seventh time it happens will kill him, so he must venture back to rid this curse that could kill him in a couple of days.

Honk Kong's take on an Indiana Jones film you could say, is rather over-the-top nonsense and incredibly comical. It fascinatingly dives into action-horror-adventure-fantasy mode, but there's no real substance behind it and cohesion. Though, saying that this mixed hybrid does equal a lot fun with it dabbling in black magic, martial arts, shootouts, sacrifices, gore, nudity and broad comedy. So basically this extravaganza is high on energy with its lively action set pieces and strong violence that overshadows the illogical and ludicrous plot that has some scenes which are totally unbelievable to comprehend. The way it starts out you may think it's just another normal action/martial arts film, but then you'll see how offbeat this adventure really is.

Low-budget special effects fill the screen, which are fairly shoddy (walking skeleton, which are a bizarre sight) or there are some decent and memorable creations. Such as the little demon imp that looks pretty horrendous and that goes for the attitude too. The transformation scene of the ancestral demon, which kinda resembled that of the monster in "Alien", is pretty well arranged and it looks fairly good. The score was fairly forceful and energetic, but sometimes it got too sappy. Jumpy camera-work went hand-to-hand with the frantic pace. The performances were all over the place and some just got on my nerves. Chow Yen-Fat has only has a small role, but he makes the most of it. The dialogue is incredibly stilted tripe, but hey it goes with this camp and the humour on show was slapstick and rather juvenile. Well-staged and creative deaths are achieved to great impact. Graphic face peeling and bubbling, kids getting crushed, ripping body parts and body spilling out maggots are just some of those. The backdrop made great use of the dense jungle setting and that of the ruins and temple; especially the massive Budda set-up. We're also given a graphic climax with an abundance of guts and flesh and a big body explosion to end it. There's even room for a moral to end the story with and it's delivered in a rather cheesy way.

It's nothing else more than exploitation/supernatural/action galore with tremendously high-spirited stunts (when they go flying by force they really fly across the screen) and buckets of blood.

Stupid...But entertaining!

[plaznihqyllnikaaf · 8/10 · 29 August 2001]

This could be discribed as a splatter version of Indiana Jones. Throw in some martial art scenes, stupid looking monsters and a dull Chow-fat, and The Seventh Curse is what you get! It's stupid and badly acted, but the entertainment value is huge. This is what entertainment is all about...

fun black magic Hong Kong movie

[phanthinga · 7/10 · 10 February 2017]

Most of my life grew up watching Hong Kong movie,they really know how to mix martial arts with other genre like comedy,horror that gave us many classics movie like:Mr Vampire,A Chinese Ghost Story..... the list go on and went i found out the director of Riki Oh(probably the most goriest and crazies kung fu movie ever) Ngai Choi Lam has made a horror comedy before that called:The Seventh Curse with Chow Yun Fat( my personal favorite Hong Kong actor ever) so i really excited to check it out and I'm kinda disappointed right now.Don't get the wrong idea i still appreciated for what it is: a dumb,silly over the top black magic movie mix with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom plus a ton of gore, kung fu fight scene featuring fake monks and a funny plastic skeleton called Old Ancestor soon later turned into a ridiculous winged monster(that totally look like a man in suit) fighting a small baby looking monster.If they keep the level of bizarre like this i would not having any problem but the things is the whole movie feel so rush and fast pacing that some scene in the movie just magically end without any explanation which make me very upset because i thought i was watching the cut version of the movie so i check the IMDb and found out it actually the run time of the movie: 1h 18min can your guys believe it ?

Excellent mayhem, Hong Kong style

[dworldeater · 8/10 · 18 November 2018]

The Seventh Curse is an effective and off the wall action/horror hybrid made in Hong Kong. This is for the most part set in Thailand where our lead Chin Sui Ho gets into trouble by trying to save a local girl from being sacrificed. They get caught and he must return to Thailand again to do battle with evil priest(played by Elvis Tsui) to rid himself of The Seventh Curse so he dosen't die. This is heavily driven by action and kung fu , which was choreographed well and looks great. Plus add some of the cheesiest looking monster f/x on celluloid, lots of nudity and gore, an early performance from Maggie Chung as a reporter and a short but memorable appearance from Chow Yun Fat who joins the party smoking a pipe and wielding a bazooka. Overall, The Seventh Curse is a very entertaining flick where all of its excesses work in its favor and for this, I am all in. Great movie!

watch with some sake

[movieman_kev · 7/10 · 28 January 2005]

A cup who's been infected with a blood curse due to his interfering in a tribe's ritual has to go back to Thailand for a permanent cure. A snotty, spoiled female reporter tags along as well. I had fun with this movie. Martial arts, sorcery, demons, lots of blood, and some nudity what more can one ask for? However, keep in mind that Director Ngai Kai Lam's films are an acquired taste. I personally loved "Story of Ricky" and "Erotic Ghost Story", and while this isn't nearly as good as those two. It's better then "The Cat" and is a fun way to kill an hour and a half.

My Grade: B-

DVD Extras: Theatrical Trailer; Trailers for "Wo zai hei she hui de ri zi" (Triads the inside story), "Jiang hu long hu men" (flaming Brothers), "Ba xing bao xi" (Eighth Happiness) and "Qi yuan" (Witch from Nepal)

Eye Candy: Sau-Lai Tsui enters the film in a wet white see-thru number and shows everything and wow she's hot, oh and a few extras are topless fleetingly

Adult gore and kiddie mentality

[gridoon · 5/10 · 18 April 2005]

The special effects in "The Seventh Curse" are incredible. Particularly memorable are those nasty little demons that look like deformed babies; they fly at you and eat you up in about 5 seconds, like piranhas. But the rest of the film is just frantic, mindless drivel. The filmmakers throw in everything but the kitchen sink (from an irrelevant hostage situation at the beginning to karate-chopping monks), hoping that the pieces will somehow fit together - they don't. I never cared about anyone or anything in this film, except for the adorable Maggie Cheung, and even she is too loud at times. Chow Yun-Fat fans will be disappointed with his very minor part, but at least they will be rewarded at the end, when he shows why he is the epitome of "cool": all the other characters waste their time trying to fight the huge unstoppable bloodthirsty flying "Alien"-like monster, but he enters the scene and simply.....I don't want to spoil it, see for yourself. (**)

This Movie Has Everything I Like to Be Entertained

[jrd_73 · 9/10 · 24 April 2023]

The Seventh Curse would make my list of the Top 10 Exploitation Films of All Time. Art is debatable and what affects me may not affect others. However, exploitation, blood, nudity, monsters, action, those may not be art, but they are certainly entertaining for this viewer.

The Seventh Curse has nearly everything that I find entertaining in a movie. Good martial arts scenes, shootouts, cool looking monsters, monster fights, heavy artillery, pretty girls (including Maggie Cheung), Chow Yun Fat blasting away, high adventure in the Indiana Jones style, and a distinct, otherworldly feel. The film is its own thing and it is definitely not getting an English language remake.

I first saw The Seventh Curse in my twenties, renting it from an Asian store in Columbia, Missouri. I was blown away. Twenty-five years later, I am still in awe. The 88 Films import blu-ray is magnificent. It looks great and provides the viewer with two versions of the film, both of which run under 90 minutes, another reason I love The Seventh Curse (it does not waste the viewer's time).

I love this movie in a way that I don't a lot of other action and horror films that are more respected. Once in a great while, a film fan stumbles onto a film that seems made for him or her. The Seventh Curse seems made for me!

When someone says leave it alone - leave. it. alone

[dafrosts · 7/10 · 28 October 2017]

Dr. Yuen (Siu-Ho Chin), a young, impetulant man (he is erroneously referred to as a cop in the summary), is on an expedition in Thailand to find herbs to treat AIDS, when he interrupts a local tribe's ritual in order to save a young woman with whom he's infatuated who is about to. He and the woman are soon captured and cursed, he with a Blood Curse, she with a Ghost Curse. A year passes and the Blood Curse arises to remind the doctor of his deed. He must venture back to Thailand to stop the curse from killing. Together with Dragon (Dick Wei), a Thai native who lives in the area Dr. Yuen visited, Wesley (Chow Yun-Fat), Su (Sibelle Hu Hui-Chung) and annoying reporter Tsui Hung (Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk), Dr. Yuen travels back to the origin of the curse. It is a good thing Dr. Yuen carries and arsenal and is accompanied by Dragon and Wesley, because his own M.A. are not what one expects in a Golden Harvest Film. Dr. Yuen has 7 days to stop the curse or die. Each day at the same time, an artery bursts somewhere in Yuen's body. The 7th day, his heart will burst. Not exactly a countdown anyone wants. He has to deal with crazy Sorcerer Aquila, Aquila's henchmen, a bizarre "demon" which resembles a sperm with fangs and what is supposed to be a flying God to reach the Buddha concealing the cure for the 7th Curse. I do feel sorry for any black hued animal in Thailand after watching this. If you ignore all the times Dr. Yuen gets his butt handed to him, the M.A. in this is pretty good. The special effects are good for the era. A rocket launcher is used to save the day. So, if you like explosives and wasting bullets, this is a good one to watch. There are cameos of Golden Harvest vets in this movie that make up for some of the campiness. I gave it a 7 for the cameos and the M.A. sequences.

Horror? Naw, Funny as heck!

[neo-108 · 3/10 · 16 July 1999]

I have seen true ULTRA-VIOLENCE in films many times in my life, but the last 10 minutes of this movie surpasses anything I have ever seen or imagined. BLOOD SPLATTERING every which way in frighteningly large volumes. This is the GORIEST movie I've ever seen. Make sure to get the German Director's Cut (81 minutes) ---FSK ab 18---, and you will love it!!! :-)

Gruß an: Tony, Andy and Tobi.

Chow Yun-Fat fights monsters in HK supernatural thriller

[BrianDanaCamp · 4 June 2001]

THE SEVENTH CURSE (1986) is something of a companion feature to WITCH FROM NEPAL (1986) a similarly themed Hong Kong supernatural thriller which also features Chow Yun-Fat. CURSE is the more entertaining of the two, thanks to its frequent action and impressive gore effects, although WITCH had a more interesting premise and would have made a better film with more imaginative direction. CURSE has plenty of imagination, but not enough of a story to keep us involved in the twists and turns of the convoluted plot about a Hong Kong doctor seeking to rid himself of a blood curse by going back to Thailand to confront the sorcerer who cursed him. (WITCH was about characters from Nepal who come to Hong Kong to follow the central character.)

SEVENTH CURSE is a film in the `Wisely' series about a young expert in the occult, played by a different actor in each of the films (the others include LEGEND OF WISELY and BURY ME HIGH). Wisely, here called `Wesley' in the subtitles, is played by Chow Yun-Fat, who has only a supporting role as he is called on to help out his friend, the doctor, at various points. Chin Siu Ho plays the kung fu-fighting doctor and may be known to kung fu fans for his roles in the Jet Li films TAI CHI MASTER and FIST OF LEGEND. Maggie Cheung plays a nosy lady reporter, the kind that barges into every dangerous situation imaginable. Dick Wei, the Nepalese sorcerer in WITCH FROM NEPAL, plays a good guy here, a Thai warrior who helps the doctor in Thailand.

There are lots of action scenes involving kung fu combat or shootouts in which the heroes face down dozens of anonymous Thais. The white-faced sorcerer, Aquala, played by Elvis Tsui Kam-Kong, makes quite a formidable villain and has a pack of monsters at his disposal, all created with make-up effects similar to those used in the ALIEN series and numerous Hollywood monster films of the time. Given the lower HK budgets, the effects here are quite good. There is a Crypt-Keeper-style living skeleton called `Old Ancestor' who, at one point, sucks what appears to be the spinal cord from a man's back.

The problem with the gore effects is that no one really takes the monsters very seriously. Chow stands around smoking a pipe incessantly, even in the midst of peril. We're never actually scared by the over-the-top effects. Only Maggie reacts with fright and emotion, although her character is so quick to scream, like so many old monster movie heroines, that we don't really feel any tension. Still, HK fans will be hard-pressed not to drop their jaws at the sight of two of HK's greatest stars, Chow Yun-Fat and Maggie Cheung, battling bloodthirsty reptilian monsters in a giant cave in the film's finale.

There are cameo appearances by kung fu vets Wang Lung Wei, Yasuaki Kurata, and Kara Hui Ying Hung in the opening action scene, a terrorist/hostage/SWAT team standoff in an office building.

Quite fun with nudity, a monster, and a unique blend.

[alienlegend · 7/10 · 15 February 2023]

I feel like this mashup of elements worked. Cool kung fu, even some police action before that, a bit of romance, a crazy cult (the evil sorcerer could've been better but the ancestor he resurrects makes up for that), a very hot tribal girl, etc. You even get a baby monster fighting the ancestor monster. Hell yeah. Fun practical FX. I love when the skeleton ancestor mutates into the weird creature. From start to end, I think this one is a blast and I actually did like the characters too including the feisty persistent but too headstrong reporter girl. Chow Yun Fat is memorable as well in a slightly different kind of role instead of his typical badass although he gets to do a bit of that in the finale. Really happy I saw this.

Fun and insane

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 7/10 · 9 October 2021]

Crazy and very fast-paced Hong Kong action/adventure/fantasy/horror/comedy that seems to dip its toe into almost every genre besides musical.

There's even a cop/crime element at the start, small amounts of romance, and a scene that feels like a riff on a Rambo sequel where it almost becomes like a war film.

It feels like it changes gears/genres every five minutes, and that's part of its charm. It always remain fun and fast paced, no matter what it's trying to do.

Of course there's not much by way of a coherent story or great characters, the fantastic Chow Yun-Fat's presence is unfortunately exaggerated by the poster (he's really not the protagonist), and honestly I wished it could have been a little bit longer, because with a fast pace and a 78 minute runtime, it's over very quickly.

But if you like movies that pull off tackling numerous genres at once, this is pretty easy to recommend.

1980s horror from Hong Kong starring chow yun fat (in a small role)

[joshjack-35680 · 10/10 · 25 August 2020]

I love this movie...some of the monsters remind me of lucio fulci zombie 3 . Action fantasy horror from Hong Kong. Highly recommend this great bizarre Asian classic from the 1980's . Alot of it is very silly but wtf..it's the 1980s 😉

A Hong Kong Indiana Jones

[The-Sarkologist · 6/10 · 1 December 2013]

The Seventh Curse is an early Chow Yun Fat movie and is described as being a Hong Kong Indiana Jones. The major difference is that Indiana Jones never received an R rating in Australia (R = restricted to viewers over 18 years of age. Recently I discovered that the R rating in the United States is not the same as the R rating here in Australia. Chasing Amy received an MA in Australia and an R America but I digress).

The movie is about an anthropologist, Dr Chester, who stumbles across an attractive woman bathing in a pool in the middle of the jungle in Thailand. He is warned by the expedition leader that she belongs to a tribe run by a witchdoctor, but he ignores his warnings and goes and looks at the tribe. He discovers that the woman is going to be sacrificed to a demon (actually an ancestor, but basically a demon) so he throws caution to the wind and rescues her. Unfortunately they are caught and everybody in his expedition is killed. He escapes but has been inflicted with a curse which causes eruptions on his body. This curse is saited but after a year it begins to happen again so he must return to Thailand and find an antidote.

There isn't much in this movie to discuss because it is little more than an adventure movie. The version I watched was dubbed, which is bad because the sound track has to be redone meaning that the sounds effects tend to be worse. I prefer subtitled films. The movie deserved its R rating because it had people being ripped apart by demons, spinal cords being sucked out and generally a lot of grossness. What I found weird (and a little annoying) was that they blacked out the rude bits in the movies. I really don't understand why they did that. If the actress didn't want her rude bits shown then they could have filmed it differently. It just really seemed unusual that they would do such a thing.

This was a reasonable movie. It had lots of action and lots of mooks getting beaten up and gunned down. It had demons ripping people to pieces and it had the typical Indiana Jones type of stuff with deadly idols, ancient traps, and evil witchdoctors. Not something that stands out. The thing is that they ended it on a moral note as this woman who was deformed was not able to have her deformities removed so they said, "beauty is on the inside, not on the outside." This statement I sort of hold true and I shall explain below.

The one thing that we become preoccupied with is the fact that we want a "good looking girlfriend." There is nothing really wrong with that, but what can one describe as being good looking. Well, I think Plato describes it the best in the Symposium. There are levels, starting with the physical and ending with the absolute. One may go for physical beauty but soon discover that this is simply an empty shell with nothing inside, so we go up to the intellectual, the moral, and finally the absolute. What is the absolute? Well Plato claims that it is not possible to exist in this shadow world, but the truth is that you know when you encounter the absolute, because you just know. No, it is not the one true love, because I know of a number of women whose beauty to me is absolute yet I would not marry any of them.

A weird mishmash of genres provides solid entertainment

[I_Ailurophile · 8/10 · 20 September 2023]

With a blend in varying proportions of action-adventure recalling Indiana Jones, tinges of playfulness and outright comedy, strong dark fantasy, and plain, violent horror, this is a bit of an odd concoction. It's even more odd in light of how the film is structured, with an initial action sequence introducing our hero before a flashback fills most of the rest of the first half and provides foundation for the remainder. To this add tidbits like contemporary references to apparently bottomless credit cards or reading about the Viet Cong, a chief female supporting character who is defined primarily by her shrill voice and impetuous behavior, and a mishmash of action violence that throws together martial arts and modern weaponry and equipment, all on top of the primary genre touches of sorcery, curses, cults, and monsters. Suffice to say that 'The seventh curse' is a curiosity, and no matter how endearing it may be it has some definite faults. It's also much more well made than not, however - and highly entertaining!

Admittedly it may be relatively unimportant in a flick like this, but I do think the chief flaw is in the writing. When you get down to it the plot is rather light as protagonist Dr. Yuen must end a deadly curse with which he's afflicted, and stop an evil sorcerer while he's at it. Not only is the tale fairly unsophisticated at large, but no few details that round it out are weirdly oversimplified. Supporting characters seem to have perfect knowledge of the curses in play, for example, and their remedies, and are also proficient with both various firearms and hand-to-hand fighting techniques. That simplicity extends to the scene writing, with the climax being a prime illustration as the heroes appear quite abruptly, and the antagonistic figures meet ends that are decidedly unceremonious and maybe a tad unsatisfying. Further emphasizing the point, the most recent ending to have been appended to the feature, and the one that most people will probably be seeing, is extraordinarily curt. By all means, this is a title that's all about having a good time, and is more about the vibe and the experience rather than the fullness of its narrative storytelling, but had more care been applied to the writing then the end result could have only benefited.

Still, with those notes aside, there's so very much to love about 'The seventh curse.' Strange as the conglomeration may be in some ways it's quite well made, with superb stunts, practical effects, and action sequences; special effects added in post may not be wholly seamless, but they are sparing, and this is an instance where the disparity kind of bolsters the appearance. The sets are utterly gorgeous and overflowing with minutiae and texture, reflecting the sort of creativity that audiences hope for from genre pictures. The creature designs are splendid, and all the costume design, hair, and makeup received no less care. The action and adventure are earnestly exciting; the horror facet is so gnarly that it more than compensates for the fact that it fills a relatively small corner of these eighty-odd minutes. The movie may represent a smattering, and the writing may just serve as a vehicle more than anything else, but in all those ways that matter most for such fare it's excellent, providing the engaging, highfalutin romp we want. Lam Ngai Kai's direction is solid, for that matter, as he ties all the various pieces together with a mind for a frivolous blast. And for as much as the screenplay may deserve criticism, I'll say this: taken as a whole, the film is so fun that I rather wish this was but one in a series, that we could have gotten more cinematic treatment of the genre-hopping exploits of these characters. That might say more about this than anything else.

Unless you're a major fan of the source material or someone involved this might not be something one needs to go out of their way to see. It's certainly enjoyable, but it's no revelation, and it's not as if we can't get the same thrills and flavors elsewhere. However, while it's imperfect, overall the feature serves up all that we're invariably looking for when we find it - this has no illusions about what it is, and we as viewers also surely couldn't mistake it for something else. Even if it doesn't fully demand viewership it's a grand lark, and for those who appreciate the lighter side of horror, fantasy, and/or action-adventure, I'm pleased to give 'The seventh curse' my glad recommendation.

Action, witchcraft, monsters, undead ancestors, martial arts and Maggie Cheung...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 16 August 2013]

Anyone familiar with the Hong Kong movies from the mid- to late-eighties will know exactly what they are getting into here with "The Seventh Curse" ("Yuan Zhen-Xia Yu Wei Si-Li) from 1986.

This is a typical action movie from that period of time, where Hong Kong cinema also blended into elements of comedy and, of course, martial arts into just every movie. As is the case with "The Seventh Curse" as well.

The movie is rather enjoyable on several accounts though, although my main reason for watching it was because of Maggie Cheung and Chow Yun Fat. But aside from them, then the movie is actually a fun and good action comedy with a hint of supernatural thriller as well. Lots of action, a fast pace and a good story.

The story in "The Seventh Curse" is about Yuan Chen (played by Siu-hou Chin) who has been stricken with a deadly Thai blood curse, a curse that will claim his life in a matter of days. In order to lift the curse, a special seed must be found and consumed. But the path to salvation in Thailand is filled with peril in the form of a wicked sorcerer, an undead ancestor and a tribe working to keep foreigners away from their sacred temple.

For a movie from 1986, then I will say that the effects were actually quite good. Of course, by todays standards then they are fairly bad to look at and anything but dazzling. But I found the effects to be good enough, and the undead ancestral skeleton was actually quite cool. Wooden in his movement, sure, but cool in concept and appearance. And as cool as the skeletal ancestor was, just as equally bad was the strange 'ghost' creature that looked sort of a mutated hybrid of an infant and a scorpion. It was so badly made and so bad to look at that it was actually funny.

One thing I did wonder about was why all Thai people in Thailand (or at least the ones in the movie) were speaking Cantonese and not native Thai. That was just odd. Perhaps a choice made back in the day to cater the movie for a Hong Kong audience and not have them reading subtitles. Perhaps it worked good enough back in 1986, but today not so much.

"The Seventh Curse" is good entertainment if you enjoy these cheesy mid- to late-eighties Hong Kong movies. I did enjoy the movie and am rating it a 6 out of 10 stars.

An outlandish adventure horror with lot of problems in its execution

[Ansango · 5/10 · 12 July 2023]

THE SEVENTH CURSE begins with a writer narrating a tale about the adventure of Dr Chen and Wesley. The tale involves Dr Chen who gets involved in a tussle with an evil sorcerer named Aquala. Aquala, for his selfish motives, was going to sacrifice a girl named Bachu and Chen foils his plan while also desecrating the sacrificial place. In retaliation, Aquala kills all of Chen's men and puts a curse on him whereby seven bullets will pop out from inside of his body with the last bullet tearing his heart, thus killing him. Bachu temporarily puts a hold on the curse but after a year the curse returns. Now, Chen along with Black Dragon, the lover of Bachu, must race against time to save himself along with Black Dragon's tribe who are getting terrorised by Aguala's evil tribe.

From the get-go, this film never takes itself too seriously. There are evil sorcerers, strange creatures, and a literal monster who looks like a cross between the Alien and the Predator. The film doesn't shy away from violence as it contains a generous amount of blood and guts. There are sequences of a person's head getting chewed off, a person rotting from the inside out and literal children getting pressed between boulders for their blood. There are also a lot of fight sequences, a lot of which come out of nowhere, just like a lot of things in this film. The fight choreography is average at best although the Buddha statue fight sequence was interestingly filmed and nicely choreographed compared to others.

This film has a playful nature to it but it gets carried away too much sometimes. For instance, Aguala kidnaps 100 children from Black Dragon's tribe for his occult needs and The two men join forces to save those children along with a few tribal people. On the way, all of those people are killed except Chen, Black Dragon and Tsui Hung, a very irritating character who also happens to be the daughter of a millionaire as well as the cousin of Wesley. Apparently, she is also a reporter who loves taking pictures. On the way to save children, those tribal people die in increasingly brutal and gruesome fashion, and yet her top priority is to take pictures of those poor dead souls. Similarly, there is a sequence where little children are getting killed in a very violent manner, but the priority of the hour is to save Hung rather than those poor children. These types of tonal inconsistencies fill almost the entirety of this film. The stakes in this film also never particularly feel high even though literal bullets are popping through our protagonist's body. This is because it's never shown to be fairly effective. You see one of his legs literally getting burst open, but that's never mentioned again and he can use that leg perfectly, even fight without a hitch. There is also a dearth of deus ex-machinas for the progression of the plot, and because of that its 83 minutes of runtime feels like a long time.

Apart from a wacky and weird plot, everything in this film is incredibly ordinary. A lot of things happen at random and the plot has a serious lack of coherence. The film also lies you in its marketing material by implying that Cho Yun-Fat is the lead, which he isn't. He is barely on screen for 6-8 minutes in the entire film even though the film being by narrating the adventure of his character.

TSC is a bizarre mishmash of a lot of things that is tonally all over the place and never manages to take advantage of its premise, which could have turned into a lot better than this grotesque hodgepodge where few things work but most don't.

Perfect Action/Horror Night Time Flick

[Tat_Sat · 10/10 · 26 February 2020]

This movie is packed with action, gore and eastern occultism, all the necessary ingredients for my 10 star blessing.

Strange movie that has its moments

[gerrytwo · 8 August 1999]

In this collection of three horror stories, Chow Yun Fat is one of two storytellers at a dinner party, recounting his experiences. The last story, dealing with a gruesome creature that attacks him and the group he is with, has some scarey moments. This story goes over the top as the creature is killed in an explosive splatter of blood and flesh. The first story of the three involves a police siege at a hospital. It has a few tense moments but ends up going nowhere. The frame work of the stories, a party that goes on between episodes, is strange. People laughing and having a good time as either Chow or his associate discuss death, horrible creatures and gruesome events. This Golden Harvest production does nothing to enhance Chow Yun Fat's reputation. Not to end this review on a negative note, the special effects are well done.

The Seventh Curse (1986)

[jonahstewartvaughan · 8/10 · 11 April 2023]

Cult Cuts Volume 18 (80s Horror Retrospective #2)

#1/4: The Seventh Curse (1986)

(8/10):This one was a no brainer, I had to talk about this one...

The Seventh Curse is a Category III action/horror film from Hong Kong with a lot going for it.

First off it was one of the films that predated the CAT III and was given this label the following decade but moreso that it's a WILD ride!

We have tons of gory practical effects, several shootouts and also martial arts battles as well as demonic creatures and possession.

The visuals are fantastic, right on par with Boxer's Omen in the neon lighting mixed with the hazy atmosphere that is amplified by the temples, tombs, statues and other ancient artifacts that emphasize how old this place is.

Yun-Fat Chow is also in this, which by looking at his future work, you can see some similarities between the two.

The creatures are so bizarre and look crazy good albeit sometimes pretty silly, like the skeleton that challenges one of them to a kung fu fight.

However the baby demon creature and the winged monster that the skeleton literally regurgitates look quite well done.

The costumes are also pretty top notch as well as the score, but this does mark the second flick I have watched in recent memory that I recognized a certain score from as they were used in my childhood cartoon, Spongebob, never thought I'd mention while talking about an obscure Hong Kong horror film from the eighties but here I am.

The film doesn't make sense, plot holes are apparent which can be a turn off for some people but when you have Yun-Fat Chow with a Bazooka firing at a giant bat like monster, do you really need it to make sense?