BA_Harrison
Wealthy rivals Master Lung (Tony Liu Yong) and Master Tan (Chen Kuan Tai) are always trying to outdo each other. When Tan makes his adversary lose face, by parading Lung's whore of choice Yen Chu (Linda Chu) in front of his wife (Ni Tien), Lung vows to even the score by beating his opponent at the village's forthcoming lantern festival, enlisting ex-love rival turned craftsman Chao Chun-Fang (Lo Lieh) to design and build a very special lantern.What Lung doesn't realise is that Chun-Fang is still harbouring a serious grudge against him for winning the affection of Chin (Ni Tien), and has devised a gruesome plan to get revenge: dressing himself up in skull mask, Tina Turner wig, hairy clawed gloves and Ugg boots, he kidnaps the loved ones of both Lung and Tan. While the two men are locked in battle, convinced that each other is responsible for the missing women, Chun-Fang prepares his masterpiece, a set of lanterns using the skin of his helpless victims.A heady mix of wuxia martial arts and grisly Grand Guignol horror, Shaw Bothers' Human Lanterns is well deserving of its cult status, the film delivering a delightfully macabre premise, a memorably manic villain in cackling loon Chun-Fang, lots of nasty violence (mostly against defenceless, pretty women), plenty of kung fu (with some great weapon work), and impressive visuals, director Chung Sun (The Avenging Eagle) making excellent use of atmospheric lighting and lavish sets (Chun-Fang's lair—an subterranean charnel house—is a marvel to behold).While some of the wire-work is a little OTT for my taste, the majority of the fighting is of the high standard one would expect of Shaw Brothers, highlights being Lung (armed with a sword) versus Tan (equipped with a halberd), and the final fight at Chun-Fang's hideout, which includes a terrific moment where a whole building collapses beneath the feet of several stuntmen.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for having the cojones to kill off the most sympathetic character, Lung's wife.
fertilecelluloid
Chung Sun, who directed, amongst many other films, the superb "The Sexy Killer" (see review), is unable to make the elements gel in "Human Lanterns" aka "Human Skin Lanterns". Personally, I have always loved the idea of using human skin to make lanterns, so this film was an eagerly awaited one by me. Unfortunately, there's too little skinning and too much martial arts in this. In fact, the skinning scenes (there are two), while well done, feel like they belong in a different movie altogether. This is a strange effort to make a martial arts fantasy and cross it with a Hammer-style horror plot. It doesn't work. That said, "Human Lanterns" is still a sumptuously photographed and designed period piece. The Shaw's certainly spent big on its sets, cast and special effects. It's a shame they didn't focus more on the horror promised in the title. Disappointing horror. Satisfactory period-fu epic.
Libretio
HUMAN LANTERNS (Ren Pi Deng Long)Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Shawscope)Sound format: MonoA vengeful craftsman (Lo Lieh) sets two warring noblemen (Lau Wing and Chen Kuan-tai) against each other by abducting their loved ones and peeling their skin, which he uses to embellish a series of prize-winning lanterns.Old-fashioned kung fu thriller with horror asides, distinguished by balletic fight scenes and expansive widescreen cinematography, in typical Shaw Brothers style. Ni Kuang's screenplay (co-written with director Suen Chung) is fairly detailed, and the pace is fast and furious throughout. But the film is weakened by pantomime performances and generic post-sync dialogue, and by an uneasy combination of martial arts mayhem and Hammer-style horror. Beautiful sets and costumes.NB. The film played uncut on its original theatrical release, though most subsequent video prints have been censored, eliminating nudity and graphic violence. However, the UK DVD (issued by Momentum Asia in 2005) appears to be intact.(Mandarin dialogue)
Pedro-37
"Human Lanterns" mixes Wuxia-style martial arts and horror in a cultish but ultimately disappointing manner. The fights are well staged and surprisingly good for such a campy movie, but the horror elements felt way out of place. And they are far from scary.The acting is over the top, the plot is weak and the direction awkward. I know that many think of this film as a cult movie, but this only proved to me that many times cult does not equal class. Personally, I'd rather rate this trash - an interesting mix but an ultimately disappointing view.Rating: 4/10
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