Black Magic, Part II (1976)

Black Magic, Part II (1976)
Aka: Black Magic 2; Revenge of the Zombies
Chinese Title: 勾魂降頭
Translation: Soul-Snatching Curse

Starring: Ti Lung, Tanny Tien Ni, Lo Lieh, Lily Li, Lin Wei-Tu, Wai Wang, Terry Liu, Yang Chi-Ching
Director: Ho Meng-Hua
Action Director: Yuen Cheung-Yan

Black Magic, Part II share a lot of similarities with its predecessor, in terms of cast, setting, and general overall atmosphere. A lot of spells are carried out in the same (or similar) manner as the first film, with a large emphasis placed on love spells. However, Black Magic, Part II represents a marked improvement over the first film, in terms of plotting and pacing, plus it has a more thrilling and altogether fulfilling climax.

The film is set in “some tropical city,” where we meet Dr. Chi Chung-Ping (Ti Lung, playing a different character than he did before) and his wife, Cui-Ling (Tanny Tien Ni, this time not playing the villainess), as they arrive in the city from Hong Kong. They were invited by an old friend, Dr. Shi Zhensheng (Lin Wei-Tu, of The Master of Kung Fu and The Flying Guillotine), to come see him. He has been seeing a lot of strange cases in his hospital of late, things like boils that look like human faces and the like. It’s the sort of thing that doesn’t show up in the medical journals. Zhensheng is sure that black magic has run amok in the city, though he wants his trusted friend to give him a second opinion.

It doesn’t take long for things to go south for the foursome—Dr. Shi is married to Margarete (a returning Lily Li)—in fact, to all outward appearances, things go awry the first night. The four are hanging out at a strip club—in the 1970s, it was still considered fashionable to do so, the same way it was fashionable to go to porno movies—and watching the main dancer (Terry Liu, of Super Infra Man and The Dragon Lives Again). Two more men are watching her, too. One of them is Chang Da-Nian (Wai Wang, of The Men from the Monastery) and the other is a dapper-looking gentleman named Kang Cong (Lo Lieh, also playing a different role this time around). Although Da-Nian would like for nothing more than to take the dancer home with him and bed her, she opts to go with Kang Cong instead.

Once at his house, Kang Cong exercises what is practically a hypnotic effect over the woman, to the point that she doesn’t even react when he removes the jewelry from her body and undresses her. But the telling part is when he makes her kneel in front of him. But instead of getting a B.J., Kang Cong parts her hair, revealing the exposed head of a nail. He extracts the nail, and we the viewer watch her age and die in real time as he does so. So, it appears that Kang Cong is our resident black magic user.

Kang quickly sets his sights on Margarete, obtaining a sample of her blood by posing as a flower deliveryman and “accidentally” poking her with the thorn. And then he hangs a dead monkey—or a biturong—near her house. And then he starts performing a spell on voodoo doll that looks pregnant. Before you know it, Margarete is in a trance and walking to Kang’s manor, which is not far from Dr. Shi’s house. Once there, Kang engages in erotic lactation because, according to this film’s logic, breast milk is the key to longevity. The hypnotized Margarete is so enthralled with the “sexiness” (such as it is) of getting suckled by Lo Lieh (ew!) that she sleeps with him outright.

When she wakes up the next morning, she is not only pale and weak, but she is miraculously several months pregnant, too. An emergency C-section reveals an already-formed fetus inside, which is both deformed and stillborn.

Meanwhile, Chang Da-Nian has been itching to get into bed with the exotic dancer, but he can’t find her anywhere. So, he goes to Kang Cong and asks him to perform a love spell on her, wherever she may be. In this case, she happens to be in Kang’s basement with an assortment of other dead bodies. He sticks the nail back into her, restores her youth, and sends her out to seduce Da-Nian. And it’s going well, too, at least at first. Then Da-Nian’s Buddha necklace droops over here during sex and she ages herself to death while he’s knocking boots…total rager killer right there.

Chang Da-Nian considers himself cheated out of a good five grand (U.S. dollars, that is) and goes to Kang to complain. Kang simply kills him with his magic, although Chang makes it into the city before he expires…right in front of Dr. Shi and Dr. Chi. They begin to suspect Kang, and thus try to get into his good graces to force his magic out into the open. How about a ruse in which Dr. Shi asks Kang to perform a love spell on his colleague’s wife, Cui-Ling? And what will happen when Kang Cong figures out what the two men are up to?

Black Magic, Part II does feel like an overall more focused narrative than the last film. Yes, it’s often gory and frequently exploitative, but it has direction. I didn’t bring up the “White” Magician (Yang Chi-Ching, the main villain in Vengeance!) in the plot summary, because his introductory scene in the film’s opening has nothing to do with the rest of the movie, and then he doesn’t show up until the third act. Yes, the film frequently shows us the mechanics of Kang Cong’s magic spells, but it’s done in a way that flows naturally from the film, instead of grinding the story to a halt so we can see all the gross things that a magician has to do for a given hex. It’s hard to explain in words, but the magic scenes feel more organic to the plot.

As with the last film—and most HK films dealing the black magic—there is a lot of female flesh on display. The movie opens with a bunch of Thai (or Malaysian) girls fishing, until one of them removes her top and jumps in for a swim…followed by her friends. Terry Liu is always dependable for showing her breasts in films like this. And not unexpectedly, both Tanny Tien Ni’s and Lily Li’s body doubles get a lot of screen time, especially Lily’s. And yes, you know they’re doubles because the women’s breasts appear to double in size from what is implied by the clothing we see them wearing.

The magic on display does feature love spells as in the first movie, but there is a greater emphasis placed on zombiefication. The nail through the skull is a way of asserting one’s control over the corpses, with the idea that people who are killed under “unhappy” circumstances end up having their spirits not stray too far from the body, which makes them susceptible to becoming zombies. The film climaxes with a Ti Lung having to fight off a small army of them as he tries to put an end to Kang Cong’s evil plans. And like many Hong Kong films, nobody is safe in a movie like this.

Now, speaking of fighting, this film does have a credited action director in the form of the late Yuen Cheung-Yan. There is one fight, which is a running brawl between Ti Lung and Lo Lieh, which starts at the house and goes all the way to an aerial tramway. The brawling itself is choreographed, but in a way that suggests that neither men are martial artists, but just two men desperate to beat the hell out of the other. The fight is actually quite long, but the tramway section is marred by some of the worst matte work since Yongary, Monster of the Deep.

Do I recommend Black Magic, Part II? Sort of, I guess. Although I have seen more than my fair share of HK/Taiwanese films involving black magic, they are far from my favorite sub-genre of horror and I tend to watch them as a completist more than a fan. But people who like weird sh*t should enjoy this film thoroughly, from its cheesecake nudity to its gross spells to a climax that features “real” zombies, not the Romero ones. Fans of B-movies and trash cinema should lap it up as much as Lo Lieh was doing with Lily Li’s breasts.

Raped by an Angel (1993)

Raped by an Angel (1993)
AKA: Naked Killer 2
Chinese Title: 香港奇案之強姦
Translation: Hong Kong Crime Stories: Rape

Starring: Chingmy Yau, Mark Cheng, Simon Yam, Ng Suet-Man, Nick Cheung, Kingdom Yuen King-Tan, Dennis Chan, Cindy Yip, Fan Oi-Kit, Linda Cheung
Director: Andrew Lau
Action Director: Nicky Li Chung-Chi

Raped by an Angel is one of the more infamous titles in the Hong Kong filmography, not the least of which because the film spawned several sequels whose subtitles were even more outlandish. In some international markets, it was released as Naked Killer 2, probably due to the casting similarities and Wong Jing’s involvement as producer. Unlike the its predecessor’s ultra-stylish, every-scene-is-a-painting tale of sexy hitwomen, this is more of an erotic thriller-cum-rape revenge flick. Director Andrew Lau makes it look stylish most of the time, albeit not quite the way Clarence Fok had done his film. But it is also very tasteless and sleazy in a way that many viewers will need to take a shower after it’s over.

The film opens with a bang. And by “bang,” I mean that it opens with a woman coming home, being stalked by a man wearing a Jason mask, and then getting brutally violated by the guy. Psyche! Turns out the man, Chuck (Mark Cheng, of War and Tai Chi 2), is actually just really into rape roleplay and his girlfriend, May (Linda Cheung, of Last Hero in China), is fortunately (for him) willing to let him indulge in that particular kink. Although she worries that rape roleplay will one day result in him wanting to do the real thing, he assures her that doing it with her is enough to keep things channeled.

That is, until he turns on the TV and sees Chingmy Yau (High Risk and Naked Killer) in sexy soldier fatigues firing automatic weapons in a swamp. Turns out that Yau, playing a woman named Yau Yuk-Nam, a law student who makes ends meet doing commercials. The faux-Girls ‘n Guns film was actually a commercial for milk. Go figure.

Anyway, Chuck is immediately smitten and tracks her down to a nightclub where she’s celebrating the filming of her latest commercial with her crew. Chuck tries to put the moves on her, but her response of pouring her drink down his pants leaves him high and dry…or low and wet. So, Chuck sets his sights on Chu (Ng Suet-Man, of Martial Arts Master Wong Fei-Hung), Yuk-Nam’s best friend. He moves into the apartment next door to Chu—but not before ending his relationship with May by handcuffing her and, instead of having rough sex with her, having one of his friends do that instead.

But Chuck’s plans for Chu are arguably even worse. He gets into her good graces by informing her that as a high-powered lawyer, he knows the real estate agency good enough that he can find a place for her to buy that is just as big as her current pad, but much cheaper. He also puts the moves on Chu, but she shuts him down. Eventually, he just says “Screw it” and does the same to her, albeit with her consent. After a grueling session of sexual and psychological abuse, he leaves the damaged Chu in her apartment for Yau to find.

And where has Yau been all this time. For her law classes, she has been trailing a well-known Triad, Tso Tat-Wah (Simon Yam, of Killer’s Romance and Cyprus Tigers), whose legitimate filmmaking business has kept the authorities from discovering any possible illegal activity on his part. The two sort of form an unconventional relationship after surviving both a Triad hit and an attack from his ex-girlfriend, Pauline (Fan Oi-Kit, of Seven Sexual Maniacs and China Girls).

When Yuk-Nam discovers what happened to her friend, she convinces Chu to call the police and report what Chuck did. Chuck is immediately arrested and is taken before a judge to answer for his crimes. Unfortunately for Chu, Chuck managed to leave behind a series of planted evidence and public interactions to suggest that Chu was his girlfriend and that she was trying to extort money from him and then cover her tracks. Ultimately, the jury acquits Chuck of rape. But Chu’s trauma is about to get worse, as Chuck cannot believe that someone would ever commit him of a crime that he actually did commit…

On one hand, Raped by an Angel is very sleazy, with a number of uncomfortable scenes of sexual assault. Those scenes are the source for much of the film’s nudity. But on the same token, the sleaze is the purpose of the movie, although one would hope that the filmmakers would separate the titillation from the assault. But as far as I can tell, overlapping the two was the entire point of the exercise. And the film ends in a memorable, politically-incorrect manner that will probably explode the head of most progressives.

The climax involves Chingmy Yau being chased around her apartment by Chuck, who has found a way to get Simon Yam’s character out of the picture. Despite Yau’s fighting back with bear traps and baseball bats(!), Chuck eventually manages to overpower her and have his way with her. Psyche! In fact, the final victim, who willingly gave her body to the case, was in fact Cindy, one of Yuk-Nam’s friends, who had only recently discovered that she had contracted HIV from a philandering boyfriend. Yes, you read that right.

There are quite a few sex scenes, only a few of which are consensual. We also get far too much of Mark Cheng’s naked body, including some random scene of him walking back and forth in his apartment with his willie flopping around. Thanks, Andrew Lau…we really needed that. There is also a scene that brought to mind the infamous sequence from Last Tango in Paris, except that it’s consensual and, instead of butter, whipped cream is used as a lubricant. In the nudity department, we get three pairs of bare breasts and one almost pair. Plus Kingdom Yuen (Wing Chun), playing Yuk-Nam’s raunchy friend, talking about a kung fu B.J. technique involving ice cubes in one’s mouth.

Despite Nicky Li Chung-Chi—member of the Sing Ga Ban and go-to choreographer for many of the late Benny Chan’s films—being credited as the action director, there is only one fight sequence and that’s an attempted Triad hit at a barbershop involving machetes and baseball bats. It’s nothing special, however.

People who pick this film up based on any of its infamous VHS or DVD covers will probably be disappointed. For reference, one shows Chingmy Yau and Ng Suet-Man in army shorts and midriffs (that expose underboob) holding machine guns (a reference to the commercial they’re in); Another one shows gun-toting Chingmy in a slutty black leather dress that opens down the middle all the way to belly button; and the DVD cover showed Simon Yam in a lawyer’s wig with Chingmy wearing a bra, panties, and lace stockings and kneeling before him. Yau doesn’t do any nudity and her sex scene is implied, not shown. But she does do a sexy dance in her underwear near the end, for all you Chingmy fanboys out there. Just don’t expect her to expose as much skin as her colleagues, tough.

Black Magic (1975)

Black Magic (1975)
Chinese Title: 降頭
Translation: Sorcery/Black Magic

Starring: Ti Lung, Lo Lieh, Lily Li Li-Li, Ku Feng, Tanny Tien Ni, Ku Wen-Chung, Lee Sau-Kei, Yueh Hua, Chen Ping
Director: Ho Meng-Hua

Having already watched (and reviewed) the über-grotesque horror films that the Shaw Brothers produced in the early 1980s, something like Black Magic feels almost “quaint” in comparison. I mean, it has it’s share of disgusting moments, but it is ultimately small potatoes compared to the likes of Bewitched and its more notorious follow-up, A Boxer’s Omen. Nonetheless, every sub-genre has to start somewhere and for the “black magic sorcerer in Southeast Asia makes people’s lives a living hell” genre more-or-less started with this film.

The film is set in what I believe to be Malaysia, judging by all the minarets on their buildings. Usually, it’s Thailand, but Malaysia is a perfectly-acceptable alternative and the end result is ultimately the same. We open with a woman (Helen Ko, of Sex for Sale and The Killer Snakes) going to a black magic sorcerer named Shan Jianmi (Ku Feng, of The Kung Fu Instructor and Dynamo), requesting that her philandering husband and his current lover (Dana, of Super Infra Man and Edge of Fury) be killed. She gives him an offering of gold and jewels, to which he requests 5x more if he’s going to kill two people. Nonetheless, he takes her offering as a downpayment and gets to work: using the SE Asian equivalent to voodoo dolls, he makes the illicit couple have sex before jamming needles into them and causing their demise.

The bodies are discovered the next day by the locals, who quickly alert the village shaman, Master Furong (Ku Wen-Chung, of The Twelve Gold Medallions and 5 Fingers of Death). Furong quickly realizes that Shan Jianmi is behind it and starts chanting to send a supernatural Buddha avenger after him. Shan is saved at the last moment by the arrival of most recent client (the aforementioned woman), whom he ties to a post to distract the avenger while he runs out of the house. Time to move and set up shop in the city.

We then switch to Kuala Lampur, where we meet our main characters. The first is Xu Nuo (Ti Lung, of Duel of Fists and The Revenger), a handsome construction manager who is engaged to Quying (Lily Li, of Executioners of Shaolin and The Young Master). Unfortunately for Xu, he is the object of desire of millionaire widow Zhou Luoyin (Tanny Tien Ni, of The Magic Blade). Luoyin has set her sights on Xu Nuo and will do everything in her power to seduce him. Including, black magic, you say?

Well, not immediately. Mainly because that option is initially obvious to her. What brings it to her attention is her own admirer, a leech of a man named Chia Chieh (Lo Lieh, of The Chinese Boxer and Heroes of Shaolin). Chia Chieh wants to get in Luoyin’s panties because a) he’s almost broke, and b) she’s hawt. But his attempts to woo her usually result in abject failure, that is, until a friend of his suggests he go see a black magic sorcerer to cast a love spell. And wuddiyaknow? It’s Shan Jianmi, who has set up shop right outside of the city.

The spell involves hanging a large-schlonged voodoo effigy in her house and making her drink a love potion, which guarantees him a long night of pleasure with Luoyin. But the next day, the effigy falls from its place and the spells wears off. Rather than scream “Rape!” upon discovering Lo Lieh in bed next to her, Luoyin slyly asks him how he managed to bag her, and the idiot reveals his tricks to her. She offers him enough money to pay his debt to the sorcerer in exchange for the man’s address and sends him on his way.

So, the process for magically seducing Xu Nuo begins. It involves a love potion made from Luoyin’s own breast milk; samples of Xu Nuo’s blood and hair; and hiding effigies beneath the man’s bed. Soon enough, the spells takes effect—at the man’s own wedding, I might add—and soon he has forgotten about Quying and is spending his days banging Luoyin.

This is where things start to get real complicated. First of all, Shan Jianmi has fallen for Luoyin himself and performs a love spell on her to get into her panties—though it is not strong enough to overcome her love/lust for Xu Nuo (nor does Shan mind sharing her with her beau). Second, Quying’s attempting to bring her husband back to his senses irritates Luoyin to the point she requests that Shan kill her with a spell, too. He hits her with a curse that fills the poor woman’s body with worms, but thankfully for her, Xu Nuo’s best friend had almost been a disciple of Master Furong and some point. Furong recognizes Jianmi’s handiwork and is able to save Quying. From there on out, it becomes a series of magical confrontations between the two magicians for the life and soul of Xu Nuo.

If I were to point out one major flaw in the film, it’s that the film runs out of steam in the third act. The problem is that after Master Furong sets his sights on Shan Jianmi, there’s a scene where the spell on Xu Nuo is temporarily broken. Xu Nuo is about to go back to his old life when Jianmi starts doing his craft again and Xu Nuo becomes what is essentially a rage zombie. This leads to a prolonged sequence of Xu Nuo in the hospital undergoing brain surgery and recovering and whatnot. It is a total momentum killer when the film should be confidently barreling its way toward a big magical showdown.

The film also suffers from some really bad optical effects at the climax, the sort of which will leave you pining for the colorful beams of Toho’s 1950s and 1960s science fiction movies (including the Godzilla franchise).

The magical rituals themselves would be “very gross” to the newbies, but for those who have watched the movies I brought up in the first paragraph, will probably not make you wretch quite as much. There is a scene when Shan Jianmi has to “wake up” the corpse of an old woman in order to get some sort of fluid from her mouth to use in his death spell against Quying. And one random client has a ball of rice rammed into her snatch to make a love potion for her soon-to-be husband. The animal violence is not as bad as we know it can get in these movies. People may get squeamish at the idea of worms burrowing under the skin of Lily Li, but it’s presented in a manner that suggests that the actress herself wasn’t involved in the special effect.

There is a fair amount of sex and nudity, as one expects in these black magic films. We get to see Dana naked (again), in her brief scene with the unfaithful husband. At least two of the female clients have to give their breast milk for their respective love potions. In Tanny Tien Ni’s case, despite being something of a sex symbol in the 1970s, I don’t think she did nudity herself and usually employed a body double. In the case of this movie, the double had a noticeably larger bust size than she.

In the end, I found it interesting as a curio and as part of my Hong Kong cinema education, but nothing I’d consider wanting to revisit multiple times. Mileage of course will vary according to one’s tastes and preferences.