FOUR INFERNOS TO CROSS
- Year: 1978
- AKA: Dragon Force, Horim Temple Daetong-Gwan
- Starring: Kwak Jong-Seob, Kim Kye-Hee, Bae Su-Cheon, Lee Kang-Jo
- Directed by: Nam Ki-Nam
A ragtag group of thugs plots to kidnap the already kidnapped daughter of a millionaire in the hopes of gaining the reward money. Successful in their attempt, the group eventually whittles down to three members, the aptly named Bear, his sidekick Kang Go and the white haired Storm. Sensing a chance for financial gain, Bear sets up his two friends but they get the drop on their attackers. With the girl still under their care, Kang Go and Storm head out with a group of savage assassins hot on their heels.
Although extremely low budget, this Korean production proves to be one of the most entertaining kung fu films I have seen lately. While it starts off kind of slow, the film builds momentum all the way to a frenzied martial arts showdown. The Bruceploitation factor pops up about mid-way through as Kim Kye-Hee as Kang Go unleashes the Bruce within himself. He is incredible and really gets the Lee mannerisms down. Surprisingly, the English dubbing team opted not to include the Bruce Lee piercing screams, even though you can see Kim Kye-Hee obviously doing them. Kye-Hee is a very accomplished martial artist, hitting some great looking kicks.
One thing that really surprised me about FOUR INFERNOS TO CROSS was the story. There is a great twist in the film's plot that I didn't see coming at all. It is very clever and had me re-examining everything I had seen prior to this denouement. The film is also deeply pro-Korean, which is remarkable because most of the Korean martial arts films I have seen are politically neutral. Of course, when the pro-Korea dialogue is like this, the enjoyment is doubled:
Girl: I hear Korea is a beautiful country.
Kang Go: Yes, it is. In the spring, it is covered in flowers.
Everybody dresses up in their finest clothes and
the farmers grow yellow pumpkins on their
roof-
tops. I get excited just thinking about it!
As this sample bit of dialogue shows, the film doesn't escape the given pitfalls of kung fu films. It is atrociously dubbed (another classic line: "That girl's a sexy bitch!"), features cribbed music from STAR TREK and is desperately in need of a widescreen transfer. Regardless, this is a great film that delivers both Bruceploitation and an engaging story. A pleasant surprise and definitely recommended!
Reviewed by William.
