The Kung Fu Cult Master (1993, aka "The Evil Cult," "Lord of the Wu Tang")
literal translation: Heaven Slaughter Dragon Story: Evil School Master
cast: Jet Li, Chingmy Yau, Sharla Cheung Man, Gigi Lai Chi, Sammo Hung, and Ngai Sing

I didn't like "Kung Fu Cult Master," but it is not without its charm. There is certainly plenty to enjoy here. Sammo Hung, who co-stars in the film, also staged the martial arts choreography that for the most part is enjoyable, if not slightly under cranked. For a Hong Kong film of the early '90s to display such dazzling (but conservatively distributed) special effects is a rare treat we haven't enjoyed since a decade earlier when Tsui Hark produced the classic "Zu: The Warriors from the Magic Mountain" (which also featured a script about magical swords).

I remarked years ago in my review for Peter Mak's misfired "The Wicked City" that "...you literally feel like the film needed to have a prequel as well as 2-3 sequels just so you can understand what's going on."

This is not the case with "Kung Fu Cult Master," which by now has a reputation for being one of the most confusing martial arts films around. There is no need for a back-story, because one is diligently supplied for the audience during the prologue and is quite understandable.

There is no need for any sequels either (though "Kung Fu Cult Master" was originally intended to be the first installment of a trilogy of films), because what script the film has should have been literate, but is muddled under action sequences, art direction, cinematography (which looks quite good), and the unmistakable toilet wit of Wong Jing.

Much to my dismay there is a rape joke as well as a joke pertaining to what one of the characters is able to do with his penis his powers are so strong. We shouldn't be surprised; this is Wong Jing you tell yourself and it's par for the course no different from his inability to direct children (George Lucas loathers should rent a few of Wong's films--possibly they will stop complaining).

Watching "Kung Fu Cult Master" is like reading Lord of the Rings with all of the dialogue ripped out that supplied sufficient details pertaining to the story. Here, when discussing plot threads and story the viewer is instantly lost in a maze of bafflement.

Here's what we know (we think): in ancient China a magical sword is created and soon all creation is after the sword, including clans like Shaolin all the way down to the Ming, who are dubbed as the "Evil Sect" by there enemies. Like Tsui's "Zu," countless wars are waged. The sword ends up in the hands of a 100-year-old master whose star pupil (Francis Ng, in an extended cameo) has an unorthodox marriage to a woman from another clan. They have a son, Cheung Mui Kei, who grows up under the master after his parents both commit suicide protecting the sword.

From there...years later (Cheung is portrayed by Jet Li; the master by Sammo Hung) is nothing short of pointless storytelling that steps aside in favor of physical and digital wizardry that swoops down and snatches up the plot and carries it far, far, away.

"Kung Fu Cult Master" was originally intended to be the first installment in a trilogy of films, as stated above. You may or may not have noticed (because of the script's all-around ambiguity) that the end of the film is absent of a conclusion. Wong was hoping for a large box office return--purposely leaving the end of the film wide open in order to add two more installments.

When "Kung Fu Cult Master" barely cleared the numbers for a decent box office return footage filmed for the next installment was scrapped and the trilogy project was canned.

Possibly the antidote to flushing out the contours of the film (plus some closure) can be found in several different places. "Kung Fu Cult Master" is based off a book (Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre by Jin Yong), which was turned into a TVB mini-series, and even received a Shaw Bros. treatment in the late '70s. To learn a little more about these sources refer to the review of the film at Hong Kong Film Net.

"Kung Fu Cult Master" is available in more than one format with several different titles. World Video has a widescreen and subtitled print of the film simply dubbed "The Kung Fu Master." The U.K. print of the film is dubbed "The Evil Cult" and is available on DVD/VCD. The DVD has a nice transfer, but the subtitles--while perfectly legible and in hard white--are of literal translations and often the dialogue seems strange if not a travesty of English grammar. Of course, the print to avoid is from Arena. Like most of their titles it is cut (title sequence among other things)--re-titled ("Lord of the Wu Tang")--and a mediocre transfer at best (what do you expect from bootleggers?)

"Kung Fu Cult Master" is also infamously known as "Kung Fu Colt Master." It's an obvious mistake, which probably resulted when the film was accidently marketed with the misspelled title.