Chih-Hung Kuei was one of Shaw Studios’ best directors in the ‘70s and ‘80s and their go-to for horror and exploitation fare. At the time, he rarely garnered the success or praise that more well-known Shaw Bros. filmmakers like Chang Cheh and Chia-Liang Liu received, but over the years, his films have built an impressive cult following. Kuei was most well-known for his gritty on-location shooting of crime dramas like The Teahouse and Big Brother Cheng as well as boundary-pushing, shocking horror films like the Hex series, The Killer Snakes and The Boxer’s Omen. He had a bold, unique visual style with a roaming camera, deep lighting and even more brazen violence than Chang Cheh’s films. In some ways, I feel he may have been the Shaw Studios’ most talented director, with a creativity and technical polish that met or exceeded other major directors at Shaw at the time. After his film Misfire in 1984, he retired from filmmaking to move to the US and open a pizza restaurant (words fail me…), but the batshit insanity of his horror pictures and the raw, unfiltered action and violence of his crime pictures will remain forever in the hearts of Hong Kong cult cinema fans.
Corpse Mania (1981)
a.k.a. Si yiu
Corpse Mania begins with the rotting corpse of a raped woman riddled with maggots found in an advanced state of putrefaction after going undiscovered for many days. This gruesome murder sets the tone for this strange but technically accomplished Hong Kong giallo that, while not as crazy as Boxer’s Omen (although not much is), is still shockingly violent and repulsive in places, full of sexual deviance and gore for the exploitation crowd while still being filmed with stark lighting and an excellent sense of atmosphere more akin to Mario Bava than anything else at Shaw Studios at the time. The pacing is a little rough in places with random exposition dumps to move the narrative forward, so it isn’t a perfect movie. But if you have a strong stomach and are a style-over-substance kind of person, this may be right up your alley.
The Lady Professional (1971)
a.k.a. Nu sha shou
The Lady Professional is one of Kuei’s earliest films, co-directed with Japanese director Akino Matsuo, it’s a gritty exploitation actioner about a female assassin who becomes the target of a hit herself. The Japanese co-director is interesting because this style of female killer flick was more popular in Japan at the time like with the Stray Cat Rock and Female Prisoner Scorpion movies. I’m guessing Shaw Bros. wanted to dip their toe in and see what Hong Kong audiences thought of it. The movie itself is fine but little of the visual mastery Kuei would later show is present here. The whole thing feels a little cheap, but it’s still pretty fun to watch anyway.
Ghost Eyes (1974)
a.k.a. Gui yan
Man, I hate it when my optometrist turns out to be a vampire ghost controlling me with my contact lenses into finding victims for him while also stealing my life essence. Even though this was only Kuei’s 2nd or 3rd horror film, he had already cemented a winning style with his effused visuals and restless gonzo camerawork. I dug this one quite a bit.
Big Brother Cheng (1975)
a.k.a. Da ge Cheng
Big Brother Cheng is the sequel to Kuei’s landmark crime flick The Teahouse which bucked the usual trend of Shaw Bros. movies made on obvious constructed sets by filming in the streets of Hong Kong to create a more grounded, gritty vibe to match with its message of social injustice and corruption. Big Brother Cheng brings Kuan Tai Chen back in the titular role as the humble restaurateur who is willing to beat the shit out of any thugs that endanger his community. This one really doubles down on Cheng as local hero to the people, especially toward the end. The camerawork is electric and the storytelling is on point. Definitely a solid Shaw crime drama.
Coward Bastard (1980)
a.k.a. E ye
Well, we can’t all be perfect. Kuei did a few comedies in the middle of his career (perhaps as a way to soften his image in the public eye of the provocative shockmeister?), and this is the first of them I’ve seen from him. If it’s indicative of his other comedies like The Restless Cricket and Mr Funny Bone, they just dropped WAY down on my priority list. Not only does it technically feel flatter and less engaging with random zooms to punctuate lame punchlines and little else going on, but the story of a bumbling moron who stirs up trouble for his boss at a restaurant who’s secretly a kung fu master is pretty threadbare and just an excuse for a series of painfully unfunny gags. Avoid this one like the plague unless you have a terrible sense of humor.
Hex (1980)
a.k.a. Xie
Hex is basically a Shaw Bros. horror take on Les Diaboliques, particularly in the first half before it goes off the rails into weird exorcism territory. The cinematography and production design are top notch here with the rich colored lighting and dense fog rolling in from the swamp. It does lose a little steam in the middle but picks up again in the incredibly bizarre ritualistic ending. Let’s just say, if you dig naked writhing women covered in Chinese scripts while being hit with a shoe, then 1) what a weird fetish but also 2) this movie was made specifically for you.
Spirit of the Raped (1976)
a.k.a. Suo ming
The first half of this one is almost comically grim. A woman’s husband is murdered on the bus by three muggers. Later she gets swindled out of all her money. Then later still she is raped and forced into sex slavery by married couple after which she swears vengeance against everyone who has wronged her and commits suicide. Yea, I know. It’s rough to watch. But then the second half of the movie kicks in. The VENGEANCE PART! We see a guy driven insane by disembodied eyeballs, a green pus-filled belly explosion, a brutal dick stabbing, a weird boil growing out of someone’s neck with a face on it and a sweet decapitation. The second half of this one is as much fun as the first half wasn’t. So I guess it breaks even?
In Conclusion…
I love this director. It is shocking to me that his films are so little seen, and I think Kuei is deserving of the same kind of fandom that has been built around guys like Chang Cheh. I will definitely make it a point to do another marathon of his films (and maybe even a part 2 of this feature) at some point in the future.