Happy Birthday, Chow Yun-Fat!

Early in THE SEVENTH CURSE, Dr. Yuan (Chin Siu-Ho) tells a story to his mentor and friend Wisely (Chow Yun-Fat). It seems he had visited Thailand exactly one year earlier on a medical research mission. This turned out to be an eventful trip. While walking along a lake, a beautiful woman in a see through top emerges from the clear waters. The two visit for a moment before she runs into the jungle in fear. Later that evening, Yuan hears the sounds of native drums which seem to signal human sacrifices are about to take place by the local “Worm Tribe.” Deciding to investigate the situation, he sees that same beautiful woman in need of a hero as she’s about to be sacrificed to the “Old Ancestor” by the tribe’s sorcerer (Elvis Tsui). He is able to rescue the lady, but he’s also damned with a blood curse that will periodically burst through his legs. Luckily, the grateful beauty was able to slice a tumor out of her ample bosom that provided an antidote for one year. Well the time is up and the bursts are back. Back in present time, Wisely, who puffs on his pipe and seems to be an expert on everything, advises Yuan to head back to Thailand and find a permanent cure before the final burst kills him. With help at various times from the badass Black Dragon (Dick Wei), the beautiful tribe woman we now know as Betsy (Tsui Sau-Lai), the annoying reporter Rainbow (Maggie Cheung), and Wisely, Yuan must find the cure before the final burst comes straight from the heart. It won’t be easy as they will have to defeat the evil sorcerer of the Worm Tribe, a demon baby animated by the blood of ground up children, and “Old Ancestor” himself, a powerful skeleton with glowing eyes who likes to suck out spinal chords before transforming into something really ugly.

Back in 1986, Chow Yun-Fat essentially filmed an extended cameo for this crazy film that could have only been made in Hong Kong. 1986 was also the same year that Chow Yun-Fat became a megastar all across Asia based on his success in John Woo’s A BETTER TOMORROW. Of course, the film was sold on his name, but he’s not in it very much, even if he does show up at the end with a bazooka. With that said, for those in the right frame of mind THE SEVENTH CURSE is an entertaining film, and I like Chin Siu-Ho in the lead role as Dr. Yuan. Part Indiana Jones style adventure and part jungle-terror, this film goes completely over the top with its gratuitous nudity and gore. “Restraint” for this movie means not showing children actually getting ground up so their blood can revitalize a demon baby, although we do see them being placed in the grinder and the blood coming out and being collected in bowls. The same restraint isn’t shown for the men who are torn apart by booby traps and Old Ancestor, impaled by spikes, rip their own faces off and have their spinal cords sucked out. For those of “WTF am I watching” cinema, this should be a fun viewing. The special effects aren’t particularly realistic looking which makes it easier for me to watch. 

Overall, THE SEVENTH CURSE is definitely not a film for everyone. The budget is low, the acting isn’t great, it’s gory as hell, and Chow Yun-Fat may have ten minutes of screen time at most. But if my description of the gore doesn’t scare you away and you enjoy crazy cinema, this is probably a movie for you. Enjoy the trailer below: