movies: the boxer's omen (1983)

Wow, what to say about The Boxer's Omen?  One of the most mind-bending, visually imaginative and all-together fucked films I've seen in awhile.  A simple plot synopsis, though it cannot do the film justice, is necessary to understand what the hell is actually going on.

I've already forgotten the name of Lung Wei Wang's character, but we'll just call him Lung for clarification purposes, and Bolo Yeung, we'll call Bolo.  So, Lung's brother is beaten by shady methods in a boxing match with Bolo, and Lung is asked to seek revenge for the now paralyzed brother.  He travels from Hong Kong to Thailand to confront Bolo and demand a match to avenge his brother.  He is then drawn to a temple that bears a glowing arch that is identical to the one he saw in his dream.  There he is informed by the monks that he was chosen by their lama to come to them to free the now near-dead (actually imprisoned by a dark spell) lama from some horrible black magic curse.  The almost-dead lama speaks to Lung and tells him that they are twins and that if the lama cannot acheive immortality then Lung too will die.  So Lung becomes a monk and sets about training to break the curse and avenge his brother and stay alive.  The movie shifts incomprehensibly back and forth between Hong Kong and Thailand, and I could never be sure where they were exactly, as everything looked the saem.

Haha, reading that summary back again, I can't even believe how messed the film is.  But the best part?  Oh yeah, the best part are the amazing effects, gloriously gory and gruesome and slimy practical and stop motion effects involving the blackest of magics.  The lighting is also fantastic and trippy, and shares much with the contrasting primary colour schemes of Argento's Suspiria and Inferno.

I read a review that said if Jodorowsky and Coffin Joe got together and made a martial arts/horror film in Hong Kong, this would be it.  I can't think of anything more to say than that is probably the most apt description for The Boxer's Omen.  Unlike anything I've seen before, and doubt I'll see anything like it again.