Shaw Brothers had a traditional formula for their wuxia action films that often involved a level of revenge for someone doing something wrong like burning down the Shaolin Temple. The films are straight forward battles with fists and assorted handheld weapons. A few times the Hong Kong studio would twist things up to a film stick out. This happened when they produced Human Lanterns in 1982. The film seemed to answer the question: What would happen if Ed Gein showed up in a martial arts movie. Ed Gein is the cannibal from Wisconsin whose crimes inspired Psycho and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Ed was arrested in 1957. Police reports came out that besides eating his victims, Ed turned some of them into chair covers and wastebaskets. The title Human Lanterns will give you a hint what happens in the film.
Master Tan (Way of the Dragon‘s Wing Lau) and Master Lung (Bloody Monkey Master‘s Kuan Tai Chen) are always trying to one up each other in their power struggle. Master Tan is proud of his lantern that will be the big deal at the upcoming Lunar Festival. Master Lung can’t live knowing his rival would be on top once more. He goes to an extreme by hiring Chao Fang (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin’s Lieh Lo) to make the most exquisite lantern ever seen. What Lung doesn’t know is that Fang isn’t going to use cloth on his creation. He’s going to kidnap a few women and skin them. Things get heated as a few very important female characters are abducted by a furry monster with a skull face. Will Master Lung feel guilty for hiring the more grotesque of Etsy craftspeople to do his bidding?
The movie isn’t only about gore. There are plenty of acrobatic fights as expected in a film shot in Shawscope. The well-timed choreographed battles include people balancing on top of handheld fans. The film gives you all the necessary action while also providing the grizzly nature of how Fang makes his amazing lanterns. This seems to be the right combination for a scummy 42nd Street movie theater. It brings together the fans of non-stop Kung Fu action and cringy horror. They don’t skimp on the blood during the gore scenes – although they are rather artsy on staging the skinning scenes.
Director Sun Chung and his crew created a film that seems right at home in a double feature with a Dario Argento movie. The cinematography and the lighting make Human Lanterns look more arthouse than grindhouse. Director of photography Cho On-Sun creates a feeling that you’re watching a movie that would be winning serious awards at major film festivals. This should have been the buzz of the Venice Film Festival instead of Halloween Kills. Sure, it features characters being turned into lanterns. Human Lanterns is just the right mix of horror, gore and action. You’ll never confuse with any other movie released by the Shaw Brothers.
The video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer from the original negative brings out the colorful lighting scheme. The audio is 2.0 DTS-HD MA Mono in Mandarin. This seems to hint that Human Lanterns never played America theaters. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio commentary by Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillon of the Podcast On Fire Network has them giving background and context for the movie. They discuss the mixing of genres.
A Shaw Story (13:48) allows Susan Shaw to explain how she almost got Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest banned in Tawain because of what a reporter wrote about her at Cannes. Shaw mentions how they shot a more explicit movie when it came to the skinning scenes except the studio realized no theater chain would book such a film. The interview was done back in 2005 by Frederic Ambroisine.
The Beauty and the Beasts (14:39) catches up with actress Linda Chu. She talks about how Shaw Brothers didn’t pay well, but they offered a level of fame that let her earn money touring Asia. She goes into how Shaw Brothers picked her for the movies. She didn’t audition for the roles. These is also a discussion about what language was spoken on the set during takes. She gives details of the special effects during her torture scene.
Lau Wing – The Ambiguous Hero (51:11) talks with him working for Golden Harvest in 1968. His first screen role was against Bruce Lee in Big Boss. He later went over to work for Shaw Brothers. He was kept so busy that for three months, he never made it back to his dorm room. He would just take naps on the set. His arms would be so worn out from action scenes that he couldn’t lift his chopsticks for lunch. The audio is messed up a bit, but the whole interview is subtitled so you can just turn down the volume and read Lau Wing’s answers.
Original Trailer (1:33) sets up the mix of horror and action that dominates the film. “Peel the human skin” gets repeated so you aren’t going to be surprised.
Booklet with photos and an essay by Barry Forshaw
Double-sided foldout Poster with the original artwork and a new design from Kung Fu Bob
88 Films presents Human Lanterns. Directed by Sun Chung. Screenplay by Sun Chung & Ni Kuang. Starring Lau Wing, Chen Kuan-Tai, Lo Lieh, Tanny Tien Ni, Linda Chu & Susan Shaw. Rating: Unrated. Running Time: 99 minutes. Release Date: June 7, 2022.
