Author: M.C. Thomason

Fans of exploitation cinema as well as students of international cinema and its trends will have solid reward from ‘Female Convict #701: Scorpion’ and the powerful ferocity of the onscreen tale of love, betrayal and revenge it weaves.

‘Till Death Do Us Laugh’ hits a nice balance of horror and comedy, with neither outweighing the other, whilst never taking itself so seriously as a collective that the audience can’t have a bit of fun with it.

‘New Blood’ is a smart, efficient and alarmingly effective genre piece that sits effortlessly alongside some of the finer horror entries of the period as an unremittingly morbid and blood-curdling exercise in unadulterated terror.

‘House of the Damned’ is just another of the numerous B-grade horror entries that emerged from the late-nineties, albeit sexed up with lashings of gratuitous nudity and as loud, crude and unruly as any of its peers.

Whilst not without some near-peripheral flourishes of merit, To’s film is perhaps no more (or less) notable than many other similar productions of the era.

The film is not without its flaws, inclusive of a sometimes-confused narrative structure, but it’s worth a look against its widespread negative reaction for long-time fans of the director.

‘Dial D for Demons’ is a modest but effective Hong Kong ghost story and generates just enough suspense to keep one on edge until the finale.

Though the overly moral message may deter some, there’s more than enough rough and tumble scraps to entertain fight fans and a host of strong performances from the leads as well as a thoroughly involving story to engage most everyone else.

From opening credits that ape the Spaghetti Westerns of the period to its surprising epilogue wrap-up, ‘Valley of the Fangs’ is an equally surprising and unexpected hidden gem.

‘The Lady Hermit’ still manages to stand up well decades on as an extremely entertaining, if not extremely gory, example of the Shaw Brothers armed combat films in their prime.

Ultimately, ‘Invincible Enforcer’ proves such a hit or miss affair that it’s not hard to see why it has remained virtually unknown to international audiences since its release.

Something of a minor undiscovered gem, it’s not hard to see why ‘I Love Lolanto’ was a box office hit in its day and remains well worth seeking out as a latter-day diversion.