Vivid, atmospheric, and often gruesome wuxia pic from the Shaw Brothers stable, ‘The Bells of Death’ is a hard-edged hoot.
Telling the relatively simple story of lowly woodcutter Wu (Chang Yi) who, when giving directions to a trio of (unbeknownst to him) thugs, sends them to his house where they ransack it, kill his parents and brother, and kidnap his sister. Fuelled with rage and vengeance, Wu crosses paths with a renowned swordsman (Yang Chi-Ching) who trains him in the art of fighting. Thus, Wu sets off to slay the trio of killers and rescue his sister from their bandit leader (Lam Kau).
Imaginatively helmed by Yueh Feng (‘The Young Avenger’), ‘The Bells of Death’ takes a simple tale we’ve seen as set up for countless revenge action flicks and piles on the meanness, gore, and creative settings for the kills to take place. The film is tough, with even the main character becoming a hardened killer: Chang Yi giving an impressive no mercy vibe to his leading man. Mood is also palpable through some creative set design and lighting, an almost gothic veil over proceedings that again adds to the meanness of the narrative.
Feng doesn’t hold back with the gore either, the kills often bloodily realised via brutal blows to the head. The action is copious though often short and sweet rather than overly sustained, Wu going for the jugular every time. This means the film never opts for flights of fancy or over-the-top action, keeping everything relatively grounded as Wu cuts his way through the killers: a fight in a bamboo forest being particularly memorable. The film has been compared to Spaghetti Westerns of the time and the comparison is valid, certainly in the way the action/fight scenes build tension before unleashing a quick bout of extreme violence.
Some may not appreciate the style-over-substance approach here, but it works well to deliver a sharp, cruel tale of wuxia justice. Eureka’s new restoration of the film looks fantastic and comes with some fun and informative commentaries from genre experts, Frank Djeng, Mike Leeder and Arne Venema.
Eureka Entertainment recently released ‘The Bells Of Death’ on UK Blu-ray, and you can order it now from Amazon.co.uk and Eurekavideo.co.uk.
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