This movie is available for purchase at www.hkflix.com
Rating:
7
Year of release: 1998
Genre: horror
Director: Kant Leung
Producer: Wong Jing
Action Director: Ng Cheung Paang
Stars: Cheung Gam Ching, Annie Wu, Elvis Tsui, Lee Siu Kei, Anthony Wong, Wong Ban, Lam Yuk Ji
Rated IIB for gory violence
DVD Information
Company: Universe
Format: widescreen
Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin
Subtitles: Chinese, English
Extras: trailers, stars' files
Notes: Your average Universe DVD -- nothing to get excited about, but the movie is presented decently.
Related links:
Wong Jing biography
Elvis Tsui biography
Anthony Wong biography
Movie Review index
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The Demon's Baby
When you have Elvis Tsui and Anthony Wong together in a movie about battling demons, it's a pretty sure sign that you're about to have a good time. The Demon's Baby is just one of those uniquely "Hong Kong" pictures -- a lot of it doesn't make a lick of sense and it's outright cheesy-looking at times. But, on the other hand, it is just so viscerally exciting, that even the most jaded HK film fan will have themselves a bloody good time.
In the movie, Elvis Tsui plays a corrupt general whose troops find a grand treasure. Part of the treasure is a set of five "eggs" and a golden buddha. After one of the general's servants pawns off the buddha, strange things start to happen, including all four of the general's wives becoming pregnant in the same night. It turns out the buddha was keeping demonic spirits trapped in the eggs at bay, and now that they have escaped, the general's wives become demons themselves. A rogue priest (Anthony Wong) and the general's cook (Cheung Gam Ching) must try and kill the demons before they can infest the entire world.
Truthfully, for about the first half of The Demon's Baby, I was almost bored enough to stop watching the movie. However, once the demons actually start coming out, the movie turns into a gore-fest that would make Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) and Peter Jackson (Dead/Alive) proud. The last forty-five minutes or so is basically just demons eating people or people killing demons -- there's really no plot devleopment or drama, but The Demon's Baby isn't really the kind of movie where you need those kinds of things.
If you're in the market for a "feel-good" picture or something starring the latest crop of cute pop stars, then you had better stay away from The Demon's Baby. However, if you're in the mood for something a bit different (even in the schizophrenic world of Hong Kong movies) and have a high tolerance for blood and guts, then I would recommend this film. It might take a while to get going, but once it does, The Demon's Baby is some of the most fun I've had watching a movie for quite some time -- and this is coming from someone who just watched puppets making sweet whoopee in Team America. In all seriousness, The Demon's Baby does certainly have its' share of flaws, but it is both unpretentious and over-the-top at the same time, and with all the bloated big-budget pictures that have come out lately, The Demon's Baby is like a breath of fresh air.
