cover


Rating:

7


AKA: Holy Virgin Vs. Evil Dead, The Holy Virgin Vs. The Evil Dead

Year of release: 1991

Genre: exploitation

Director: Wong Chun-Yeung

Action directors: Faan Chin-Hung, Lung Sang

Producer: Leung Ching

Cinematography: Wong Chit

Editor: Gwok Keung

Music: Tang Siu-Lam

Stars: Donnie Yen, Ken Lo, Ben Lam, Pauline Yeung, Sibelle Hu, Kathy Chow, Chui Hei Man, Robert Mak, Hsu Hsia, Lee Ho Kwan, Chui Fat

Rated III for violence, language and nudity


DVD Information

Company: Bonzai Media

Format: widescreen

Languages: Cantonese

Subtitles: Chinese/English (burned-in)

Extras: Donnie Yen trailer

Notes: This looks and sounds like it was directly taken from the VCD. Unfortunately, it's the only available version on DVD.


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The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead

The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead

If ever there was a movie title that screamed "cheesy good time", it would have to be The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead. As you might expect, it has absolutely nothing to do with Sam Raimi's Evil Dead movies -- in fact, it doesn't feature zombies at all. It's either more genius marketing from B-level HK producers, or a bad translation of the film's Chinese name -- probably a bit of both.

At any rate, the picture centers on Donnie Yen, who plays a professor (you know he's a smart guy because he wears glasses) whose students are killed by a lunatic (Ken Lo) during a full red moon. Of course, the cops (led by Sibelle Hu and Ben Lam) don't believe Donnie's story, but soon after finding some mysterious "screwy" hair (which, according to the badly dubbed-in gweilo scientist, indicates a maniac) they assist Donnie on his way to find the source of the killer. The gang eventually heads to a small village in Thailand, which is led by the "holy virgin" of the title (played by Pauline Yeung). This all leads to a climatic confrontation between the group and a crazed band of cultists.

The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead

The plot is pretty much crap, yet still has enough holes to drive a truck through. The acting, for the most part, feels like the actors just phoned in their lines. Sibelle Hu is particularly bad -- all she does is scowl and look like someone just cut a fart. The special effects are anything but; for instance, in one bit, someone gets their throat cut and there's a close-up of the spurting blood. Trouble is, you can actually see the guy crushing the blood pack in his hand.

But you really wouldn't be watching a movie like this for any deep meaning. Like the recent Snakes on a Plane, it's hard to tell whether the film-makers set out to make a campy comedy, or were just plain inept. Whatever the intention, the results are hilarious. I would have liked to seen more blood, but there is a suitable amount to keep gorehounds occupied. For you degenerates out there, the film sports a copious amount of totally unnecessary nudity, which is really not a bad thing at all for a movie like this. There's also a nice quotient of action. All in all, if you're a fan of good "bad" films, this is one of the tops in the genre.

The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead