Eight Strikes of a Wild Cat
(aka 8 Strikes of the Wildcat, Eight Strikes of Wild Cat)
1979; directed by Lin Yi-Hsiu

A group of evil martial artists who are experts in various animal styles of kung fu -- including the not-so-threatening gopher style -- are using their nefarious talents to kill teachers throughout the land so they can steal pieces of a treasure map. Chi Dan Dan plays a student whose master is killed by thugs who use the rat style. So what better technique to learn from a kooky old hermit than cat style?

Eight Strikes of a Wild Cat is obviously set up as a showcase for Chi Dan Dan's talents and to ostensibly craft her into a female kung fu star ala Angela Mao. Chi's career never took off -- she only completed one other film after this -- but she showed some nice moves here. However, there's nothing that really stands out, either, both from her kung fu and her acting, though it is a bit hard to honestly judge that aspect, since the version watched for this review was a DVD from VideoAsia that featured their usual fairly awful English dubbing. Still, if you're in the mood for some female-oriented oldschool kung fu, this release should fit the bill nicely if you go in with lowered expectations.

RATING: 5