THAT FRIGHTENING SWORD is an early attempt at a wuxia from Hong Kong, made before Shaw Brothers really got going and cornered the market, and contemporaneous with DRAGON GATE INN. The film features Kenneth Tsang as one of a bunch of heroic characters, including a notable amount of female fighters, both good and bad. They come into possession of a huge and deadly sword that can destroy an opponent without even touching him, and Shih Kien is the bad guy who wants to get his hands on it. This starts out promisingly but loses it along the way with cheap cardboard-looking sets and a dearth of action in favour of melodrama; the climax in particular is a non-event. Simon Yuen has a small role as an old master (what else?).
