THE SEVENTH CURSE (1986) is something of a companion feature to WITCH FROM NEPAL (1986) a similarly themed Hong Kong supernatural thriller which also features Chow Yun-Fat. CURSE is the more entertaining of the two, thanks to its frequent action and impressive gore effects, although WITCH had a more interesting premise and would have made a better film with more imaginative direction. CURSE has plenty of imagination, but not enough of a story to keep us involved in the twists and turns of the convoluted plot about a Hong Kong doctor seeking to rid himself of a blood curse by going back to Thailand to confront the sorcerer who cursed him. (WITCH was about characters from Nepal who come to Hong Kong to follow the central character.)
SEVENTH CURSE is a film in the `Wisely' series about a young expert in the occult, played by a different actor in each of the films (the others include LEGEND OF WISELY and BURY ME HIGH). Wisely, here called `Wesley' in the subtitles, is played by Chow Yun-Fat, who has only a supporting role as he is called on to help out his friend, the doctor, at various points. Chin Siu Ho plays the kung fu-fighting doctor and may be known to kung fu fans for his roles in the Jet Li films TAI CHI MASTER and FIST OF LEGEND. Maggie Cheung plays a nosy lady reporter, the kind that barges into every dangerous situation imaginable. Dick Wei, the Nepalese sorcerer in WITCH FROM NEPAL, plays a good guy here, a Thai warrior who helps the doctor in Thailand.
There are lots of action scenes involving kung fu combat or shootouts in which the heroes face down dozens of anonymous Thais. The white-faced sorcerer, Aquala, played by Elvis Tsui Kam-Kong, makes quite a formidable villain and has a pack of monsters at his disposal, all created with make-up effects similar to those used in the ALIEN series and numerous Hollywood monster films of the time. Given the lower HK budgets, the effects here are quite good. There is a Crypt-Keeper-style living skeleton called `Old Ancestor' who, at one point, sucks what appears to be the spinal cord from a man's back.
The problem with the gore effects is that no one really takes the monsters very seriously. Chow stands around smoking a pipe incessantly, even in the midst of peril. We're never actually scared by the over-the-top effects. Only Maggie reacts with fright and emotion, although her character is so quick to scream, like so many old monster movie heroines, that we don't really feel any tension. Still, HK fans will be hard-pressed not to drop their jaws at the sight of two of HK's greatest stars, Chow Yun-Fat and Maggie Cheung, battling bloodthirsty reptilian monsters in a giant cave in the film's finale.
There are cameo appearances by kung fu vets Wang Lung Wei, Yasuaki Kurata, and Kara Hui Ying Hung in the opening action scene, a terrorist/hostage/SWAT team standoff in an office building.
