18 Bronze Girls of Shaolin

A woman pretends to be blind. Lots of other people pretend to be mute. Half the male characters dress as women. One guy fights himself. Others fight giant roses. Various people may be called Pai Yu Fei – they don't seem sure. And who is the mysterious Lady Killer? Reading this kind of stuff, I'd want to take a look and the film is certainly weird, but for a long while it doesn't make enough sense even to be funny. 'I'm confused,' says the hero half an hour in. 'I'm as confused as you,' says a villain, half an hour later. 'What's happening?' says someone else. 'I have no idea,' comes the reply. They are not alone. You'll be confused. You'll have no idea what's happening.

The acting and direction isn't that great, early on there isn't much action, the jokes tend not to be that funny and there's never any story. We're told Pai Yu Fei is some kind of rebel leader, learning kung fu to get revenge, but what she's rebelling against and what she wants revenge for is anyone's guess.

Then again there are the hilarious bronze girls (gold suits and face-paint) – over the opening credits, they use their bodies to ring a giant bell. And once the local ancient white-haired monk pops up with a line or two of explanation, we're launched into a final half-hour of non-stop, funny, inventive action (especially when the BGs get going – check out the five-high shoulder rides!) Excellent stuff! – pity about the first hour.