Born in a bad year and month, on a bad day and time, Alan Chang finds himself plagued by disturbing ghostly encounters. Local medium Lady Luck informs his family that he must dig up the bodies of two spirits in particular and bring them to Thailand where they can be reunited in death in order to end the nasty mojo afflicting him. During his trip abroad, Alan hooks up with the sister of one of the deceased and a short love affair ensues. Agreeing to return to his lover in three months time, he heads back to his family in Hong Kong and gets on with his life. When three months come and go without a trip back to Thailand, Alan once again begins experiencing strange occurrences but this time it’s no mere haunting, it’s the blackest of black magic…BLACK DEATH BLACK MAGIC!
Creepy ghosts, a jilted lover, black magic, worms, blood and dueling magicians! It’s time to fall in love with HK cinema all over again!
When fellow cinemaphile and sleaze peddler Jack J over at Backyard Asia recommended this film, I assumed I’d get the usual over-the-top grue and titillating nudity typically associated with HK black magic films. Surprisingly enough though once I actually dove into the film I discovered that it was quite the opposite, there was no gore and only a few hints of skin. If you’re feeling a bit let down about now, don’t. What Brutal Sorcery lacks in sleaze it makes up for with a poster/VHS artwork “inspired” by Argento’s Inferno, a hilariously entertaining English dub and a score blatantly stolen from 1980′s Flash Gordon starring Max von Sydow and Timothy Dalton. Trash cinema gold.
If you’re on a quest, as I am, to see each and every HK genre film you can get your hands on, then you’ll need to see Brutal Sorcery for your own satisfaction. Keep in mind that while there is a story, it’s not an incredibly complex or original one and there’s no happy end for optimistic viewers. This is more “cautionary tale” than “unhinged sleaze-fest” and it definitely could have used more of Chan Lee Lee’s huge tits but it does succeed in mildly entertaining. Now…go check this flick out or I’ll bite the head off of your kitchen-roaming chicken!
