HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Oily Maniac He's one slick operator
Year: 1976
Director: Ho Meng-hua
Stars: Danny Lee, Ku Feng, Chen Ping, Lily Li, Angela Yu Chien, Terry Liu, Hua Lun
Genre: Horror, Sex, Action, Trash, WeirdoBuy from Amazon
Rating:  4 (from 1 vote)
Review: If you can resist a title like that, you’re a stronger man than I am. Probably a more sensible one too. The mighty Shaw Brothers produced this surreal horror fable, which the opening credits inform us was based on a folk tale and shot in Malaysia. Jaunty music plays over travelogue shots of Malaysian scenery. When sleazy gangsters threaten his daughter Little Yue (Chen Ping), struggling small business owner Lin Yang-ba (Ku Feng) accidentally kills one of them and is sentenced to death. Prior to his execution, Lin calls on crippled lawyer Sheng Yung (Danny Lee) to protect his daughter and imparts an ancient spell that transforms our hero into a slimy monster with glowing eyes and superhuman strength.

When the surviving triads try to rape Yang-ba’s daughter, Yung wreaks gooey vengeance, yet in human guise is spurned by childhood sweetheart Little Yue, who shacks up with a white-flared lothario. Driven over the edge, Yung becomes the incredible melting vigilante, sliming wrongdoers all over Hong Kong. Led by the incredibly idiotic Inspector Lau (“That oily maniac makes trouble everywhere!”), the cops remain clueless until kindly, lovelorn secretary, Xiao Li (Lily Li) stumbles onto his secret.

Hong Kong film fans know Danny Lee for his heroic roles opposite Chow Yun Fat in John Woo’s The Killer (1989) and Ringo Lam’s City on Fire (1987), or for the run of slightly distasteful crime-horror movies he directed in the 1990s. But once upon a time, Lee headlined some of the wackiest films ever produced at Shaw Brothers. Sandwiched between goofball classics Super Inframan (1975) and The Mighty Peking Man (1977), this slapdash horror effort includes all the regular exploitation ingredients (black magic, violence, monsters, nudity, rape) alongside DIY special effects. The rubbery monster resembles a half-melted Swamp Thing clone from mid-seventies era Doctor Who, and reaches a gloopy height when he rises from a bathtub to menace one naked lady.

The silly concept requires Yung douse himself in oil in order to transform. Which results in ridiculous scenes where Danny Lee, seething with vengeful fury, smears himself with cooking oil or else dives into a barrel of the stuff before some baffled road workers. Nevertheless, no-one could accuse Lee of not giving his all. He throws himself into ridiculous situations with utmost sincerity, despite a poorly paced plot that often lapses into bad taste. These include a pop star out to sue her plastic surgeon for a botched boob job providing us a gratuitous glance at her maimed mammary, and the lady surgeon who agrees to restore a young hooker’s virginity for client satisfaction.

Missteps aside, this offers a few laughs when the Oily Maniac invades the operating theatre to stomp heads or beats a blackmailer to death with his own bicycle. All accompanied by John Williams’ theme from Jaws (1975)! Overall it offers neither the gross-out thrills of Ho Meng-hua’s Revenge of the Zombies (1976) nor the campy fun of his The Mighty Peking Man, and - needless to say - remains impossible to take seriously.
Reviewer: Andrew Pragasam

 

This review has been viewed 7798 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 
Review Comments (0)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
  Stuart Watmough
Paul Shrimpton
Darren Jones
Mary Sibley
Enoch Sneed
Mark Le Surf-hall
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
   

 

Last Updated: