Killer of Snake Fox of Shaolin (Col Dub)

Customer Reviews:

Chinese Mythology vs. Standard Kung Fu Fare.......2007-05-01

Do not go into this film expecting a typical kung fu movie. It is quite the opposite, it focuses greatly on Chinese Mythology, specifically Animal Spirits. I learned more from watching this movie than if I would have taken a class at the local community college. It does* have kung fu in it, but also deals with Fox and Snake spirits...I was pretty shocked that it had much more of a plot than the typical kung fu movie (young man gets beat in combat, goes off to find a teacher of some secret style no one else knows, returns after an idiotic amount of time to best his opponent with his new skills).
I agree with the previous viewer that Carter Wong was not the best choice for a hero and that he makes a better villian, however the mythological elements really kept this movie going. The fact that no one else noted the animal "clans" were animal spirits was their loss in watching the movie.
The movie does also suffer from some budget issues, however the use of mythological elements that one doesn't see every day makes me consider buying another copy for my friend who got me back in to kung fu movies -- however, I would not even classify this movie under kung fu or martial arts movies; it is more suited as Foreign Drama.

A real stinker.......2007-02-04

What starts with some decent at best kung fu sadly turns into a stupid fantasy movie. When a young man(Carter Wong) tries to rescue a girl from another young man, he uses black magic to subdue Carter and is punished by God for using his powers. After being turned into a snake for using his magic he comes back to life I guess and goes right back to try and get the girl. We find out the snake and the girl who is the fox are really mythology figures or something. The main plot is about how Carter Wong is the one that the girl wants while the other young man wants the girl to be his wife and it gets tired very fast. 20 minutes in Nick Cheung (aka Cheung Li) fights Carter Wong and this was ok but the choreography doesn't bring us anything new and unfortunately doesn't have any intricacy to it. The fantasy elements of the movie seem to actually be an excuse to cut the fights short and it tries to make the fights seem that they are better than they actually are. Even with proper editing this wasn't filmed good enough to look even decent. Certainly not the worst fights but only Carter Wong looks above average. Nick Cheung comes back for another fight after not appearing in the movie for about 40 minutes. It is another decent action sequence but really has no relevance to the story. The final fight is the best but it is still bad.

The story keeps going back to this guy at the start of the movie trying to take the girl as his wife and we get to watch the story run back and forth putting in a stupid side plot or flashback sequence here and there. Carter Wong's Buddhism teaching helps him defeat the black magic and he forces the villian to fight for the girl in an even match.

So basically this is a fantasy but with extremely limited production values. They substitute kung fu action with a boring story most of the movie and it is just plain dumb. The whole fox and snake thing is just something they mention here and there to act like they actually have a story.

Picture from Tai Seng is of course full screened. There is slowness that shouldn't happen in some frames and it is a bit blurry but overall this is actually decent release. Watchable picture quality with good brightness.

Kung Fu and Magic Too!.......2004-12-05

Killer of Snake, Fox of Shaolin could have been better, but there were a few elements in it which made it watchable.

The story starts, when Carter Wong gets invloved in a dispute between the Fox and Snake clans.(the two clan are actually Foxes and Snakes in human form and both can use magic) Choy Tien Sing, of the Sankes, wants to marry Won Ku of the Foxes. She won't have anything to do with him however, so he tries to take her by force. Carter Wong happens by, and steps in to help the Foxes. Choy Tien Sing injuries him however, but is driven off by the Gods for using magic in a fight. Won Ku nurses Carter Wong back to health and falls for him. Later she and her father try to get Carter to marrry her, but he rufuses. Then they shceme to get the two together by having Won Ku follow Carter Wong.

Eventually they stop at an Inn where Carter stops trouble between the town thugs employed by Kin Tai Fung and the Inn keepers. As a thankyou the Inn keeper allows Carter and Won Ku to stay at the Inn. In the night, however, a female ghost, So Ju Chin, approaches Carter and asks for his help to kill the gang leader Kin Tai Fung. Apparently he had raped her 3 years earlier and she hung herself in shame. Carter is confused at first, because after making a trip to a Buddist temple the next day, he discovers evil is close to him and he must rid himself of it. Eventually, Carter discovers the evil is actully Won Ku, not the spirit, and he aides the ghost in getting revenge on Kin Tai Fung.(Iguess since Won Ku is a Fox in disguise misleading Carter, she is evil)

Meanwhile, Choy Tien Sing tracks down Carter Wong and Won Ku. He is determined to kill Carter and marry Won Ku. He and Carter Wong Battle in the end to settle matters, and Won Ku leaves Carter due to her incompatablity with him. Since she is a Fox and he is a human.

Well as you can see there was a confusing story which was most likely due to the Hong Kong tradition of let's make it up as we go approach to movie making. However, the idea was a fresh one, and I liked the use of the magic, and the idea that the two clans were actually Foxes and Snakes in human form. Also, the plot with the ghost was interseting, better than the clan rivalry and Won Ku's crush on Carter Wong. Both clans also had cute daughters, although we see Won Ku the most.

The bad news is that the plot does suffer due to lack of continuity. Also, Carter Wong is not the best choice for a hero, he plays better villans in my opinion. The disc quality should have been a little better too. There are points where the film looks out of focus, and the digital transfer gets a little hazy at times. The Kung Fu is not that great either.

So in summary I gave 2 stars because I liked the idea of magic, and the addition of the ghost plot.(that helped the movie pick up somewhat) If you are a Kung Fu fan and are looking for a film with decent fights however, this wont do it for you. Keep looking. I'd say it's worth a watch only if you like Kung Fu films with something different in them. With the magic, a ghost, and animal clans, Killer of Snake, Fox of Shaolin delivers in that regard.

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