Evil Cat isn't the sleaziest of HK horror movies, nor is it one of the nastiest, but it sure is one of the more enjoyable examples of the genre.
Written by prolific film-maker Wong Jing, the film begins with the uncovering of a strange hole in a quarry, where, decades earlier, a cat demon was imprisoned. The evil released, it is up to Master Cheung (Chia-Liang Liu) to defeat the malevolent feline force once more, as his ancestors have done for generations. After the demon possesses businessman Mr. Fan (Sai-Kit Yung), his chauffeur Lo (Mark Cheng) joins Master Cheung in the battle to prevent the cat from sucking the life-force out of innocent people (or from simply mutilating them).
It's the crazy cat attacks that make this one such a blast, the possessed Mr. Fan leaping great distances, striking kung fu stances and making wild cat noises. In the first of many crazy scenes, Fan attacks Lo, leaping in the roof of the car as the chauffeur speeds away. Fan is dragged under the car, but grabs hold of the rear of the vehicle. Lo crashes into an electricity station, leaping clear before the car explodes. Evil cat demon defeated, you might think... but when Lo goes to his mother's apartment, who do you think is waiting for him?
Narrowly avoiding being killed, Lo goes to Master Cheung, and the pair try to destroy feline Fan by shooting a sacred arrow into his heart. Cheung gets in a fight with several security guards (a very entertaining scene that allows Chia-Liang Liu to show off his martial arts moves) while Lo tackles Fan, electrocuting his boss and then shooting him with the arrow. His shot isn't accurate enough, and Fan explodes, the cat demon escaping to possess Fan's tasty secretary Tina.
After being bailed out of jail by Cheung's daughter, the pair try to track down the demon again, which leads to all manner of craziness. The film gets really bonkers after Cheung and Lo succeed in shooting Tina with the arrow: taken into surgery, Tina wakes up mid operation and slaughters all of the doctors. She then proceeds to shove her hand right through a cop, after which she gets shot in the head. That doesn't stop her, though, and she continues the carnage, despite being riddled with machine gun fire.
In the entertaining finalé, Cheung uses magic against Tina and punches through her torso, so she detaches her arms and fires them at him. Then the old man is possessed by the cat demon and explodes, and his daughter is taken over by the evil entity, going 'full cat' (complete with pointy ears and fur). I haven't had so much fun with a Hong Kong horror since The Seventh Curse and it's hilarious 'blood ghosts' (that film was also written by Wong Jing - he might have quite a few stinkers in his resumé, but there's some good stuff in there too).
7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.
Written by prolific film-maker Wong Jing, the film begins with the uncovering of a strange hole in a quarry, where, decades earlier, a cat demon was imprisoned. The evil released, it is up to Master Cheung (Chia-Liang Liu) to defeat the malevolent feline force once more, as his ancestors have done for generations. After the demon possesses businessman Mr. Fan (Sai-Kit Yung), his chauffeur Lo (Mark Cheng) joins Master Cheung in the battle to prevent the cat from sucking the life-force out of innocent people (or from simply mutilating them).
It's the crazy cat attacks that make this one such a blast, the possessed Mr. Fan leaping great distances, striking kung fu stances and making wild cat noises. In the first of many crazy scenes, Fan attacks Lo, leaping in the roof of the car as the chauffeur speeds away. Fan is dragged under the car, but grabs hold of the rear of the vehicle. Lo crashes into an electricity station, leaping clear before the car explodes. Evil cat demon defeated, you might think... but when Lo goes to his mother's apartment, who do you think is waiting for him?
Narrowly avoiding being killed, Lo goes to Master Cheung, and the pair try to destroy feline Fan by shooting a sacred arrow into his heart. Cheung gets in a fight with several security guards (a very entertaining scene that allows Chia-Liang Liu to show off his martial arts moves) while Lo tackles Fan, electrocuting his boss and then shooting him with the arrow. His shot isn't accurate enough, and Fan explodes, the cat demon escaping to possess Fan's tasty secretary Tina.
After being bailed out of jail by Cheung's daughter, the pair try to track down the demon again, which leads to all manner of craziness. The film gets really bonkers after Cheung and Lo succeed in shooting Tina with the arrow: taken into surgery, Tina wakes up mid operation and slaughters all of the doctors. She then proceeds to shove her hand right through a cop, after which she gets shot in the head. That doesn't stop her, though, and she continues the carnage, despite being riddled with machine gun fire.
In the entertaining finalé, Cheung uses magic against Tina and punches through her torso, so she detaches her arms and fires them at him. Then the old man is possessed by the cat demon and explodes, and his daughter is taken over by the evil entity, going 'full cat' (complete with pointy ears and fur). I haven't had so much fun with a Hong Kong horror since The Seventh Curse and it's hilarious 'blood ghosts' (that film was also written by Wong Jing - he might have quite a few stinkers in his resumé, but there's some good stuff in there too).
7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.