The Story: As law enforcement invades their compound, many members of a doomsday/devil cult commit mass suicide, and there is only one survivor, a woman, with child, who dies giving childbirth. Years later, surviving members of the cult begin to be murdered mysteriously. Father Park, a priest, resigns from the church and with the aid of his superpowered son and their magic dagger wielding cohort, Hyun-am, prepare for the coming battle with the Devil himself. They know that the key to the Devils resurgence is the surviving child, who has grown into a beautiful woman named Sueng-hee, and they are the only people on Earth that can protect her. As the Devil draws closer, so do a reporter and a detective who are confounded by the murders and strange events, seeing only Father Park and Hyun-am connected to the crime scenes. When the Devil possess Father Park's son and demands that they hand Sueng–Hee over to him, the situation becomes even more dire, and its an all out battle to save the Earth from Lucifer.

The Film: Before seeing Soul Guardians (1998), I ran across three or four reviews that made it sound like Big Trouble in Little China meets Evil Dead 2 meets Prince of the Sun (The HK knockoff of The Golden Child). Oh, sure its a style blending b-fantasy movie, but it also isn't jaw-droppingly fun like, say, The Seventh Curse. (And no, the irony isnt lost on me- I, a reviewer, compaining about misleading reviews). I was instantly reminded of another ambitious b-film, off the wall, sci-fi/fantasy genre blender that didn't quite work, Tsui Hark's Wicked City.

Basically it is a slick, comic book, anime influenced take on the old "Look out here comes the Devil!" plotlines you see in End of Days, Lost Souls or Canada's greatest export in the genre, Rock 'N' Roll Nightmare. In Soul Guardians, The Devil adheres to the tried and true rules of a low, growling, reverb drenched voice and red eye contacts when he possess someone, which always makes me wish he would run to a quickie mart and get some mentholated cough drops and Visene. It liberally borrows from Terminator (a possesed army soldier after Sueng-hee), Dragonball (the superpowers) and Legend (Sueng-hee possessed at the end looks like some kind of Mia Sara clone/an extra from Motley Crue's "Shes Got Looks that Kill" video). And, dare I say it, when a bulldozer gets possessed and runs down a cult member, it had me reflecting back to good ol' Clint Walker in Killdozer.

While it offers up small doses of gore, kung fu, and CGI, I cant really say pushes either, which is a negative. Playing up the gore or fights would have helped it. As it is, the editing is fast and choppy, the story barely lingers on any scene for more than two minutes which will greatly please the ADD crowd. At first, the film is crammed with so many characters it is all a bit dizzying. Eventually they intersect as the story comes together,... well, it doesnt really come together, it falls, smashes, and trips like lobotomized Three Stooges on a slip n' slide. For a while, it is fun, but then, after about an hour, I found myself eroded. The jumping from scene to scene grew tiresome, the narrative was sloppy, and a romantic plot begins to dominate the film, which was too serious and made it grow more silly. I wasnt expecting Lawrence of Arabia but I nearly jumped out of my skin when Father Park is chased to a church, dozens of SWAT officers behind him, sealing off the area, and he just easily walks out the unguarded back door! Then, it does the unforgivable, which is completely fall apart in the climax. There isn't the dramatic, energetic action scene payoff you've been waiting for and wonder why you spent an hour and twenty minutes for such a dud of an ending. Imagine if in Evil Dead 2, at the finale, Ash just politely asked the demons to, "Please stop possessing everyone.", and the demonic forces of darkness just said, "Okay, sorry to bother you." Well, its not that bad,... but almost.

For all its flaws, Soul Guardians boasts an all-star cast of Korean film notables. The televangelist pompadoured, Father Park is played by Sung-kee Ahn from Nowhere to Hide. Sang Mu Chu from Say Yes plays Sueng-hee, the object of the Devils attention. And, with an unfortunate, almost Liza Minnelli-ish hairdo, Hyun Jun-Shin from Bichunmoo and Gingko Bed plays the heroic but haunted Hyun-am... As far as Korean films go: If you want a slick, modern action film, see Shiri. If you want standard horror, see Tell Me Something or Memento Mori. If you want fantasy, swordplay, melodrama, see Bichunmoo. If you want something a little dark and arty-farty, see The Isle. If you want comedy and action, see My Wife is a Gangster. If you want to see a b-movie fantasy mess, see Soul Guardians.

The DVD: Winson Entertainment, All Region, NTSC Picture- Widescreen, but barely. The film was mainly shot at night with heavy shadows and stark, expressive lighting. Overall the image is very grainy and a little soft, but in a way it enhances the mood of the film. It is okay, but I doubt the filmmakers intended it to be quite as drab as the transfer. Sound- Good Dolby Digital Korean language with optional English and Chinese subtitles. The subs were pretty much free of errors, and the sound was crisp and clear, pumping out the music score and fx noise. Extras- 12 Chapters.

Conclusion- Pretty okay bubbegum b-movie, but its the kind of bubbegum that loses flavor pretty quickly. At least it was better than Bless the Child. Disc is barebones with fair/good picture and sound quality. Worth a rental to Asian b-film fans, or possibly a purchase to the very curious with more disposable income.