The Story: A mysterious killer, the Mask of Death, is assassinating the wealthy and powerful clans in the martial world. The families debate over whether the killer is some supernatural force, a monster, or a jealous rival martial artist. Young Chen (Stephen Tung Wei- 18 Fatal Strikes, Mars Villa, Golden Mask), the scholarly son of one clan leader, doubts it is anything other than an ordinary man, but his words go unnoticed because he refuses to follow his families martial roots. As the families converge to discuss the problem, martial master and healer Wan Yi Fei (Chen Sing- Fatal Flying Guillotines, Iron Fisted Monk, Rage of the Wind) finds his own son assassinated. The Mask of Death then wipes out Chen's entire family, leaving him filled with rage and intent on revenge, so he seeks out a Abbot proficient in martial arts and begins to get training...

Meanwhile, Iron Hand (Wong Tao- Eagle Claw, Secret Rivals, The Hot the Cool and the Vicious) a government agent undercover as an assassin living at the local brothel and receiving his hit list tattooed on the backs of prostitutes, finds that the men he is being sent after lead to this mysterious assassin. Soon, the identity of this killer is found out, but the killer has learned a deadly form of martial arts and it will take the combined efforts of Chen and Iron Hand to defeat him.

The Film: Director Joe Cheung's second film is a marked improvement from his debut, and is a standard convoluted and serious kung fu tale with no hints of the comedy that would largely define Joe Cheung's career with Pom Pom and Pom Pom and Hot Hot. His debut, Incredible Kung Fu Master was a standard kung fu comedy with gray, drab settings and locations. In Mask of Death (aka Shaolin Devil and Shaolin Angel, 1979) we get some fantastic sets and lavish costuming, involving vibrant color schemes, almost like a Seijun Suzuki movie. The film is full of color, including some great moments like the red drenched Hammer Horror lighting when Wan Yi Fei is learning the Ghost Stroke by dipping his hands into a razor tipped cauldron of hot pebbles. The action is great, various weapons work, very little speedup, lots of hand to hand and neat fx, which next to the eye-catching set design, is the films saving grace.

The different strands of convoluted plotting actually drag the film down because it isn't entirely cohesive. A kung fu film like Chinese Super Ninjas or Fist of the White Lotus may have a far more simple plot, but at least their stories are constantly moving forward and clearly mapped. Mask of Death simply doesn't know what it wants to be- A story about a mysterious, possibly otherworldly, killer attacking influential families?- A story about an undercover agent who works under the guise of an assassin?- A young man training so he can avenge his family?- Both men after this mysterious killer?- It all never quite congeals... The first half of the film is spent focusing on the Mask of Death, and then after he makes one grand attack, it is sort of dropped; it would have been better to keep that idea alive instead of having him be so successful he defeats everyone. The second part of the film focuses on Iron Hand a bit more, with some hackneyed backstory and love plotting, and his all too easy search down the trail of killers that leads to the Mask of Death. All the while, Chen trains with the Abbott. So in that sense, we dont even have a clearly defined lead. Both men are given almost equal backstory and motivation, but neither character takes control, and the chance to unite the contrasting characters, the rich son and the bitter agent, never materializes. Likewise, the conspiracy of who the killer is, unfortunately, falls apart because it is too obvious when you cast an actor like Chen Sing, who every time he appears as a wealthy kung fu lord he is a bad guy. Even if you are not into kung fu and don't know who Chen Sing is, it ain't no Agatha Christie Mystery so it is still pretty obvious because the film doesn't open up to too many possible killers.

Stephen Tung Wei gets a chance to play something other than a normally comedic goofball, acrobatic, martial kid, and his character of a favorite son not interested in fighting driven by the death of his family to fighting seek revenge could have been better. His pacifism is dropped once he goes to train. Although the training scenes are some of the films highlights, his character is then largely absent until the final fight, like the character is an afterthought, just an extra person to include in the finale (admittedly, Tung Wei was also busy as the films fight choreographer so that helps account for this problem). Wong Tao was fairly unimpressive, his character given a heavy weight, a somber placid nature that his acting skills cannot bear, but luckily he does fight well, something Wong Tao needed to stick to in his films. Chen Sing, as always is a reliable second-third tier star, and when it come time for him to cut loose with maniacal rage he shines (although the cheesy dubbing hinders his performance).

The DVD: First of all, Crash Cinema needs to be commended for their 'letterbox only' releases, putting them a notch above the other kung fu companies that settle on tape masters. But Crash also puts Yasuaki Kurata on the cover of Mask of Death and Yasuaki Kurata is not in the film. Picture- Letterbox 2.35.1. The color and contrast are great, bright hues and deep blacks, but unfortunately, as is the case with so many kung fu titles, there is severe damage to the print. There are some almost constant green lines, erosion, specks, flecks, dirt, some softness. Its a product of being a kung fu fan, looking past some of these marred prints, and at least being thankful we get the film uncut, in its correct ratio, at the very least with some good color and contrast. But still, the print has more crags in it than the face of Lance Henrikson. Sound- Dolby Digital Mono 2.0, English dub. Audio track is fairly low, and in spots exhibits the same kind of wear that the image does with some hiss, stutter, and pops. Still, dialogue is pretty clear and action and music scenes have the audio mix pumped up a little bit more. Extras-None, 12 Chapters, that is it.

Conclusion- A good effort, with weak plotting that can be overlooked thanks to some great sets, costuming, and good action. It wont win any new converts to kung fu, but for those that love the genre , a worthwhile purchase, an entertaining film. The barebones DVD print image and sound is rough, and may get nothing but grumbles from the none genre cult loving fans.