“Special effects” were simply scratched onto the celluloid in early martial arts fantasy films, and monsters were just men dressed up in funny costumes. Things got a bit better around the 1970s – but not much. Here, we look at four ghostly and monstrous wuxia films, from worst to best. 1. The Web of Death (1976) The main problem with this magical wuxia from Chor Yuen is that the monstrous giant spider depicted on the poster turns out not to be giant at all – in fact, it is tiny. To make matters worse, the spider is static for most of its brief appearances, and when it does move, the model makers have designed it to rear up like a horse and fire a death ray. So the sight of groups of expert swordsmen cowering in its venomous presence looks extremely ridiculous. Chor Yuen is one of the great directors of Hong Kong cinema, having excelled at melodramas and mystery thrillers in the 1960s and then romanticised martial arts films, often based on the works of martial arts novelist Gu Long, in the 1970s and 1980s. Although his best works are infused with a definitive style, he has been described as the studio director par excellence. He loved working under the umbrella of a big studio, and consequently would make pretty much whatever the Shaw Brothers studio asked him to make without argument. That was the case with this shoddy 1976 outing, which came straight after his martial arts classic The Magic Blade. Scripted by Ni Kuang, the prolific genius who wrote many of Shaw’s hits, the story tells of two rival martial arts clans who join together to prevent a villain from unleashing a venomous and almost indestructible magic spider on the martial arts world. Although production values are much lower than on bigger Shaw productions – the sets are makeshift and lack Chor Yuen’s usual mystique – the studio still gave him some stars to work with, such as popular heroic swordsman Yueh Hua; Ching Li, one of the director’s favourite actresses; and the stalwart Lo Lieh in yet another villainous role. But all their efforts are sunk by the presence of the tiny “monstrous” spider. 2. Black Lizard (1981) Another lesser sword-fighting and sorcery film from Chor Yuen, Black Lizard – not to be confused with his earlier big-budget heist caper The Lizard – nonetheless features some of the mysterious atmospherics that the director is known for in classic films such as The Sentimental Swordsman. Unfortunately, the monster lizard shown at the start of the film, which looks like a rubber toy, is as pathetic as the tiny spider in The Web of Death. Tellingly, in spite of the film’s title, it only makes one more brief appearance, right at the end – although even then, it could actually be a rock. That is not so much of a problem here, as this is less of a monster movie than a ghostly mystery thriller. Although it is ruined by an overly complex plot about detection, it is still an engaging story of supernatural intrigue. The story, written by Chor Yuen himself, begins when Derek Yee Tung-sing’s heroic swordsman leaves his fiancée for a two-year mission on a security detail. When he returns, he encounters a black-clad spirit warrior from hell who tells him his fiancée is going to die. Then he meets a scarred fighter who carries a wooden mannequin of his fiancée in a coffin. What is going on? The film is almost wholly shot at night, and glimpses of seemingly ghostly beings in a garden perfectly evoke a supernatural world – even if it does all turn out to be fake. Yee, who tries to solve the mystery with Sun Chien from the Venoms films, exudes star quality throughout, while the martial arts are in the old “dragon masters” style, featuring leaps, spins and a lot of tumbling. 3. The Devil’s Mirror (1972) This lurid mixture of wuxia and witchcraft, directed by Sun Chung, plays like a 1970s grindhouse movie from the West. A basic storyline tells of a witch who, with her acolytes in the Bloody Ghouls clan, plots to steal two magic feng shui mirrors which will give her invincible powers. To fill out the plot, the film’s first half features the two rival clans that own the respective mirrors figuring out that the thief is not actually one of their number. The weirdly named and apparently prized “Fish Intestine Sword” also seems to play a part. The groovy 70s sets, which feature skull-shaped fire pits, tribal drums played by half-naked, bewigged drummers, along with the demonic costumes, are a lot of fun. The witch is given a “third eye”, and some satanic-looking jewellery, which perfectly reflect the tone of cult early-1970s films. The Devil’s Mirror was the first martial arts movie to be directed by Sun, who later developed an individual style with films like The Avenging Eagle. An unusual 180-degree pan shot of a mass group of fighters shows Sun already trying to develop some new ideas. Just to make an odd film even odder, Lee Ga-sai, who played the evil witch, later became known as a cookery columnist. 4. Dragon Swamp (1969) Director Lo Wei has been saddled with a bad reputation as he was criticised by both Bruce Lee, who wanted to direct Lo’s Fist of Fury himself, and Jackie Chan, who resented Lo for trying to turn him into the “new” Bruce Lee. But back in the 1960s and 1970s, Lo Wei was respected for his sturdy and professional approach to moviemaking – and his success at the box office. This occasionally mysterious wuxia story is solid throughout and has all the gloss and star power of a big-budget Shaw production. It features top stars Cheng Pei-pei, then called “Hong Kong’s Queen of Swords”, Yueh Hua, and the ubiquitous Lo Lieh, along with some high-quality art direction, all captured with some beautifully composed widescreen cinematography. The story, written by Lo Wei, has Cheng playing a naive young fighter who is sent to retrieve a stolen sword from Lo Lieh’s villain. After her first attempt goes wrong, the heroic Yueh Hua takes her to a swampy kingdom ruled by the Dragon Swamp Master – who is, it soon transpires, an older woman also played by Cheng. Lo Wei simply bludgeons two styles of film – martial arts and fantasy – together here, but the result is gripping enough. A highlight is a fight in an inn that sees Cheng reprise her classic bout in King Hu’s groundbreaking Come Drink With Me. In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars, and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved industry. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook