Ren pi deng long (1982)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Chung Sun

Writers:

Kuang Ni (writer)
Chung Sun (writer)

Genre:

Horror | Action

Plot Keywords:

Skinned Alive | Revenge | Rape | Skinned Person | Martial Arts

Cast

Tony Liu	...	Lung Shu-Ai (as Liu Yung)
Kuan Tai Chen	...	Tan Fu
Lieh Lo	...	Chao Chun-Fang
Ni Tien	...	Lung's Wife
Linda Chu	...	Yen Chu
Hsiu Chun Lin	...	Tan Mei-mei
Meng Lo	...	Kuei Szu-Yi
Chien Sun	...	Sergeant Pan
Fei Ai	...	(Guest star)
Shaw Yin Yin	...	(Guest star)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Erik Chan Ka Kei	...	Tan's Fan squad
Chuen Chiang
Miao Ching
Ging Man Fung
Ping Ha	...	Brothel Madam
Lai Fan Hon
Pei Chi Huang	...	Tan's Fan squad
Chih Tai Lin
Hung Lu
Lao Shen	...	Inn proprietor
Gong Shih
Ching Ho Wang	...	Old Tsui
Han Chen Wang	...	Tan Manor butler
Chi Ming Wong	...	Tan's Fan squad
Mei-Mei Wong
Siu Ming Wong
Man-Kei Yiu
Bun Yuen
Wah Yuen	...	Tan's Fan squad

Directed by
Chung Sun

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kuang Ni		writer
Chung Sun		writer

Produced by
Mona Fong	....	producer
Runme Shaw	....	executive producer

Stunts
Pei Chi Huang	....	fighting instructor
Chia Tang	....	fighting instructor

Production Companies

• Shaw Brothers

Distributors

• Siren Visual Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Human Lanterns (Hong Kong: English title) (International: English title)
Human Skin Lanterns (USA) (video title)
Yun pei dung lung (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Hong Kong:IIB

Company:

Shaw Brothers

A Nutshell Review: Human Lanterns (DVD)

Human Lanterns is probably widely talked about as a cult martial arts film with some dabbling on the macabre. The opening credits show a warehouse with plenty of human remains atop a bloody grinder. In fact, it has all the ingredients of a torture porn flick, except that, horrors of horrors, this DVD edition comes censored! So gone are the scenes where the victim's skin are peeled off their bodies to make the titular lanterns, though there was a fleeting boob shot from afar that the censors seemed to have missed.

Anyway, the story is nothing remarkable, with two town braggers, Master Lung (Tony Liu Yong) and Master Tan (Chen Kuan Tai) at loggerheads and always scheming to be one up against the other. Tan shows off his latest human-sized lantern which gets the admiration of the simple townsfolk, and Lung decides to go one up on his rival. His search for a master lantern maker leads him to one time love rival Chun Fang (Lo Lieh), who agrees to make him the most stunning lanterns ever seen, with a condition that he never visits his workplace. Best of all, they celebrate their strange union by visiting the whorehouse. Hmm.

Also, a mysterious masked creature looking like an overgrown hairy ape with highly skilled kungfu start to terrorize the town, kidnapping young nubile females such as the #1 courtesan and the sister of Master Tan, and given the nature of the disappearance, the animosity between the two men deepen to a deadly duel. However, it doesn't take you a second to figure out just who the man is behind the creature, and there's some needless tension built up around this mystery which seemed a little waste of time. The "police" too turn out to be rather foolhardy and inept, with the sergeant always listening to the two rich men, allowing his investigations to be poisoned by ill opinions from each of them on the other. Talk about siding with those who are rich or in power.

While it can't be comparable to stuff we see today, for it's time I think the fight scenes were still interesting enough to engage audiences, given its myriad of weapons from swords to fans (and the creature's gloved claws), and stunts. In fact, the stunts and sets were really impressive for its climatic battle, and I thought there was no stinginess in creating multi- layered sets for the actors to ply their martial arts abilities. What seemed to be interesting here though, is not the choreographed martial arts display, but rather the portrayal of the women's role in cultures back then. They are treated like playthings, with zero say in the ways of the world, reduced to gossipy aunties, and helpless damsels in distress. In fact, Lung's wife had to even tolerate, and even approve of her husband's infidelity.

That said, Human Lanterns could have been a more entertaining watch, if not for the censoring of those crucial moments, making it like eating Char Kway Teow without the See Hum!