Daggers 8 (1980) / Snake in the Monkey's Shadow (1979)

DAGGERS 8 (1980)

Director: Cheung Sum, Wilson Tong

Notable Cast: Wilson Tong, Meng Yuen-Man, Lily Li Li-Li, Peter Chan Lung, Cheng Kang-Yeh, Alan Chui Chung-San, Wong Yat-Fei, Sai Gwa-Pau, Cheung Sum

Truthfully, I stumbled into Daggers 8 on accident. The trailer for the film was randomly suggested to me on YouTube after watching something else martial arts related and I was sold. The film looked like the perfect blend of camp, strong action, and silly gimmicks. While Daggers 8 is not nearly as perfect as one would hope in balancing those three things, all three are most certainly available for those to enjoy as the film plays out. The weakest element of the film, despite the awkward dubbing, is the story which has our hero, played with the silliness and arrogance of early Jackie Chan knock off roles by Meng Yuen-Man, leaving his life under his scholarly father to pursue the life of becoming a kung fu expert. Along the way he finds three different teachers, but all three are mysteriously killed by the same assassin (played in straight face by Wilson Tong) who deals in effective killing styles with his titular eight knives.

Iron Monkey, The (1977)

Director: Chen Kuan-Tai

Notable Cast: Chen Kuan-Tai, Kam Kong, Wilson Tong Wai-Shing, Shut Chung-Tin, Leung Kar-Yan (Beardy), Chi Kuan-Chun

Also known as: Iron Monkey, Bloody Monkey Master, The Iron Monkey of Shaolin, School of Shaolin

The Iron Monkey is a film that always seems to come with the highest of recommendations from kung fu fans. However, my initial viewing of the film, some ten years ago, wasn’t one that left a mark on me. It was good, but your standard kung fu flick. So, it was high time to revisit the film and see if it would have improved over time, remain in the same echelon, or fall to being one of those overhyped flicks made popular by the will power of a vocal few. Fortunately, The Iron Monkey is a film that I found more impressive this time around than I did the first time as it plays its style loose and straight forward. It is not, however, the instant classic that belongs in the upper levels of the genre that I find so many fans claiming. If anything, the film is fun and shows a lot of interesting character depth that makes it solid watch and if a viewer goes into it with that mindset then The Iron Monkey is a film eager to please.