The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead (魔唇劫) is a 1991 live-action theatrical Hong Kong film directed by Tony Lou Chun-Ku, and produced by Leung Ching, with distribution by T & M International Film Co., Ltd. & Cheung Yau Martial Arts Direction Co., Ltd. The film starred Donnie Yen, Pauline Yeung Bo-Ling, Ben Lam Kwok-Bun, Chui Hei-Man, Kathy Chow Hoi-Mei, Ken Lo Wai-Kwong and Robert Mak Tak-Law, with screenplay writer Lee Ho-Kwan, and music composed by Chan Yung-Sam and Tang Siu-Lam. The film was theatrically released in June 1991 for Hong Kong.
Note: As I’ve purchased the film a while back, this is more akin to a ‘delayed unboxing’ post but most of the photos were sorted at the time of its arrival.
Background:
“Martial arts action icon Donnie Yen (‘John Wick: Chapter Four’, ‘Ip Man’) plays Cheung, a kung fu fighting Chinese Indiana Jones forced to taken on the challenge of an ancient supernatural foe. Ken Lo (‘Drunken Master II’) is our hero’s nemesis as he tries to protect a magically empowered tribal princess (Pauline Yeung, ‘Dragons Forever’). Cheung must also contend with Sgt Hu, a Hong Kong lady cop determined to crack the same case (Sibelle Hu, ‘The Inspector Wear Skirts’).
Shot mainly on exotic Thai locations, ‘Holy Virgin VS Evil Dead’ is a fast-paced genre-blending mix of fierce Hong Kong fistfights and over-the-top horror flick effects.”
Plot Synopsis via 88 Films, July 2024.
Tony Lou Chun-Ku (鲁俊谷) has worked on many projects during his career, especially with the Shaw Brothers for directing films like Bastard Swordsman and The Lady Assassin, but also as an actor including Broken Oath and The Iron-Fisted Monk. A lot of the films he directed aren’t as well-known as others, but there are a few that stood out and one of them was his 1991 film The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead starring semi-newcomer Donnie Yen who prior acting credits include In the Line of Duty IV and Tiger Cage, and as you would know by this point his career eventually skyrocketed like Jackie Chan did with many acting notes including Hero, Ip Man, Iron Monkey, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and John Wick: Chapter 4.
Despite the strange name for English audiences, The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead was a very fun and entertaining adventure in the same vein that The Seventh Curse was, coincidently both films travel to Thailand to defeat a threat. Donnie Yen and Ben Lam Kwok-Bun were both entertaining as they figure out what is going on and how they could defeat an evil demonic vampire like being. There’s a lot of martial arts action and fantasy elements throughout.
There’s a sub-plot during the first half of the film that was rather annoying to watch and that was with one of the police officers. Her attitude was honestly a bit too much given the tone of the film and didn’t add much other than to annoy Donnie Yen’s character but at least she wasn’t around for too long.
I watched the Category III version which featured a lot of nudity and I will say many of them were pretty random and out of nowhere probably to take advantage of the high rating due to its following, but you can honestly stick to the Category II version and it won’t impact the experience whatsoever. Pacing was pretty good too and recommend this film a lot to anyone who wants an Indiana Jones/Armour of God adventure in their Hong Kong collection.
The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead had previously been released in the UK back in the VHS era from distributors TVB Limited and Eastern Heroes in 1992 and 1995 respectively with cuts required by the BBFC. Those original release were also known for using rip-off artwork from different films like Evil Dead 2 to appeal towards that demographic simply because of the film’s English title.
When UK distributor 88 Films picked up the rights they had the film re-rated (which was required to secure an uncut release) which led to a lower rating from an 18 to a 15 and any previous cuts waived. Upon viewing the film it makes sense as the nudity scenes didn’t do that much to keep the 18 rating and also the quality of the master for the Category III version isn’t as detailed as the Category II version which probably helped with the rating choice.
Limited Edition Contents:
88 Films produce different editions depending on the materials available and the type of film they are working on, so while The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead isn’t a deluxe edition, we still have limited edition physical extras available for the releases’ first print run, like their previous Category III release Ebola Syndrome.
This limited edition release is presented with an o-card glossy slipcase showcasing newly illustrated artwork by R.P. “KUNG FU BOB” O’Brien, an Amaray case housing the disc, a double-sided poster featuring newly illustrated artwork and the original theatrical poster artwork, and a 28-page booklet featuring one write-up; ‘Moon Monsters, Holy Virgins, and Kung-Fu: A Look Back on Donnie Yen’s Cat III Cult Classic’ by Paul Bramhall.
The slipcase and amaray features ratings, synopsis and information about the release, including specifications. The limited edition Blu-ray release retailed for £17.99 SRP and would eventually be re-released as a standard edition Blu-ray that omits the O-Card Slipcase, poster and booklet.
I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon UK.
Physical Contents:
- O-Card slipcase with brand-new artwork by R.P. “KUNG FU BOB” O’Brien
- Amaray case packaging
- Double-sided poster featuring newly illustrated artwork and the original theatrical poster artwork
- 28-page booklet featuring an article by Paul Bramhall.
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: 88 Films
Released: 1st July 2024
The limited edition release for The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead presents the film on a single Blu-ray disc, with the authoring and encoding done by 88 Films. The film’s presentation is based on a HD restoration from the original negatives of the Category II theatrical version.
The Blu-ray features two versions of the film – the original Hong Kong Category III theatrical cut (01:32:43 runtime) presented in Cantonese audio with English subtitles, and the more commonly available Hong Kong Category II theatrical cut (01:31:14 runtime) presented in Cantonese audio with English subtitles. Both versions are uncut and uncensored and there are slight differences between the two; the Category III version features various amounts of nudity throughout the film, while the Category II version massively tones it down to reach a wider audience.
While the Category II version was remastered in high definition, the Category III version wasn’t because the original film elements couldn’t be found. As 88 Films wanted to include all possible versions whenever possible, they have spliced in footage from a standard definition source for any of the CATIII exclusive/alternate scenes with the CATII HD remaster, and overall it was actually pretty solid because the new scenes don’t last particularly long to be too jarring. That said, if you don’t like SD quality, you wouldn’t be missing much from the CATIII version unless you love nudity.
The white subtitles, newly translated, are unlockable during playback and the Blu-ray disc is accessible to players set to Region A & B.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Cantonese |
| Audio | Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.85:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- The Man Behind the Genius – An Interview with Lee Ho-Kwan (28:29 runtime)
- The King of Disco VS The Evil Dead – An Interview with Robert Mak (15:32 runtime)
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Her Vengeance is available to purchase on Blu-ray by 88 Films in the United Kingdom.
The limited edition Blu-ray release has since sold out, but the standard edition can be purchased across different retailers including 88 Films, Amazon UK, HMV, and Terracotta Distribution.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
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