The Seventh Curse (原振俠與衛斯理) is a 1986 live-action theatrical Hong Kong film directed by Lam Nai-Choi, and produced by Raymond Chow, Chua Lam and Wong Jing, with distribution by Golden Harvest based on the novel series Dr. Yuen written by Ni Kuang. The film starred Chin Siu-Ho, Maggie Cheung, Dick Wei, Chui Sau-Lai, Elvis Tsui Kam-Kong, and Chow Yun-Fat, with screenplay writers Wong Jing and Yuen Kai-Chi, and music composed by Stephen Shing Gam-Wing. The film was theatrically released in October 1986 for Hong Kong.
Note: As I’ve purchased the film a while back, this is more akin to a ‘delayed unboxing’ post. The photos were sorted at the time of its arrival, but have been reshot to reflect the current format. This post also contains images from the box art and booklet that are not suitable for work.
Background:
“When Dr Yuen (Chin Siu-ho) attempts to rescue a girl about to be sacrificed by the Worm Tribe in the middle of a Thailand jungle, he is damned with seven ‘Blood Curses’. Though he finds a temporary antidote this will only last a year and he must return to the jungle to find a permanent cure.
The Seventh Curse is an adventurous story of lost tribes and deadly magic. Featuring strange locales, evil sorcerers and monsters, this bonkers thrill fest is a rollicking Asian oddity, a must for collectors of exotic Hong Kong cinema.”
Plot Synopsis via 88 Films, July 2022.
Lam Nai-Coi (藍乃才) is a great director who has worked on a small but quality selection of films during his career. In 1984, the director started collaborating with Wong Jing, another famous individual from the Hong Kong film industry, for a few film projects either as director or cinematographer until eventually the duo worked together to adapt of Ni Kuang’s novels in the Dr. Yuen series.
In this series the story follows our main character Dr. Yuen and often interacts with another character called Wisely, who also has a novel series of his own (which Lam Nai-Choi would eventually adapt one of the stories into a film years later called The Cat). Both characters encounter supernatural or bizarre events during their careers. There’s been various adaptations of the Wisely novels but each of them had a different actor portray Wisely. In this film, Chow Yun-Fat portrays Wisely but is not the main character of this journey.
Lam Nai-Choi’s approach to The Seventh Curse goes even further by including nudity but more importantly violence and gore to the next level, with a lot of scenes featuring blood clots exploding or people’s bodies either getting crushed to death or going mouldy. It really adds to the horror vibe pretty well, making it look like a darker version of an Indiana Jones or Armour of God story. It’s due to the film’s nature that a few years later it would eventually be rated Category III by the Hong Kong film rating board for home video and re-releases (as the rating system wasn’t introduced when this film was released in theaters).
Having said that I really enjoyed The Seventh Curse. It’s another fun fantasy adventure film similarly to The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead but with the nudity toned down and the violence ramped up. The practical effects were amazing and I can see why it was given the Category III rating post-release. Chow Yun-Fat’s character was brief and was on-screen a bit more than a cameo but whenever he’s around it does steal the spotlight, especially in the final act which was honestly pretty funny to watch. Chin Siu-Ho also did a great job and his martial arts skills were pretty good too. My only critique is the reporter girl was rather obnoxious and annoying but her attitude gets better as the story progresses.
It’s funny that both this and The Holy Virgin Versus The Evil Dead share similarities because they both have the second half take place in Thailand and also deal with a demonic villain of sorts. There’s a lot more Indiana Jones inspired segments here with the death traps, the police chasing at times and also the villain meeting their end in the most unpleasant way possible. Speaking of the villains, the practical effects here were well-detailed and the final act has a monster that is almost like they took inspiration from Alien. But I had a great time watching The Seventh Curse I highly recommend giving the film a watch. I think its up there as one of Lam Nai-Choi’s most enjoyable and entertaining films in his filmography.
Prior to UK distributor 88 Films picking up the home video rights, The Seventh Curse was previously released by distributor Missing in Action though it received cuts by the BBFC. The Blu-ray release released in July 2022 marks the UK’s uncut debut after it was resubmitted and had the cuts waived. In North America, it was released later down the line as a double film pack with Witch from Nepal by distributor Vinegar Syndrome.
Deluxe Collector’s Edition Contents:
Before 88 Films kept changing up their special editions, their special editions were simply known as ‘deluxe collector’s edition’ and you could tell what it was by looking at them. Erotic Ghost Story was one of the first and eventually The Seventh Curse followed suit.
This deluxe collector’s edition release is presented with a rigid box showcasing newly illustrated artwork by Sean Longmore, an Amaray case housing the disc, 6 replica lobby cards, double-sided poster featuring newly illustrated artwork and the original Japanese poster artwork, and an 80-page perfect-bound book featuring three write-ups. The articles covered are ‘Spooky Encounters, Holy Virgin’s and Seventh Curses: A Short Guide to Hong Kong Horror 1980-1997’ by Matthew Edwards, ‘Ni Kuang and the Seventh Stars of The Seventh Curse’ by Matthew Edwards, and ‘The Blood, the Bad and the Ugly: Getting to grips with Lam Ngai-Choi’s bizarre fantasy horror, The Seventh Curse (1986)’ by Andrew Graves.
The box art features ratings, synopsis and information about the release, including specifications. The artwork on the Amaray case does include information and specs on the back but there’s no BBFC logos except from the main back cover. The deluxe collector’s edition Blu-ray release retailed for £29.99 SRP and would eventually be re-released as a standard edition Blu-ray that omits the rigid box, lobby cards, poster and booklet.
I pre-ordered my copy from 88 Films’ website.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with brand-new artwork by Sean Longmore
- Amaray case packaging
- 6 Replica Lobby Cards
- Double-sided Poster featuring newly illustrated artwork and the original Japanese poster artwork
- 80-page perfect-bound book featuring new articles by Matthew Edwards & Andrew Graves.
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: 88 Films
Released: 4th July 2022
The deluxe collector’s edition release for The Seventh Curse presents the film on a single Blu-ray disc, with the authoring and encoding done by Fidelity in Motion. The film’s presentation is based on a 2K restoration from the original negatives.
The Blu-ray features two versions of the film – the extended Hong Kong theatrical cut (01:23:42 runtime) presented in Cantonese audio with English & English SDH (due to some brief scenes spoken in English) subtitles, and the Export cut (01:20:23 runtime) presented in English audio with English SDH subtitles.
The white subtitles, newly translated, are unlockable during playback and the Blu-ray disc is locked to players set to Region B.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Extended Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Cantonese Export Cut: English |
| Audio | Extended Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Cantonese Linear PCM 2.0 Export Cut: English Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.85:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | Extended Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: English, English SDH Export Cut: English SDH |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Audio Commentary by Asian Cinema Expert Frank Djeng and Marc Walkow (Extended Hong Kong Theatrical Cut)
- Audio Sole Commentary by Hong Kong Cinema Expert Frank Djeng (Extended Hong Kong Theatrical Cut)
- Audio Commentary by Action Experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema (Export Cut)
- Interview with Actor Chin Siu-Ho (02:13:08 runtime)
- Patricia Wong on The Seventh Curse (07:50 runtime)
- Hong Kong Cantonese Trailer (04:20 runtime)
- English Export Trailer (02:29 runtime)
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
The Seventh Curse is available to purchase on Blu-ray by 88 Films in the United Kingdom.
The deluxe collector’s 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.)
The Normanic Vault 
Leave a comment