In much of the same way that his earlier film “Hex” emerges as a bizarre updating of a popular foreign genre film before putting his own spin on things, “Curse of Evil” is director Kuei Chih-hung's updating of the 1953 genre title “The Maze.” Although originally started by director Fung Wong before taking over completely, this over-the-top movie features a roundtable collection of Shaw Brothers stars and contains just enough of Keui's trademark wackiness to be a highly enjoyable genre effort.
Attempting to honor their traditions, the Shi family Madam, (Lang Wai) her granddaughters Yulan, (Tai Liang-chun) and Yumei, (Lily Li) as well as her brother Wang, (Tin Leung), his wife, (Angelina Lo) their kids Jinhua, (Fei Ai) and Mingming, (Lau Nga-lai) alongside head-servant Uncle Quan (Wong Ching-ho) and maid Qiao (Yau Chui-ling) are bewildered at the run of bad luck the family has recently undergone. As the events continue to befall the family and even bring in family tutor Mr. Xu (Eric Chan) into the mess, they realize that a long-standing curse against the family has been enacted and is the source of their recent misfortunes. As the incidents continue to spell trouble for the family, they finally decide to investigate the strange origins of the curse leading them to a nightmare they never expected and must race to stop it from consuming them all.
Among the better elements at work here is a highly effective and involved storyline from writers On Szeto and Lu Chun-ku that gives this a great base to go along from. The intricate backstory of the family curse involving the death of the original ancestors and their burial within a well located on their property is a fine working point, introducing a logical start to the later supernatural happenings to occur. This is carried over to the family properly as their knowledge of what happened in the past and the utilization of several rituals that are meant to appease the spirits of their ancestors ties this backstory together rather well. As we can see how their actions have been influenced by this story, as well as the series of impressive supernatural antics at play within the house have come together, it all creates a solid setup that's quite fun to see play out.
Due to this setup, the supernatural events in “Curse” come off as quite enjoyable. Starting off rather nicely with the incidents around the house that include unprovoked bird attacks, props coming to life when they shouldn't or individuals catching fire unexpectedly, the increase in attacks and strange behavior from there allows for some solid action scenes throughout. With the highlight undoubtedly being the slime-riddled monster that attacks and kills Yumei in the middle of the night in front of everyone, there's undoubtedly some silly fun to be had. That is only enhanced by the effects of these scenes as the monster prop figures and slimy gore effects look cheesy but still effective for this type of film. It all comes to a head in the frenetic finale that features a slew of action setpieces, some shocking revelations, and secrets getting revealed to go along with some great gore.
One of the biggest detriments pf the movie is the hugely jumbled cast of characters that makes it quite difficult to get a handle on what's going on around the house. There are way too many family members present, with the grandmother, her son and his wife, their kids, and several cousins amongst the main group we're following, to the point that it's oftentimes nearly impossible to figure out who's who or manage to be clear on the lineage between everyone. Since most of the time, everyone insists on calling each other ‘Second Mistress' or ‘Cousin' instead of a name, this tactic doesn't help much at all and really only enhances the confusion as to who everyone is. It does get alleviated once the curse has taken hold and some of the family members get knocked off but the initial struggle of keeping track of who's there is definitely a hurdle.
The other small issue with “Curse” is that Keui manages to make it so obvious that there are supernatural shenanigans present that it's hard to justify the family continually being present and staying there. From the very beginning, we're treated to characters getting attacked by random animals, witnessing others die around them, or realizing that disastrous omens are present. These events should be more than enough to convince others that something's wrong. Even after witnessing the slimy monster attack or being around for other attacks that clearly point to something happening in the house, no one says or does anything to stop it or alert the authorities to what's going on. This makes it incredibly unlikely to root for them with how they willingly stay in the house without trying to take themselves more seriously.
A wholly enjoyable Hong Kong exploitation offering, there's a lot to enjoy in “Curse of Evil” that makes this one of the better films in this scene despite missing out the top levels due to some issues. Those who enjoy this type of sleazy, slimy genre efforts, are a fan of Asian horror cinema, or followers of the creative crew will be the most likely audience.
