Shaolin vs. Evil Dead (2004)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This movie ended so abruptly I rewinded the DVD, thinking it had skipped. Nope that was the end. I got a laugh out of that.This movie was not bad, ending aside. Think "Power Rangers" quality acting and marshal arts, add in zombies and better sets and you have this movie. The main character reminded me of Yul Bryner but without much in the way of acting skills, his side kicks were amusing. The "bad guy" was over the top, making him enjoyable to watch and adding needed spark to this movie effort.I have to say I was kept both entertained and amused so I can recommend this movie if you do not mind endings that are so abrupt you might think the camera just stopped working mid frame!

Minor spoiler. But really, don't bother with this. To start, I have to point out that this film contains various factors that, once added up, SHOULD result in a masterpiece:Shaolin Monks (including Gordon Liu, which is better), an attractive Asian lady and zombies.The thing is, no film should contain irritating children, inappropriate slapstick humour and HOPPING ZOMBIES. This film had so much potential and blew it; the early fight scene in the tea house suggests the film has promise; but for every five seconds of Gordon Liu smacking a zombie up, you have a minute of his blood-boilingly irritating child sidekick running around screaming. It's all downhill from there, wasting twenty minutes on an ill handled romance, and all the fight scenes seem to steer clear of actual blood and guts, and just consist of Liu sticking what appear to be his dry cleaning receipts on the foreheads of zombies. Plus, an irritating MALE kid GIVING BIRTH to an equally irritating MALE kid covered in shaving foam is NOT OKAY. By the time the end arrives, you've been sat waiting for a massive kung fu zombie fight for so long you feel like beating up a pensioner if the last ten minutes don't deliver. They don't. The big bad zombie leader warrior thing looks like a Chinese rip off of Bruce Campbell's Evil Ash (which it is), and to add insult to injury, the film ends abruptly, but not only that, over the credits outtakes play from what appears to be the massive kung fu zombie fight you were waiting for!!! Why?? Was the film unfinished or something?This film should be avoided, by kung fu fans, by George Romero fans, by Gordon Liu fans, even Army of Darkness fans, which seemed to be the type of style it was aiming for. Oh, and a note to American dubbers; Feug Shui is NOT pronounced "Fung Shooey" and Buddhist monks don't not say "Jesus!" when they get angry!

Throw a low-budget movie together with some Chinese vampires, likable kung-fu master, psychedelic special-effects, a good-looking babe and some funny sidekicks and what do you get? If you're lucky, you end up with a classic like Mr. Vampire. If you're not lucky, you end up with Shaolin vs. Evil Dead.It isn't that the movie is a low-budget piece of garbage that is totally convoluted and incomprehensible (far from it) the problem is that it suffers from the medium budget mediocrity of most straight to video or made for TV fantasy movies. Although it contains all of the aforementioned fun ingredients (kung-fu, zombies, babe etc.), it just doesn't contain enough of these elements in enough exciting or outlandish ways to be considered anything close to a cult classic. (So don't expect anything as funny as a Stephen Chow movie or as over the top as the real Evil Dead movies: both of those are in a class all their own.) With that being said, I can say that I was fairly entertained for 90 minutes (it's always a treat to see Gordon Liu) and it makes for good Saturday Matinée popcorn movie fare: moving fast, and keeping up the comic book imagery. It is a fairly sincere attempt by the small cast and offers good character development if there ever is a part two.And yes, the cut to the credits is ridiculously abrupt for no apparent reason. (Couldn't they have at least finished the current scene?) but other than this goof (which seems to be making many enemies of the film) it *does* come pretty close to delivering what it promises on the cover. It is after all named "Shaolin vs. Evil Dead".

Shaolin Vs. Evil Dead is a horribly drab film about a monk who goes around putting souls at rest. There is also an ex-student of his who goes around capturing the souls into purgatory.WARNING: It's filmed like an old TV special (maybe it was straight to video) and despite what the box says, there is very little fighting in the film.Nearly everything that the DVD says in the plot synopsis only happens IN THE CREDITS of the film in a TINY screen on the top left. So you won't be seeing the five-element formation... hahaha and also it's not a gore-fest as it claims to be. In fact... I don't recall any blood. There were some worms... and some hopping vampires (sweet... that's why I gave this film higher than a 1) Avoid this film at all costs, unless you wanna get drunk and laugh at the horrendous dubbing with friends. (I watched the first hour subbed but it was so horrid that we switched to dubbed for the end... and no I wasn't under the influence of alcohol when watching it.)