''The Seventh Curse'' is a 1986 Hong Kong adventure film directed by Lam Ngai Kai based on

Ni Kuang Ni Cong (30 May 1935 – 3 July 2022), courtesy name Yiming, better known by his pen name Ni Kuang (also romanised Ngai Hong, I Kuang and Yi Kuang), was a Hong Kong-American novelist and screenwriter. He wrote over 300 Chinese-language ''w ...

's novel series ''Dr. Yuen Series'' and stars Chin Siu-ho as Dr. Yuen. The film also stars

Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: '' A Better Tomorrow'', '' A ...

as Wisely, the protagonist in Ni's ''

Wisely Series The ''Wisely Series'' is a series of Chinese adventure-science fiction novels written by the Hong Kong novelist Ni Kuang. The protagonist of the series is Wisely (sometimes also spelt "Wesley"). In total, there are 161 stories about Wisely record ...

'' who appears as a supporting character in the ''Dr Yuen Series'', while Ni himself serves as the film's narrator and also making a brief appearance as himself.

Plot

Dr. Yuen attempts to rescue a beautiful girl from being sacrificed to the "Worm Tribe" she belongs to. Yuen is damned with seven "Blood Curses" which burst through his leg periodically. He will die when the seventh bursts, but Betsy, the girl he saved, stops the curse with an antidote. The antidote only lasts one year, so on the advice of Wisely he heads back to Thailand to find a permanent cure. Yuen and his allies battle the evil sorcerer of the Worm Tribe, a hideous bloodthirsty baby-like creature, and "Old Ancestor," a skeleton with glowing blue eyes that transforms into a monster.

Alternative versions

This film has at least three different endings for each of its official releases: *In the original theatrical release, after the monster-killing climax, there's another by-the-pool-party scene (same pool as seen in the beginning of the film, but is supposed to be another party) in which Maggie Cheung's character makes up with Dr. Yuen. Then, we cut to the original party-scene that starts off the movie with Dr. Yuen, Wisely,

(the real author of the two pulp-novel series) and a bunch of beautiful girls. As the author finishes telling the movie's story to the girls, one of them asks if he has another adventure story to tell. The author replies, "Well, we have to see what exciting adventures Dr. Yuen and Wisely are going to have." The two main characters come into frame, toast and finish their drink. Freeze-frame, then comes the end-title music and credits. *In the first video release available in Hong Kong during the late 1980s-early 1990s, the last two scenes were completely cut out, so as the very last close-up of Bachu, the native girl. Instead it is replaced with a two-shot of her and her lover, while the end credits roll partly over its freeze-frame, partly over black. Also, in that video release, the native girl's nude scenes were partly censored with the explicit body parts blacked out to make the film more "family-oriented". *In the DVD-edition, the second-to-last scene in the original theatrical release is cut out, whilst the final scene is retained, but with the end credits rolling over. The original dialogues are replaced with the end-title music.

Cast

as Wisely * Chin Siu-ho as Dr. Yuen Chen-hsieh *

Dick Wei Dick Wei (, born April 15, 1953) is a Taiwanese actor, director and writer who specializes in martial arts and action films. Early life and career A Hakka, he was born in the town of Pingtung in southern Taiwan and began studying martial art ...

as Black Dragon * Maggie Cheung as Tsui Hung * Sibelle Hu as Su *Chui Sau-lai as Betsy *

Elvis Tsui Elvis Tsui Kam-kong (born October 12, 1961) is a Hong Kong actor and artist. Tsui is primarily known for his roles in erotic films and martial arts films, where he's more often cast as villains. Some of the famous characters he has portrayed repe ...

as Sorcrer Aquala *

Chor Yuen Chor Yuen (), born Cheung Po-kin (; 8 October 1934 – 21 February 2022), was a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and actor. Chor is credited with over 120 films as director, over 70 films as a writer and over 40 films as an actor. Early ...

as Chu *

Yasuaki Kurata is a Japanese martial artist and actor, best known for his work in Hong Kong action films. He holds dan ranks in Karate (7th degree), Judo (3rd degree), and Aikido (2nd degree). Biography Kurata was born and raised in Sakura-mura, Niihari Dis ...

as Captain Ho *Ken Boyle as The Professor *

Kara Hui Kara Wai Ying-hung BBS (; born 3 February 1960) is a Hong Kong actress best known internationally for her roles in wuxia films produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio in the 1970s and 1980s. Wai has since portrayed a wide range of roles on screen ...

as Inspector Chiang *

as Himself/Narrator (voice) *

Joyce Godenzi Joyce Mina Godenzi (; born 28 May 1965) is a former actress and winner of the Miss Hong Kong pageant of 1984. Background Born in British Hong Kong in 1965 to an Australian father and a Chinese mother, Godenzi was encouraged to join the Miss Hong ...

as Pool Party Girl (long version) *

Wong Jing Wong Jing ( born 3 May 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, Film producer, producer, actor, News presenter, presenter, and screenwriter. A prolific filmmaker with strong instincts for crowd-pleasing and publicity, Wong Jing played a prominent ...

as Would-be Playboy * Wang Lung-wei as Head Terrorist *

Derek Yee Derek Yee Tung-sing () is a film producer, director and a former Shaw Brothers actor from Hong Kong. Early life Yee was born Yee Tung-sing in Hong Kong on 28 December 1957, the son of Yee Kwong (爾光), a film producer from Tientsin (Tianjin), ...

as SDU Officer *Chui Sau-lai as Bachu *

Nina Li Chi Nina Li Chi (born December 31, 1961) is a retired Hong Kong actress. She is married to actor Jet Li. Early life Li was born on December 31, 1961, in Shanghai, China. Her father was a stage actor. Career In 1986, Li was the winner of Miss Asi ...

as Champagne Girl (''uncredited'')

Reception

One reviewer said, "The Seventh Curse is weird and crude, gross and tasteless, silly and shocking, but God is it fun."

References

External links