''Satan Returns'' is a 1996 Hong Kong

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by Lam Wai-lun and starring

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan ( zh, c=甄子丹, p=Zhēn Zǐdān, j=, first=j; born 27 July 1963) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and action director. He is the recipient of various accolades, including three Golden Horse Fi ...

Chingmy Yau Chingmy Yau Suk-zing (born 16 May 1968) is a former Hong Kong actress. A sex symbol during the golden age of Hong Kong cinema in the 1990s, Yau is known for films such as '' Royal Tramp'' (1992), '' Naked Killer'' (1992) and '' Hold You Tight ...

Kingdom Yuen Kingdom Yuen King-dan (苑瓊丹; born 11 September 1963) is a Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a te ...

Francis Ng Francis Ng Chun-yu (; born 21 December 1961) is a Hong Kong actor and director. He is known for his roles in the TVB series '' Old Time Buddy'' (1997) and '' Triumph in the Skies'' (2003), as well as in films such as '' Bullets Over Summer'' ...

and

Dayo Wong Dayo Wong Tze Wah (born 5 September 1960) is a Hong Kong actor and standup comedian. Known as a pioneer of stand-up comedy in Hong Kong, he is known for his stadium shows integrating political satire and social commentary. He has performed at ...

. The film was released in the United States as ''Shaolin vs. The Devil's Omen''.

Plot

Ching, an officer in the

Royal Hong Kong Police Force The history of the Hong Kong Police originates in 1841, when the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) was officially established by the British colonial government, the same year that the British had settled in Hong Kong. While changes have been impl ...

, has been experiencing the same nightmare where she sees a woman with her heart taken out and dies while being inverted on a cross. Later, during a hostage situation, Ching, who has never fired a gun before, manages to shoot the armed thug dead and rescue the hostage. When she moves closer to where the thug was taking cover earlier, she sees the horrible image that has been appearing in her nightmare: the dead body of a woman hanging on an

inverted cross The inverted cross, also known as the upside-down cross, is a symbol that has been used in both Christian and anti-Christian contexts. Historically, it is most commonly associated with Saint Peter, who, according to tradition, was crucified upsi ...

. Ching's colleagues, Nam and Ka-ming, are put in charge of investigating this case. All the evidence from the crime scene – from symbols in the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

written in blood on the woman's body to the inverted cross – suggests that the case is related to a Satanic cult. Nam and Ka-ming get Ching to help them with the case because she is knowledgeable about religious symbols. Judas, Satan's messenger, is wandering around Hong Kong in search of his master's daughter, who is believed to be born on 6 June 1969. He is also responsible for committing the recent series of brutal murders. The police have sent three undercover policewomen as bait to lure Judas out, but their plan fails and one of the policewomen, Leon, is killed. While in a state of confusion, Ching has frequent visions of her long-lost father, who had abandoned her when she was still a child. Judas also contacts her and tells her that she is Satan's daughter, and that he will come to find her. Nam and Ka-ming are assigned to protect Ching, but they are still no match for Judas, who possesses supernatural powers. In the early hours of 6 June 1996, Judas manages to break out of custody despite having been arrested earlier by the police. He kidnaps Ching and brings her to the rooftop of a high building, where he intends to carry out a ritual by taking out her heart. If she survives the process, then she is indeed Satan's daughter. Nam and Ka-ming come to save Ching and fight with Judas. Eventually, Nam manages to kill Judas by using a

nail gun A nail gun, nailgun or nailer is a form of hammer used to drive nails into wood or other materials. It is usually driven by compressed air ( pneumatic), electromagnetism, highly flammable gases such as butane or propane, or, for powder-actua ...

to impale him on the cross and setting him on fire, the burned cross which is inverted and fell from the building into the priest’s

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

as it got burned. Just as the clock strikes at 6 am, Ching tests out whether she is really Satan's daughter by taking out her heart. She survives and shows her heart to Ka-ming, who screams. The movie ends. While the flammed van set on fire at the end uses as background video, it says Revelation 20:7:8 before the ending credits

Cast

as Nam *

as Ching *

as Rose *

as Judas *

as Ka-ming *

Lam Sheung Yee Spencer Lam Sheung Yee (; 14 December 1934 – 23 April 2009) was a football defender, coach and announcer, as well as an actor. Spencer was a graduate of the Chinese University of Hong Kong with an economics major. He was once a secondar ...

as Priest *Lam Kwok-kit as Lulu's colleague *Ivy Leung as Leon *

Lee Lik-chi Lee Lik-chi (李力持) (born 10 May 1961) is a Hong Kong–based actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Stephen Chow before disassociating each other due to frequent clashes. He is also an active contrib ...

as Peter *

Wayne Lai Lai Yiu-cheung (; born 4 May 1964), better known as Wayne Lai, is a Hong Kong actor. He became one of Hong Kong's most successful television actors after starring in TVB hit drama series '' Rosy Business''. Lai won three TVB Anniversary Awar ...

(cameo) *Cheung Lau as Lulu *Mandy Chan as Wife-beating policeman *Mak Wai-cheung as Suspect in restaurant *Tsim Siu-ling as Suspect in restaurant *Hon Ping as Policeman *Wong Shiu-keung *Bill Lui as Suspect in policeman

Reception

Critical

Love HK Film
' gave the film a negative review and writes "''Satan Returns'' is plagued by the wacky, nonsensical Hong Kong ways which just don't work in pictures like these."

Box office

The film grossed HK$6,704,385 at the Hong Kong box office during its theatrical run from 17 May to 7 June 1996 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

References

External links

* *
Satan Returns
' at

Hong Kong Cinemagic Hong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, was a bilingual ( French and English) website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people who created them. The we ...

* {{Wong Jing 1996 films 1996 horror films 1996 action thriller films 1996 crime thriller films 1996 martial arts films 1996 psychological thriller films Hong Kong action horror films Hong Kong action thriller films Hong Kong crime thriller films Hong Kong martial arts films Hong Kong supernatural horror films Supernatural action films 1990s supernatural thriller films 1990s action horror films Crime horror films Police detective films Gun fu films Hong Kong ghost films Hong Kong serial killer films Hong Kong vampire films Films about Satanism 1990s Cantonese-language films Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong Religious horror films 1990s Hong Kong films