Alien Cats, Kung-Fu Queens, and Devil Fetuses: This August from 88 Films
Way, way back, when I used to buy loads of copied tapes, I had a guy on hand who specialized in HK movies and a variety of other Asian titles. One such movie I bought, minus subtitles or dubbing, was The Cat.
The Cat (1991) is a relatively forgotten film by Lam Nai-Choi, the director of The Seventh Curse and Riki-Oh: They Story of Ricky. I remember watching it with a couple of friends and loads of weed (ahh, my youthful days). What we witnessed was a mixture of insanity, good and bad effects, awful music, plus a dubious feline tail removal — was it real or not?
This oddball is arriving on Blu-ray via 88 Films in August. What’s the story to this irrational cretin? An evil blob-like extraterrestrial has come to earth with nefarious intentions. Luckily some good aliens are on its trail: a man, a woman, and — of course — their fluffy black cat.
Okay. Also, that same month, 88 Films are popping out an absolute classic of martial arts cinema, Come Drink with Me (1966) on 4K UHD. We have a fearless heroine, a kung-fu master in hiding, a seemingly invincible villain, and a film that’s universally regarded as one of the greatest ever made in Hong Kong. The heroine is Golden Swallow (Cheng Pei-pei — Painted Faces, Crounching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). She’s been dispatched by her powerful father to rescue her brother who’s been taken hostage by bandits. The kung-fu master is Fan Da-pei (Heroes Shed No Tears, Rumble in the Bronx), he may look like a drunken beggar but he’s one of the best fighters around. The trouble is that the only man who can beat him is helping the bandits. Directed by the legendary King Hu (A Touch of Zen, The Fate of Lee Khan) for the mighty Shaw Brothers studio, Come Drink with Me shook up martial arts movies and influenced everyone from Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan and beyond.
What else is there? Ah yes, Devil Fetus (1983), another HK classic horror is coming to Blu-ray, but then moving away from the East, there’s a couple of random horror titles dropping as well.
First is The Cannibal Man (1972), one of the original Video Nasties making its way to Blu-ray. The Cannibal Man is the story of Marcos, a slaughter-house worker turned serial killer, for whom one gruesome murder leads inexorably to another.
Last, but definitely not least, Neither the Sea Nor the Sand (1972) is also coming to Blu-ray. As a kid really into zombie films, I watched this on late night TV and was totally bored! However, now I’m 50, I may appreciate it more as it’s a renown quiet chiller. When troubled Anna (Susan Hampshire) comes to Jersey to bring some meaning to her life, she finds herself falling in love with a man called Hugh, much to his brother’s repugnance. The pair flee to Scotland but when Hugh suddenly dies, Anna is left distraught. However, things get more complicated when Hugh appears to return from the grave…
All releases arrive with a ton of extras plus the usual beautiful 88 Films cover art.
Here’s a link for their “coming soon” page including their July flicks: 88-films.myshopify.com/collections/pre-orders
