This is a strong contender for the strangest film that the Shaw Brothers ever produced, and in some ways, maybe one of the least polished. One must note straightaway that this immediately comes off as more than a little gawky and clunky in its lot development. It's extraordinarily swift and curt generally in its editing, a quality that is continuous throughout its length, and even in how individual scenes are orchestrated. In the first ten minutes or so it blazes through a substantial number of plot points in exposition, so many that there is quite literally a risk of blinking and missing a great deal. Yet all that is but prelude for a lengthy flashback that constitutes the meaningful beginning of the plot, a flashback that will round out the rest of the first thirty minutes. Meanwhile, many other scenes to follow are very long and drawn out, a variability in pacing that belies how curiously thin the story actually is. The connective threads between certain characters and story ideas are frail and barely cohesive; if one does actually miss the underlying motivations for the plot, bewildering as they seem to be, our assumptions are confirmed at the very end when a voiceover imparts the morals of the tale. Then, too, at the same time that blunt dialogue seems to indicate at times that the characters know exactly what is going on, there are other points when there is no specific explanation for the precise course of events, such as who a person is and why something associated with them is critical as a spell component.
That latter point is an important one where 'Bewitched' is concerned, and not just because the premise portends black magic. For all the rough patches in how the story is told and the footage spliced together, these aren't even the most significant oddities of this 1981 flick. Nor are the present-day setting (as opposed to the period pieces the Shaw Brothers are best known for), or the unremarkable sets and costume design. Nay, what really sets this apart is an element that is so unusual that it took me half the runtime to realize that the foremost facet of these 100 minutes was just that, and not a diversion. Where the average title from this studio would give us narrative advancement adjoined to or interspersed with kung fu action, the core factor of this picture is the preparation and conduction of spells and rituals, and to a slightly lesser degree, the resulting effect on the person they target. All those minutes that would elsewhere give us a flurry of martial arts wizardry instead gives us, in this case, a wizardry meeting the more typical definition. Once one realizes what it is that writer On Szeto and director Chih-Hung Kuei are doing here the inclusions go from sluggish sidesteps to a fascinating centerpiece, and one wishes they had become aware of their nature sooner - indeed, may other viewers be more wise than I am. With that being said, though, I still think one needs to be a patient and open-minded viewer to indulge in these long scenes that broadly have less going on in them than one expects.
In fairness, those practical and special effects that we do see look pretty swell, including blood and gore, special makeup, and some gruesome props; would that, perhaps, we got more of all of these, and more visualization of what the spells achieved than how they were cast, for that would have distinctly helped to give the proceedings a shot of adrenaline. Those stunts and action scenes that we do get come off well, and overall this is well made. I'm also a fan of the original music of Jen-Hou Su and Eddie Wang, a collection of far-out themes that in their own way match the peculiar tenor of the movie. And while 'Bewitched' is in no small measure not what I was expecting, I did enjoy it, and I think the concept is unique, imaginative, and worth exploring. I also think this was in considerable need of more careful craftsmanship and writing, for the initial headlong rush turns into a bit of a slog, and all the while the plot itself is less than convincing or satisfying. True, the writing isn't necessarily the most integral aspect of many Shaw Brothers productions, but it seems extra weak here. With this, and more of a gnarly spectacle taking advantage of the dark tone and potential for special effects, the end result could have been more memorable, and more of an achievement. I still think that 'Bewitched' is worth checking out if you come across it, but one maybe shouldn't go out of their way for it, and it's best suggested for those viewers who are open to all the wide possibilities of cinema and who will be best equipped to endure the more stagnant or undeveloped parts of the film.
That latter point is an important one where 'Bewitched' is concerned, and not just because the premise portends black magic. For all the rough patches in how the story is told and the footage spliced together, these aren't even the most significant oddities of this 1981 flick. Nor are the present-day setting (as opposed to the period pieces the Shaw Brothers are best known for), or the unremarkable sets and costume design. Nay, what really sets this apart is an element that is so unusual that it took me half the runtime to realize that the foremost facet of these 100 minutes was just that, and not a diversion. Where the average title from this studio would give us narrative advancement adjoined to or interspersed with kung fu action, the core factor of this picture is the preparation and conduction of spells and rituals, and to a slightly lesser degree, the resulting effect on the person they target. All those minutes that would elsewhere give us a flurry of martial arts wizardry instead gives us, in this case, a wizardry meeting the more typical definition. Once one realizes what it is that writer On Szeto and director Chih-Hung Kuei are doing here the inclusions go from sluggish sidesteps to a fascinating centerpiece, and one wishes they had become aware of their nature sooner - indeed, may other viewers be more wise than I am. With that being said, though, I still think one needs to be a patient and open-minded viewer to indulge in these long scenes that broadly have less going on in them than one expects.
In fairness, those practical and special effects that we do see look pretty swell, including blood and gore, special makeup, and some gruesome props; would that, perhaps, we got more of all of these, and more visualization of what the spells achieved than how they were cast, for that would have distinctly helped to give the proceedings a shot of adrenaline. Those stunts and action scenes that we do get come off well, and overall this is well made. I'm also a fan of the original music of Jen-Hou Su and Eddie Wang, a collection of far-out themes that in their own way match the peculiar tenor of the movie. And while 'Bewitched' is in no small measure not what I was expecting, I did enjoy it, and I think the concept is unique, imaginative, and worth exploring. I also think this was in considerable need of more careful craftsmanship and writing, for the initial headlong rush turns into a bit of a slog, and all the while the plot itself is less than convincing or satisfying. True, the writing isn't necessarily the most integral aspect of many Shaw Brothers productions, but it seems extra weak here. With this, and more of a gnarly spectacle taking advantage of the dark tone and potential for special effects, the end result could have been more memorable, and more of an achievement. I still think that 'Bewitched' is worth checking out if you come across it, but one maybe shouldn't go out of their way for it, and it's best suggested for those viewers who are open to all the wide possibilities of cinema and who will be best equipped to endure the more stagnant or undeveloped parts of the film.