Killer of Snake, Fox of Shaolin (1978)

In this supernatural tale a fox who assumes the guise of a woman falls in love with Carter Wong, a wandering martial arts expert and he’s forced to combat an evil snake turned into man who desires the fox himself.

When a kung fu film title includes animals, it usually refers to animal kung fu styles used in the film. In the case of Killer of Snake, Fox of Shaolin, the animals are actually characters in the film. This Taiwanese effort starring the unmistakable Carter Wong requires plenty of effort to watch thanks to cheapo special effects, a retread of a story, and clunky martial arts choreography.

Carter Wong is a wandering kung fu expert who happens upon a woman and her father who have been attacked by a thug. He aids them and the girl falls in love with Carter. Unbeknownst to him, she’s actually a “monster,” a fox with magical abilities including appearing as a woman. Her attacker is a cobra in the guise of a man who desires to marry her. The girl tricks Carter into allowing her to join him as he resumes his travels and despite his initial reluctance, a quasi-romance develops. But honestly, Carter hasn’t a romantic bone in his body and the whole relationship seems even more farfetched than the concept of animals transforming into people. This world which Carter inhabits seems to be full of supernatural activity for he’s visited by the ghost of a woman who recruits him in helping her to get revenge on a man who raped her and led directly to her suicide. But Carter has his hands full trying to rescue another girl from the same rapist and attempting to combat the cobra who vows to kill him at all costs. Carter gets help from his master, a Buddhist monk and prepares for a final showdown with the snake while the fox accepts her fate to be apart from the mortal man she loves, as it must be.

I think it’s safe to say that if you have a very limited budget, then filming a supernatural story should not be an option unless you have some skill or at least ingenuity. There is none of that here. This film is B-grade by old school kung fu standards and it shows horribly in the few scenes where a miserably lame “transformation” from human to animal takes place. The story and characters fare no better. Carter Wong has never been known to be particularly expressive or dynamic when it comes to acting or martial arts and he’s worse than usual here. The other actors are just as bad and the story is so simplistic and ridiculous that not even a child would take it seriously. The costumes and wigs are corny. The music is the same stock garbage heard on dozens of independent features and the English dubbing is below average with especially asinine voices and dialogue that does at least match the quality of the film.

Killer of Snake, Fox of Shaolin is pretty much a waste of time by every standard. The one saving grace of many independent kung fu films is the kung fu action and the filmmakers fail worst of all here. There are no training sessions which are somewhat refreshing, but the combat is neither plentiful nor engaging. Carter is particularly slow and unimpressive. I’ve seen better swordfights in the city park between sword and sorcery play actors. One or two stunt people or actors manage some acrobatics, but the staid camera work and choreography zaps the life out of any potentially impressive moves. The filmmakers may have been aware of their faults in creating decent action which might explain the increased level of horror and fantasy elements as the film progresses. But no supernatural silliness can help and we’re left with a magically dismal kung fu film.