Over-the-top action centers on Elton Chong’s search for the men who killed his father. To complete his task, he uses various disguises and the “8 Chopper Fist” technique.

Someone should have fit “outrageous” into the title of Invincible Obsessed Fighter. Its pretty much out of control and if you like your kung fu REALLY corny, then you’re going to love this one.

Aside from an obvious revenge plot, the broader story is incomprehensible at best. Elton Chong plays a young martial arts master whose father named Fat Ho (yup) is killed for his loyalty to a character named General Ching. Chong strikes out on his own to avenge his father’s death through an elaborate series of encounters employing various disguises, such as an old beggar. The killer who is a martial arts master with a gimpy leg hires several men to kill Chong, including an eerie witch docter (pictured on the Xenon DVD cover) who commands the dead. With the help of his uncle and a girl he’s developed a relationship with, Chong battles his way through the killer’s cronies until the two duke it out in a bloody final struggle.

To understand this film is to understand the producer, Tomas Tong. Tong is actually a pseudonym for Godfrey Ho Jeung Keung who broke away from Shaw Brothers in the late ’70′s to produce or direct a string of low budget genre films ranging from old school kung fu and erotic films to a bunch of ninja flicks with Caucasian stars. Usually shot cheaply in South Korea, Thailand or the Philippines, these films could include stock footage and generally ended up being some of the most ridiculous productions, which is saying a lot in the kung fu genre.

Invincible Obsessed Fighter doesn’t appear to have unrelated footage thrown in although it does seem to be cut in the 84 minute version. But then, it you’re still watching this film after the first 15 minutes, you won’t care about about flaws like that. I can say I was hooked early on due to the English dubbing and manic pace of the action. While some Asian films end up corny after being poorly dubbed, it almost appears as if the filmmakers intended this movie to be shot with lame dialogue. Elton Chong, who is a new discovery for me as of this writing is one cheeky bastard throughout the film. Watching him perform in various guises while mercilessly heckling his unworthy opponents is loads of fun. The kung fu action is noticeably under-cranked (sped up), but the choreography is entertaining enough. Towards the end, the action starts to get truly crazy with more wirework resulting in bodies being knocked back insane distances and spun around or twisted like a Tex Avery cartoon. A real highlight is when Chong grabs a villain’s leg and repeatedly beats the poor man’s foot into his own head!

The main gripe I have is the loose narrative that basically results in Chong running from fight to fight. There are also various oddities such as thunder and lightning that appears in the sky which somehow manages to confuse Chong’s opponent long enough for him to win. A potentially great scene where the witch doctor brings Chong back to his lair to be presumably roughed up by some zombies turns out to be a confusingly clumsy and darkly lit battle.

While Invincible Obsessed Fighter is clearly a b-grade film, it never takes itself seriously and ends up being immensely entertaining for a select audience (like myself). This is probably one of the more outlandish films available that still has some fairly good kung fu action, although the actual direction is awful. I recommend this film to fans of Jimmy Wang Yu or Chang Cheh.

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