Fantasy and martial arts have walked hand-in-hand in the cinema of Hong Kong from its earliest days. Heroes were just as likely to fly or shoot power beams out of their hands as to battle with swords. Although based on a horror-tinged teen manga series from Japan, THE PEACOCK KING is a lavish, big-budget update to this Chinese tradition that draws on the strengths of both cultures.

Originally known as KUJAKU ÅŒ, the serialized manga was created by Makoto Ogino and began circulation in 1985. The film it is based upon is a co-production between Hong Kong’s Golden Harvest and Japan’s Toho-Towa studios. This kind of international collaboration wasn’t unheard of at the time but wasn’t common either. It’s undoubtedly the only way that Hong Kong filmmakers could have ever come up with a 60 million-dollar budget which is close to $8 million in U.S. currency today.

The film has something of an identity crisis in that it tries to be all things at once by combining elements of horror, fantasy, adventure, and martial arts within a simpleminded yet convoluted plot that’s too violent for young children.

The hero from the manga, who is referenced in the title, is essentially split into two characters, Tibetan monk Peacock (Yuen Biao) and the oddly named Lucky Fruit (Hiroshi Mikami), a Shingon Buddhist monk from Japan. Peacock is sent by his master (Eddie Ko) to Japan to stop the King of Hell from being unleashed on the earth. He joins forces with Lucky Fruit and a young woman (Naruda Yasuda) caught up in a struggle to close one of several gates to hell that has appeared within a shopping center in Tokyo.

The monks’ focus shifts to a fireball-shooting young girl named Ashura, played by Gloria Yip in her screen debut. She is an innocent soul who is being manipulated by a demoness named Raga (Pauline Wong ) for the purpose of unlocking all the gates of hell. Lucky Fruit wants to destroy her but Peacock takes pity and attempts to save her from destruction.

After a battle with Raga leaves Ashura near death, the trio rush her to Tibet where they hope that Peacock’s master can save the girl. What they fail to anticipate is that the last hell gate is close by and the girl’s survival insures that they will have to face the King of Hell.

A side story that is never fleshed out very well concerns Lucky Fruit’s master, played by veteran actor Ken Ogata (SAMURAI REINCARNATION), and an evil sect with links to the past of both heroes. Kung fu movie legend Gordon Liu plays the leader of the sect’s warrior elite, a band of assassins who look cool but awkwardly stand out in a modern setting. The significance of Liu’s character could have been substantial given a better script. But even so, his presence is welcome as he becomes the main adversary for Yuen Biao in what becomes the film’s only real martial arts battle.

This film is first and foremost a fantasy movie and does not take great advantage of its star, Yuen Biao. I will say Yuen is an underappreciated actor who could have been much more popular in the West if he had been as aggressive in promoting himself as his friend Jackie Chan had. I’ll also say that without a doubt his screen fighting ability is superior to both Jackie and fellow opera school brother Sammo Hung. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see a lot of proof in this film as he spends a lot of his time in more magical fights involving power blasts and pre-CGI special effects. Viewers should still pay special attention to his fight with Gordon Liu. It could have been even better but as is, this is a wicked match-up with two fantastic screen fighters from different training backgrounds going head-to-head.

The effects work in THE PEACOCK KING holds up pretty well 20 years on, mostly because it’s creative. Something Hong Kong filmmakers like Nam Nai-choi have always excelled at is live-action physical effects work. The wirework action of Philip Kwok and Stephen Tung is up to standards of the day while the dynamic lighting and elaborate fantasy sets add considerable eye candy. Some of the makeup effects and their implementation look cheesy, as when a rubber skeleton “latches” onto Naruda Yasuda during a little INDIANA JONES moment. There is also some stop-motion work with clay models that is fun to see but crudely presented and entirely unnecessary. More successful is the violent transformation of Raga, from female form to four-legged demon with a head that splits in two to form a giant, fang-riddled maw of death. The final creature look doesn’t always work but the transformation is awesome and reminds me of some of the excellent makeup effects in AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. Likewise, the final pitched battle with the King of Hell is excellent. The filmmakers use age-old editing tricks but they’re very well implemented. The result is an updated scene that could have come out of a fantasy classic like JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS.

There are some great moments in THE PEACOCK KING, definitely enough to warrant at least a single viewing by anyone who enjoys fantasy action. It’s a fun and slightly gruesome effects film and has just enough quality martial arts action from Yuen Biao, although barely. The story seems a little too scattered and disjointed at times. The film definitely loses momentum in places and gets a little confusing in others.

If you’re new to Hong Kong or Japanese fantasy-horror, I would suggest starting elsewhere. Yuen Biao also stars in the superior time-travel actioner THE ICEMAN COMETH while THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR and A CHINESE GHOST STORY are both superb horror-fantasy classics. From Japan there are enjoyable fantasy titles like ONMYOJI and KWAIDAN that draw heavily on the country’s folklore. For a Hollywood alternative, look no further than BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA.

THE PEACOCK KING spawned one sequel, SAGA OF THE PHOENIX. Director Nam Nai-choi followed this up with the notoriously gory prison actioner RIKI-OH: THE STORY OF RICKY.

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