Shaw Brothers production design and magical martial arts reach nirvana in The Web of Death, a vibrant and lusty Chor Yuen wuxia film exploding with wonderfully campy excess. If you were to define the Shaw Brothers style in a single movie, this just might be it. It’s all here; a star-studded cast, otherworldly sets, vintage special effects, great cinematography, humor, tragedy, romance, and the list goes on. But at the top is surely one of the oddest, most colorful weapons ever conceived of.
Within the wuxia genre, the film falls into the fantasy realm with emphasis on chi-infused magic, poisons, and lots of devious traps. The story revolves around a deadly weapon known as the ‘Five Venom Spider.’ This gadget honestly looks like a flea market reject. Its just a box with simple lattice work on the sides and a fake red spider on the lid. Yet from this goofy little prop comes everything SB’s special effects people could come up with and then some. When activated by someone who knows how to use it, it glows, emits yellow smoke and sparks, and ejects a small, radioactive tarantula that bellows like an elephant and ensnares its victims in a poisonous webbing before they quickly die an excruciating death. Its truly spectacular and must be seen to be appreciated.
The Spider alone is enough reason to see this film, but with Chor Yuen at the helm the entire production is first rate. The story is typical wuxia fare, complex and full of deceit and misunderstandings with the clans of the martial world banding together to stop one villain, played with flair by Lo Lieh, from using the Spider to wipe everyone out. At the start, the Spider has been hidden away by the leader of Venoms clan (Wong Hap) for fear that it should fall into evil hands. One of his followers, Liu Shen (Lo Lieh), certainly fits the bill as evil for he conspires with his master’s wife to find the weapon by spreading rumors of its reappearance throughout the martial world and getting the other clan leaders to find it for him.
Enter the Venom Clan leader’s daughter Hong Susu, a sassy female warrior played with gusto by Cheng Lee who falls in love with the great hero of Wu Dang, Fei Ying-xiong (Yueh Hua). The only problem with their blossoming relationship is that Susu mistakenly cripples Fei’s brother with poison and doesn’t tell him about it. Meanwhile, Fei has problems of his own for he’s being setup as the man who wiped out an entire clan when in fact the act was perpetrated by Liu who now has his hands on the Spider. A gathering of the martial world’s clan leaders at Wu Dang mountain becomes a desperate showdown when Liu crashes the party with the Spider. Not even the combined powers of the martial world’s top heroes can withstand it and all their hopes ultimately rest with Susu and a secret weapon even more powerful.
There is a lot to like about The Web of Death, even though there is little swordplay. The sets are incredible, particularly the Venoms’ lair which is like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory redecorated by Elvira. There’s giant ornamental spiders, glowing poisonous plants, and pools of acid everywhere. The traps protecting the Spider weapon are elaborate and entertaining. The Spider weapon itself is wild and causes all sorts of gruesome nastiness, but when you see Cheng Lee riding a thin tree branch over the water or Lily Li and Wong Chung surrounded by flame-throwing swordsmen with their hands purposely alit, the film goes from being unusual to outright insane in the best possible way.
The film feels much like an ensemble piece with many of Chor Yuen’s favorite actors in attendance and sharing critical roles. Cheng Lee though stands out with a very charming performance. The first time we see here she’s dressed like a male beggar and causing all sorts of trouble with her kung fu skills and a mischievous nature. Her initial exchanges with Yueh Hua are humorous as she talks in riddles and pokes fun at him. Lily Li plays second fiddle by being the jealous woman who vainly pines for Yueh’s affections. This love triangle is nicely tied up with the larger events going on and it plays an important part in the final act.
Like Taylor Wong’s Buddha’s Palm (1982), The Web of Death uses it’s reliance on special effects and fantasy kung fu well. The story is more involved beyond its description here, but remains easy to follow and engaging. Chor Yuen and his SB crew once again take what would usually be standard B-movie material and they give it tremendous polish and creative energy that makes for a wickedly good indulgence into the zanier side of martial arts cinema.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Shaw Brothers • The Web of Death (1976)
