HUMAN LANTERNS (1982) - Vinegar Syndrome

Human Lanterns

Vinegar Syndrome

Original Release Date July 14th, 1982 (Hong Kong)

Written by Kuang Ni, Chung Sun

Directed by Chung Sun

Starring Tony Liu, Chen Kuan-Tai, Lo Lieh, Ni Tien, Linda Chu, Hsiu-Chun Lin

Language Cantonese, Mandarin (English subtitles available)

Purchase yours HERE from Vinegar Syndrome

by "Doc" Hunter Bush
MovieJawn Staff Writer & Podcast Director, cohost of the Hate Watch/Great Watch Podcast

Overview:

The Shaw Brothers film Human Lanterns comes to Blu-ray and 4K from Vinegar Syndrome. Directed by Chung Sun, a vet of the Shaw Bros. studios, the film combines balletic martial arts with a horrific atmosphere. Vinegar Syndrome's release of Human Lanterns features very thorough video and audio packages, in two languages, and a generous selection of bonus features.

The Movie Itself: 4 stars

Until relatively recently I was largely unaware that the Shaw Bros made horror films. I grew up seeing what I have always thought of as "kung-fu movies" on public access TV on weekends, and while some of those had what I guess you could consider horror-adjacent or horror-coded moments and characters, they were very clearly adventure stories in the swashbuckling tradition. There were grand heroes, even if they were somewhat reluctant occasionally, and they defeated nefarious villains and occasional spooky monsters and/or spirits. But that particular veil which had been over my eyes has been lifted.

Two wealthy blowhards, Master Lung (Tony Liu) and Master Tan (Chen Kuan-Tai) allow their long-simmering rivalry to boil over once again, this time involving the local upcoming lantern festival. Lung endeavors to stack the deck by having a local master craftsman make him a lantern that's sure to win. It turns out that this craftsman, Chao Chun-Fang (Lo Lieh) has a contentious history with Master Lung, having fought with him in the past, over a woman, and received a scar on his face. For his part, Master Lung goes on his way with no idea that he has, in the tradition of so many classic myths and fables, unwittingly set in motion his own potential destruction.

Chao Chun-Fang, in an incredibly cool monstrous disguise (a simian-looking skull face with wild hair and a hairy costume; imagine an undead Sasquatch) begins hunting down the women in Master Lung's life whom he cares for and, as the film's title may have clued you in to, skinning them to make perfect lanterns. Is it grim? Conceptually, yes, but it is handled with relative discretion. There is some full-frontal female nudity (although having comedically avoided full-frontal male nudity earlier), but the skinning itself is well-handled, all things considered.

Master Tan is also eventually roped into Chun-Fang's plot, with both he and Master Lung presuming that the other is behind the various women's disappearances. This leads to several elaborate martial arts fight sequences, with some impressively long takes for how complex and acrobatic the sequences are, and really creative wire-work stunts as well! One of the bonus features, A Skinning Team, appropriately highlights how impressive these sequences are. 

Human Lanterns is a wild ride. It starts off closer to what I described at the start: a martial arts film with horrific undercurrents, and slowly upends the balance to a horror movie with martial arts combat in it. Even though it never loses the fanciful, fable-like wuxia feeling, I was surprised to realize how much creeping dread was being cultivated within me. By the time the final confrontations were playing out, I was fully hooked.

The Packaging: 4 stars

So, there is a more elaborate version available than what I received. It has a slip-case, and comes with a 40-something page book as well. Do with that information what you will. I'm still rating this pretty highly because it's quite a nice and solid release. The case is a slightly sturdier than average, black plastic 4K case with a reversible cover. These covers are what really elevate this for me. I'm a sucker for movie posters that are: colorful, obviously hand-made, and not just a collection of actors' headshots.

One image, the same one featured on the slip-case, is a painted depiction of Chun-Fang in his monstrous disguise tearing the skin from a woman's body, painted by the great Wes Benscoter. It's a very blue image with some striking orange highlights and is honestly much more graphic than the same sequences in the film. The other side is a reproduction of an original poster, again highlighting how cool and spooky the monstrous mask is, but also Chun-Fang's skinning blade, which is a large knife with a crescent-shaped tip. The image uses a ton of negative space on a white background, but is still incredibly colorful and enigmatic. You have two great options here.

The Video: 4 stars

This transfer overall looks great. It's not pristine; there is some gauziness to the lighting at times, and a softness here and there, as well as the usual film grain issues with some lower-light sequences, but I was constantly impressed with the visual fidelity. The colors are gorgeous! There's a lot of sequences at night, and in Chun-Fang's cavernous hideout, and the contrast there was very nice. It leans a little towards flat black shadows at times, but is more nuanced in others.

There is a disclaimer that plays before the film that explains that during the restoration process, they found additional footage from another print and restored it to the best of their ability. These sequences are definitely noticeable; softer focus, a bit lighter contrast, etc. These additional bits are usually the beginnings or ends of scenes that were trimmed, but on occasion they're a little more noticeable. Even so, I think this is a really admirable restoration effort.

The Audio: 4 stars

As with any subtitled film, I found it harder to pay attention to the audio mix than with films where I'm listening to dialogue throughout. But, when I would take notice, I was very impressed to find the sheer number of layers to the audio mix. The score which features a lot of chimes that added to the eerie feeling, the dialogue, seriously tons of sound effects and environmental noises like footsteps on various textures, rustling clothing, wind, frogs croaking, etc. Needless to say, the sounds of the skinning and the sonic environment they help to create is terrifyingly intense.

It's a very intricate sound bath in pretty much every scene and it's incredibly well balanced. My three-channel sound bar really lent itself to an immersive experience. But the thing that really impressed me were the silences. Occasionally, to let a moment land, or to underline the importance of a scene, the sound would briefly drop out, and after the subtle wall of sound I had been experiencing, that silence hit like a punch in the back.

The Supplements: 3.5 stars

My big sticking point for determining the quality of bonus features is whether they provide additional context for the movie: why was this specific film made, where the folks involved were at in their careers, etc. All of which helps me understand why this film among the millions of films, is getting this attention. I mean, in addition to pure film preservation reasons, etc. Human Lanterns does a decent job in this regard, but still left me wanting a little more.

In fairness, I have yet to check out the commentary tracks, or to watch the included Export Version beyond skipping to its alternate ending. But again, what is here is interesting stuff: the interviews are nice snapshots of the making of Human Lanterns from people directly involved, but especially Susan Shaw's interview which goes into detail on how she ended up being blacklisted! It's w-i-l-d stuff. And as I mentioned above, Kenji McGuire's video essay really highlights some of the excellent stunt, combat, and wire work.

• Additional 'Export Version' with Alternate Ending
• Commentary with film historian Samm Deighan
• Commentary with Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillon of the Podcast on Fire Network
• The End Justifies the Means, an interview with actor Lau Wing (24:26) (HD)
• A Fairy in Hell, an interview with Linda Chu (14:53) (HD)
• A Shaw Story, an interview with Susan Shaw courtesy of Frédéric Ambroisine (13:45) (HD)
• A Skinning Team: Peeling Back the Layers of Action, a new video essay by film programmer Kenji McGuire (10:07) (HD)
• Trailer (1:39) (SD)

Final Thoughts: Highly Recommended 

I had a real blast with this one. It's a little heavy (what with the skinning and all) but even that is handled with discretion that actually heightens the unsettling feeling. The sound mixing especially adds an incredible amount to that atmosphere. Story-wise, I enjoyed how generally unlikeable both sides of this rivalry were. This isn't just me projecting modern-day values on characters from the past, it is directly addressed in the standard ending to the film! And when I saw that, I breathed a sigh of relief because, y'know, it's good to know I was onto something the whole time.

Human Lanterns might not be for everyone; even if you're someone who usually digs martial arts films, it might not be for you due to its slightly darker, grimmer content. Even though that stuff isn't graphically depicted, it just might not be your particular type of jam. BUT. If you think you'd enjoy this film and are wondering whether this release is worth your shelf space, you can take my word that it comes Highly Recommended.