Though the Shaw Brothers studios are primarily responsible for many of the greatest films in China’s cinematic history, the studio really hit their peak in the late 1970s. Together with visionary director Chang Cheh (the Akira Kurasowa of China), the studio produced a series of epic martial arts films beginning with the great THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS (1978). This film was very successful and brought the Shaw Brothers studios to international attention. Thus began a long series of motion pictures now known in fan circles as the Venoms films, because they incorporate the stars of the original 5 DEADLY VENOMS--Lo Meng, Chiang Sheng, Sun Shien, Wei Pei, and Lu Feng (who was always cast as the villain). None of the Venoms movies are actual sequels to THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS, as those characters were killed off at the end of that film. But director Chang Chen ensured that the following Venoms films were similar in scope and approach. The years from 1979 to 1983 was a prosperous time for the studio, as Chang Cheh delivered such entertaining Venoms efforts as KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, SUPER NINJAS, and KILLER ARMY. All of these films deliver more action and intrigue than the original FIVE DEADLY VENOMS. But, if you were to ask a Kung Fu cinema fan, which is the absolute best of the Chang Cheh Venom films, they would probably say CRIPPLED AVENGERS. Or they would say MORTAL COMBAT. Or if they were hardcore purists they’d say CAN QUE. But the fact of the matter is they are all the same film. Crash Cinema would like us to believe the title is RETURN OF THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS when they released it on DVD in 1999. Whatever moniker you prefer, everyone agrees that this is THE best Venoms film. Crash Cinema’s DVD packaging states that this is the uncut, fully remastered version, but it appears to have been trimmed of a few seconds of footage after all. They have omitted the original opening credit sequence and appended the movie with a video generated title card.

Tu Tin Tao (Chen Kuan Tai) is master of the well-to-do Tiger clan. When the evil enemies of the Tiger clan murder Tu Tin Tao’s wife, and amputate his son’s arms, Tu Tin Tao goes mad. He starts training his son, Hai Chen in Tiger Kung Fu, and has a blacksmith forge a set of steel arms that they graft onto the kid’s arms. The years pass by and his son has fully grown into a powerful warrior, played by Lu Feng. Hai Chen has mastered Tiger Kung Fu--he is a walking death machine with a chip on his shoulder to match his bruised psyche. A loyal Tiger clan servant named Mr. Wan (Lung Wei Wang) rounds up the offspring of the enemies who attacked Tu Tin Tao’s wife and child years ago. Hai Chen gets his revenge by using the retracting blades in his metal arms to kill them.

Lo Meng plays a loose-lipped blacksmith who dares to speak up against the tyranny of Tu Tin Tao. When he confronts Tu Tin Tao on the matter, the Dragon clan members force a liquid down his throat, which renders him mute, and then they rupture his eardrums. Phil Kwok portrays a traveler who voices his support of the blacksmith, so Hai Chen uses his rigged steel claws to gouge out the eyes of the traveler. Another town resident played by Sun Chien accidentally bumps into the man with the steel hands. Tu Tin Tao orders his men to cut off the guy’s legs! These three men harbor hatred for Tu Tin Tao and the Tiger clan, and quickly become friends. Chiang Sheng is a righteous martial artist named Wang, who meets the crippled threesome, and goes to complain to Tu Tin Tao about it. The cripples beg him not to go face the Tiger clan, but you know how headstrong these types are. The disciples of Tu Tin Tao beat the tar out of the young martial artist, and torture him by crushing his head with a strap. Wang gets brain damage from the experience, which gives him the mental capacity of a three year old.

The crippled trio now becomes a foursome. Inside Wang's clothing, the cripples find a note containing the whereabouts of his Kung Fu master. They head off into the hills of China and deliver the tragic Wang into the hands of his master. Seeing the injustices committed to these men, the wise old master offers to teach these men Kung Fu so they can revenge themselves upon Tu Tin Tao. What follows are the some of the quickest training scenes in the history of Kung Fu cinema. The master trains each cripple to use their remaining senses to enhance their fighting capabilities. In what seems like to span of weeks, the blacksmith overcomes his deaf-mute status to become a lethal fighting machine. The blind man uses enhanced hearing, touching, and smelling capabilities to compensate for his blindness. The deaf blacksmith forges legs of steel for the amputee, very similar to the steel appendages of Tu Tin Tao’s son. Wang looks on the whole time, laughing like a little kid.

When the crippled avengers have each mastered their new abilities, they return to town to begin their mission of revenge. They first encounter Wei and some Tiger clan soldiers. Wei engages his blind opponent, expecting an easy victory. After the blind man levels the soldiers and shows Wei his new found skills, Wei retreats for more back up. Tu Tin Tao is amazed upon hearing that these crippled fighters have returned to town. He sends his soldiers along with Wei to kill them. But the blind man and deaf man fight hard and furious, until only Wei is left, and again he retreats because the odds are against him. Next, Tu Tin Tao sends his mammoth fighter called Chu to deal with the cripples. Chu is monstrously muscular, and has impenetrable skin. Chu laughs off the blind man’s attempts to stop him, and even the deaf blacksmith (the strongest member of the group) is unable to harm him. That’s when Iron Boot steps forward with his steel legs (which under clothing are unrecognizable). Chu scoffs and allows his smaller opponent to attack—big mistake because Iron Boot disembowels Chu with one kick! Wang, the blind man, the deaf man, and Iron Boot step forward into the home of the Tiger clan, taking down soldiers along the way. Tu Tin Tao gathers up his team for the big showdown—Himself, the steel-clawed Hai Chen, and Wei prepare to challenge the skills of the crippled avengers!

Chang Cheh does it again with RETURN OF THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS. Chen squeezes every drop of action, melodrama, and pathos from I. Kuang’s screenplay, and never telegraphs the twists and turns. The plot is mostly straight forward, without any conspiracies or betrayals between the Venom players (as in THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS and KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM). The few comic touches (mostly revolving around the antics of the child like character, Wang) do little to hinder the violent tone and serious approach of the subject matter. Once again, Cheh invokes an aura of cruelty to generate heat for the many villains. All of Cheh’s Venoms films include a high level of bloody violence and associated nastiness. RETURN OF THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS depicts homicides, amputations, torture, poisonings, disembowelments, and eyeball violence at the hands of Tu Tin Tao and his minions. Horror/gore fans would certainly appreciate the brutality in this film.

Cheh is also known for his masterful fight choreography and fluid editing, and RETURN OF THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS has both. The way Chen integrates the creative choreography with the narrative leaves the viewer feeling exhausted, by the time the end credits roll. Despite the visceral elements that Cheh is known for, he also explores friendship and brotherhood and evokes positive emotions when the film calls for it. Just check out the scene where the crippled avengers roll their caravan into the unknown searching for the Kung Fu master; this scene elicits feelings of sympathy from the viewer. The relationship between the blind Phil Kwok and the deaf Lo Meng drives the film, and the sense of support and brotherhood that these two demonstrate is genuinely moving. Never in the history of cinema has a film portrayed handicapped people in such a positive light. These crippled characters fight back against all odds to defeat the normal people—this is the ultimate underdog movie.

Lo Meng is very good as the blind blacksmith. He doesn’t speak but delivers his emotions with pantomime precision. Phil Kwok generates the sympathy with his portrayal of the blind fighter. He forms a symbiotic relationship with the deaf Lo Meng, since they each have what the other doesn’t. Chiang Sheng plays Wang with such a child-like mentality that it’s almost touching. Sun Shien is the man with the legs of steel, and he knows how to use them. But he also invokes the most pity when he is missing his legs, and can’t walk. The Iron Monkey himself, Chen Kuan Tai is excellent as the over confident Tu Tin Tao. Chen is not only a great fighter, but he is quite a presence and a decent actor as well. Chen Kuan Tai usually plays the heroic character in most of his films, so this was a big change for him. It pays off though, because he puts forth one the best villainous performances we’ve seen in a long time. Lung Wei Wang convincingly portrays his jackal-like ally, Mr. Wan. Lu Feng does not generate much sympathy as Tu Tin Tao’s crippled son, but Feng does take part in some exhilarating fight choreography. The final confrontation between Chen Kuan Tai and Lu Feng against Phil Kwok and Meng Lo is astonishing.