After Ti Lung left the Shaw Brothers studio, he appeared in a string of independent Taiwanese productions. During this post-Shaw Bros. period, Ti starred in THE ROVING SWORDSMAN, EMPEROR OF KUNG FU, and TIGER KILLER. THE REVENGER was filmed shortly after the successful FIVE DEADLY VENOMS, and its clear that Chang Cheh’s benchmark film inspired director Pao Hsueh Li to take the same approach. The film features a large cast of characters, superior production values, and a dramatic story arc that spans 20 years. Most importantly, THE REVENGER serves up more martial arts mayhem than FIVE DEADLY VENOMS itself. Like a Chang Cheh Shaw Brothers picture, the battle scenes are more weapons-oriented, with less hand-to-hand combat. Director Pao Hsueh Li never received the accolades of Chang Cheh (or even non-studio directors like Joseph Kuo or Lee So Nam, for that matter), but Pao still directed some truly entertaining movies like BOXER FROM SHANTUNG, BLOODED TREASURY FIGHT, and THE EIGHT ESCORTS. THE REVENGERS also stars Tan Tao Liang (aka Delon Tan), the high-kicking performer of THE HOT, THE COOL, AND THE VICIOUS, INCREDIBLE KUNG FU LEGS, and CHALLENGE OF DEATH. THE REVENGER reached DVD in early 2001, as a joint effort between World Video and CAV Distribution.

The renegade Kung Fu master Shao (Ti Lung) busts up a public seance held by con artists. The villagers attending the event get pissed off and seek to beat some sense into Shao (they don’t recognize him for the outlaw bad-ass that he is). Shao is outnumbered, but quickly gets the upper hand on his opponents. That is, until swordsman Shur Lin shows up. The villagers are happy to see their hero arrive to challenge the outsider. But Shao and Shur Lin glance at one another with respect. The villagers are unhappy that they will not witness a fight that evening, as the two fighters go their own way. The rich and powerful lord of the village, Master Mao, puts out a call across the land. He summons the greatest warriors in all of China to assemble at his castle. In his personal vendetta against the renegade Shao, he recruits these warriors together as one unstoppable team. Then Master Mao puts his evil plot into motion. His sends his sister, Ah Ping (Hsu Feng), out into the forest where Shao dwells, and orders his soldiers to rape her. Shao falls into Master Mao’s trap, and saves Ah Ping from being sexually assaulted. She thanks him for saving her life and offers herself up to him. As the months go by, Shao and Ah Ping slowly fall in love with one another. Shao is particularly flustered, and after meditating on the idea, he volunteers to give up his status as renegade outlaw to settle down with her.

Thinking that Shao won’t break his vow, Master Mao gathers some of his best warriors and breaks into Shao’s home to torment him. But even these great warriors can do little to hurt Shao. So Master Mao decides to break Shao’s concentration by informing him that Ah Ping is his sister! Shao is devastated that he has fallen in love with the sister of his greatest enemy. Master Mao laughs while his sister explains to Shao that she really does love him. But Shao now believes their love was just a sham all along. He challenges Master Mao to fight to the death at the old temple the next day. Mao brings his elite squad of Kung Fu warriors to the temple to await Shao’s arrival. There, Shur Lin appears and mentions his discomfort with the situation--he does not think it’s honorable to have a small army fight one man. Master Mao reminds him that Shao is a dangerous fugitive. Right after Shur Lin leaves, Shao enters the dilapidated temple and the fierce battle begins. Initially, Shao dominates the others with a variety of weaponry, until he succumbs to sheer force of numbers. One of Master Mao’s axe-wielding warriors ends Shao’s life.

Au Ping mourns the death of her lover, but rejoices when she discovers she’s pregnant. Unfortunately, her brother soon finds out, and seeks to end her life to prevent the birth of Shao’s offspring. Shur Lin appears out of nowhere to save Ah Ping from her crazed brother. She escapes in the struggle and is found in the woods by Shao’s brothers, two old drunken masters. With Shao out of the way, Master Mao changes his focus on another family who have offended him. He orders his warriors to attack the village and to wipe out this certain family. Shur Lin hears this and beats the warriors down to the village. He warns the parents that Master Mao has ordered their deaths. The father gives his baby daughter to Shur Lin and begs that he take care of her. Just as the killers arrive, Shur Lin escapes with the infant. The parents are quickly murdered, and instead of killing the little boy, the warriors return the kid to Master Mao, who adopts him, and teaches him Kung Fu. Meanwhile, Ah Pin gives birth to Shao’s son, named Chow Shu.

18 years later, Master Mao has acquired more power and riches. His daughter is now a fully trained martial artist, along with his stepson (Tan Tao Liang). Chow Shu (played by Ti Lung again) is now a young man well versed in the martial arts and swordsmanship. On his 18th birthday, his mother comes clean about the fate of his father. Chow Shu goes mad and swears vengeance on those responsible for the death of his father. Seeing how disturbed her son is on his birthday, Ah Ping commits suicide using Shao’s old dagger. He goes to console his dying mother, who in her final moments asks that Chow Shu uphold the same vow his father made--to not kill people. Chow Shu agrees. Instead, Chow Shu pledges to go to the village and reclaim his father’s remains and bury them in the grave next to his mother. Chow Shu’s intentions are good, but when he arrives in the village he becomes embroiled in a plot to destroy Master Mao. The young girl that escaped death years ago was trained by Shur Lin. Now she seeks to eliminate the warriors who killed her parents and abducted her brother. After many of his warriors are mysteriously murdered, Master Mao orders his warrior clan to convene at his castle. Coincidently, Chow Shu comes to the castle looking for his father’s bones. Master Mao mistakes him for the killer, and suddenly Chow Shu must fight for his very survival, or die! But Master Mao has made many enemies, and Chow Shu does not fight this battle completely alone.

THE REVENGER is easily Ti Lung’s best independent film. Although the script rehashes ideas from the Chang Cheh cannon, director Pao Hsueh Li adds some unique touches to diversify it from the common revenge theme that is prevalent in the genre. Despite the title of the film, the character of Chow Shu is not motivated by retribution. Before Ah Ping’s death she begs him not to seek revenge and follow the same path chosen by his father. Chow Shu swears he won’t take revenge, but he insists on regaining his father’s remains. Chow Shu searches for the jackals that murdered his father, and when he finds them, he demands the return of his father’s bones. Of course, Master Mao and his pack of killers think that he is there to kill them, so they always strike first (cowards that they are). Chow Shu avoids their attacks where possible, but inevitably he is forced to fight to defend himself, and his opponents end up overextending themselves, which leads them to their doom. It’s refreshing then to see someone who is wronged (and who is not a monk) avoid confrontation whenever possible. This also allows plenty of dramatic opportunities for Ti Lung to display his acting prowess and prove he is more than just a martial artist. Plus, he gets to play two roles: that of his roguish father, and his enlightened son, Chow Shu. The only criticism I have about Ti Lung’s performance is that he looks way older than the 18 year old teenager he plays in the film. There is only one downside to THE REVENGER and that is the reliance on humor when it’s not needed, such as the depiction of the two drunken old masters. Pao Hsueh Li maintains a grim atmosphere, and these few comic moments really hurt the film’s momentum.

THE REVENGER is unique in that the fight choreography is almost completely based on weapons. There is perhaps one fight sequence where Ti Lung uses his fists and feet to keep his opponents at bay. Most Kung Fu classics are all hand-to-hand combat, with an occasional staff or sword thrown into the mix. THE REVENGER is comprised of many fight sequences where several characters clash with weapons in the foreground and background. There are duels with swords, axes, staffs, maces, daggers, triple irons, and other assorted nasty weapons. Most of fight choreography is startlingly realistic, except for the few scenes that contain fictional weapons. For instance, one warrior uses a steel claw attached to the end of a chain. When he hurls it at the poor soul, he yanks on the chain and the claw digs deep into the flesh of the victim. A lady gets this claw weapon clamped onto her throat! If you have a favorite martial arts weapon, chances are you’ll see it in this movie. So with all this violence, I guess we don’t have to tell you how bloody THE REVENGER is. The graphic violence is not as intense as in SHOGUN ASSASSIN, but more along the lines of THE KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARMS (one of the more graphic Venoms films).

THE REVENGER has a large cast, and a fairly dramatic storyline that drives the action and elaborate Kung Fu choreography. Tan Tao Liang plays the son of Master Mao’s enemy that the corrupt lord adopts as his own son. However, the script does not present him with many opportunities to show his stuff, and merely hints at the man’s martial arts abilities. Tan Tao Liang’s character does provide some impetus for the plot, and allows him to showcase his acting ability. Shih Szu is a sexy female martial arts actress who can be seen in THE FLYING GUILLOTINE 2 (1977), AVENGING EAGLE (1978), and DUEL OF THE CENTURY (1981). Here Shih Szu is a lethal panther with a secret agenda, and the true revenger of the title. Veteran actress Hsu Feng plays Ah Ping, the sister of the evil Master Mao who becomes the mother of Chow Ma. Hsu Feng had featured roles in King Hu’s DRAGON GATE INN (1967), THE VALIANT ONES (1975), and KUNG FU MYSTAGOGUE (1976). The actress is in top form, and makes the audience sympathize with the hell she endures in this picture. Wong Ching portrays the gap-toothed Master Mao with cunning and grace, and provides a believable bad guy that the viewer loves to hate. After all, a Kung Fu flick is only as good as it’s lead villain, right?