Story: During the Ching Dynasty, the Shaolin temple opposed the Manchu government. The Emperor launched an attack on the temples, forcing many monks to flee. One monk, Chi Nun, is on the run, aided by folk hero Fong Sai Yuk. Whilst hiding in a barn, they meet a youg girl called tou tou. They are captured and taken to the Red Lotus Temple, a prison where the Shaolin monks are imprisoned, tortured, and forced to work for the evil tyrant Lord Kung.

 

Review:
‘Have you got Burning Paradise?”

“No, it’s just my pants. They’re cutting right up my crack.”

OK, bad jokes aside, considering that ‘Burning Paradise’ is produced by Tsui Hark, with Ringo Lam taking a break from his usual contemporary movies to direct this dark and sinister period kung fu flick, which despite being absolutely brilliant, remains unseen by many action fans.

Burning Paradise takes place in the Red Lotus Temple, a hellish prison in which people are tortured, killed, beheaded and skewered. There are booby traps, hidden chambers, an arena, and underneath lies a cave full of dead bodies (except for one guy who lives down there). It’s a nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there.

The Temple itself reflects the film’s atmosphere, which is dark, sinister and drenched in blood. The stark hyperrealism of Burning Paradise means that it isn’t exactly a fun film, but rather a compelling one. The horrors that unfold provide a real sense of danger, and at times the movie can feel like more of a horror film than a martial arts movie.

Which brings us to the bad guy, Lord Kung. He is evil. Very evil. Eeeeeeevil, if you will. He is a truly warped character, and one of the best bad guys around. He’s particularly scary in one scene in which he shows his power over his concubines, and to say that out of two girls, the one who is raped gets off lightly doesn’t even begin to describe how dark the scene is.

Despite the fact that it didn’t do too well at the box office, Burning Paradise is an excellent film. Apart from some occasional (misplaced) comedy, this movie has an atmosphere you could cut with a very big sword, and a kick-ass hero in the shape of Willie Chi as Fong Sai Yuk. Just don’t expect the same cheeky chappy as portrayed by Jet Li. This Fong Sai Yuk has seen his mates cut into bite sized pieces, and he’s pretty annoyed about it.