Nan Shao Lin yu bei Shao Lin

Another day, another Chang Cheh movie, this one both part of his 'Shaolin' cycle and a Venoms flick to boot. The light plot involves an evil Manchu general exploiting divisions between the North and South style Shaolin fighters, essentially getting them to kill each other while he gloats in the background. I'm a huge Venoms fan and it's very nice to have them all together here, although it's spoilt by the endless training sequences which seem to go on for about an hour; the film has a low budget feel as a result. Still, the gruesome climax goes some way in fixing things, and the experience is an amiable one.