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Human Lanterns

Original title: Ren pi deng long
  • 1982
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1K
YOUR RATING
Human Lanterns (1982)
A psychotic craftsman pits two rival Kung-Fu masters against each other while designing special lanterns from a disturbing source.
Play trailer0:58
1 Video
57 Photos
HorrorAction

A psychotic craftsman pits two rival Kung-Fu masters against each other while designing special lanterns from a disturbing source.A psychotic craftsman pits two rival Kung-Fu masters against each other while designing special lanterns from a disturbing source.A psychotic craftsman pits two rival Kung-Fu masters against each other while designing special lanterns from a disturbing source.

  • Director
    • Chung Sun
  • Writers
    • Kuang Ni
    • Chung Sun
  • Stars
    • Tony Liu
    • Kuan Tai Chen
    • Lieh Lo
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Chung Sun
    • Writers
      • Kuang Ni
      • Chung Sun
    • Stars
      • Tony Liu
      • Kuan Tai Chen
      • Lieh Lo
    • 14User reviews
    • 38Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 0:58
    Watch Trailer

    Photos57

    Human Lanterns (1982)
    Human Lanterns (1982)
    Human Lanterns (1982)
    Human Lanterns (1982)
    Human Lanterns (1982)
    Human Lanterns (1982)
    Human Lanterns (1982)
    Human Lanterns (1982)
    Human Lanterns (1982)
    Human Lanterns (1982)
    Human Lanterns (1982)
    Human Lanterns (1982)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Tony Liu
    Tony Liu
    • Master Lung Shu Ai
    • (as Liu Yung)
    Kuan Tai Chen
    Kuan Tai Chen
    • Master Tan Fu
    Lieh Lo
    Lieh Lo
    • Chao Chun-Fang
    Ni Tien
    Ni Tien
    • Lee Chin - Lung's Wife
    Linda Chu
    Linda Chu
    • Yen Chu
    Hsiu-Chun Lin
    Hsiu-Chun Lin
    • Tan Mei-Mei
    Meng Lo
    Meng Lo
    • Kuei Szu-Yi
    Chien Sun
    Chien Sun
    • Sgt. Poon
    Fei Ai
    Fei Ai
    • Guest at Fu's Banquet
    Susan Yam-Yam Shaw
    Susan Yam-Yam Shaw
    • Guest at Fu's Banquet
    • (as Yin Yin Shaw)
    Erik Ka-Kei Chan
    • Tan's Fan squad
    Chuen Chiang
    Chuen Chiang
    Miao Ching
    Miao Ching
    • Guest at Fu's Banquet
    Ging-Man Fung
    Ging-Man Fung
    • Guest at Fu's Banquet
    Ping Ha
    Ping Ha
    • Brothel Madam
    Li-Fen Han
    Pei-Chi Huang
    Pei-Chi Huang
    • Tan's Fan squad
    Wei-Wei Huang
    Wei-Wei Huang
    • Director
      • Chung Sun
    • Writers
      • Kuang Ni
      • Chung Sun
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    User reviews14

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    A rather solid and gruesome kung-fu/horror hybrid
    After being humiliated at a local ceremony, a lord seeks out an old rival who's a master lantern to put aside their differences to make a new lantern for an upcoming festival, but when several local women go missing all roads lead back to the strange method of making the lanterns he's attempting.

    Overall, there's quite a lot to like with this one. One of the greatest aspects present is the breakneck story, which moves along at a great pace and keeping things interesting. Right away, we get the initial setup at the village banquet showing their disdain for each other and the desire to win the lantern contest, forcing him to turn to his arch-rival to win the competition. As well, the tyrannical control he has over the prostitutes in the brothel and the jealousy that governs his decisions plays into the continuing nature of the feud lasting throughout the film with each one looking to one-up and humiliate the other. Once they come to realize they've been set up and that everything has been turning them against each other, the story comes together with a surprisingly strong resolution. As well, when the film really lets loose with its grotesque elements, it becomes quite enjoyable. The first stalking in the brothel as well as the subsequent defleshing of the victim is exceptionally graphic and gruesome. The visual of the skin being sliced open and ripped from the still-alive victim in one piece creates an awfully striking visual, and when done in conjunction with the underground caverns and the various tools shown lying around to be utilized later on completes the grimy illusion. Likewise, the various interludes going back to the location showing how the pieces of stretched skin are being made into the lantern itself offers up the kind of unease associated with such a lair. Seeing the area dressed in entrails, dismembered body parts, drying skin pieces and bloodstained equipment creates a truly grotesque atmosphere alongside the graphic acts themselves. Another big positive is the mixture of horror and kung-fu in the film. Though not filled to the brim with such material as is to be expected, the fighting here comes off quite impressive and exciting. The inclusion of the killer's abilities in martial arts adds quite a lot to the abduction scenes as the sight of him dressed as a monkey complete with a skeletal animal mask take on a far more eerie quality than expected, especially the daytime ambush in the woods where the sight of that running around and flipping off tree-branches is quite creepy. The best, though, are the brawls which they continually find themselves in, and by taking place within eateries, the courtyards of their houses and out in the streets of the village the action carries along quite nicely. Even odd interstitial elements like fighting off assassins or seeing the killer take out a squad of random henchmen to set up their suspicions are rather fun, and the extended brawl at the end includes some really fine stunt-work and swordplay included in the hard-hitting fights. This creates a lot to really like in the film as there are some big problems here. The biggest issue is the central premise of the film in that there's no adequate explanation for the lantern festival to be the big comeuppance in their rivalry. Why he needs to commission a lantern to appear at the festival in order to get the last-laugh at him makes no sense, nor is there anything given as to what's going to happen if the true creator of the lantern is revealed. Being that this is the main driving point of the film as for why he and his rival put their differences aside to make the lantern for the festival, not making this piece make sense is all the more troubling. Likewise, the fact that the investigation should've lead the guards right to him without much difficulty speaks to a haphazard investigation method simply to keep the movie going. These elements do manage to bring the film down.

    Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Violence, Language and Brief Nudity.
    helpful•4
    1
    • kannibalcorpsegrinder
    • Jul 4, 2019

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    FAQ1

    • What are the differences between the Hongkong DVD and the British DVD?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 14, 1982 (Hong Kong)
    • Country of origin
      • Hong Kong
    • Language
      • Mandarin
    • Also known as
      • Human Skin Lanterns
    • Production company
      • Shaw Brothers
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 39 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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