Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 09/25/2004 If there's any good to be found in the recent drought in seeking out quality movies from Hong Kong, it's that it allows the opportunity for viewers to take a look at some past films they might have previously ignored. While you're not likely to see Vendetta on anyone's "top 10" list, it is an entertaining and surprisingly creepy movie with a good dose of action as well. I think people sometimes forget one of the things that was so great about Hong Kong film's "golden age" wasn't that there was a great number of excellent movies produced, but rather, that even many of the B-movies made during the period were tight and smart. In fact, even though Vendetta was a cheap production made some dozen years ago, it out-shines many recent efforts. Ray Lui plays a cop who, while his wife is giving birth to twins, is called to help catch a trio of Mainland robbers. During the chase, two of them are killed, and the remaining one (HK film heavy mainstay Tommy Wong) is sent to jail. After Ray's wife gives birth, he keeps seeing visions of the two dead criminals. His partner (Kent Cheng, who plays against type and actually comes off as pretty tough in this role -- he even takes a 2x4 to the head with a nail in it jabbed into his eye socket and still keeps ticking) keeps trying to ward off any evil spirits by giving him medallions, a Feng Shui fishtank and Buddha statues and some more stuff, but the nightmares don't stop. As time progresses, Ray becomes convinced that his children are actually reincarnations of the robbers he killed, and after Tommy escapes from jail, his suspicions grow even stronger. Normally, I'm not really into the whole Hong Kong ghost movie genre, but director Tony Leung Siu-Hung spices things up with a good deal of gore and some solid action sequences. Also, Vendetta never really beats you over the head with the ghostly bits. Until the later part of the movie, the viewer is left wondering if the kids really are possessed. Even though they're damn strange-looking, you're not really sure if they're just being bratty or exacting some kind of other-worldly vengeance. I only have a couple of major complaints about Vendetta. There are a few comedic parts that are woefully out of place, and the end is a bit cheesy, especially considering the violence that proceeds it. Overall, though, this is one of the more unique films I've seen in quite a while. It's an interesting mix of action and suspense, and fans of any of those genres will find some good entertainment via a viewing of this movie. There's also quite a bit of blood as well, especially considering that this is a Category IIB picture. There's eyes gouged, fingers bitten off and ears impaled with metal pins, so gore-hounds should be happy as well. At any rate, Vendetta is a lot better than stuff like Troublesome Night 29 (or whatever part they're on now) or the latest wave of PG-13 snoozers popping out of Hollywood. (review from www.hkfilm.net)

Reviewed by: bastardswordsman Date: 03/29/2002 A surprisingly good low-grade thriller, which seems to take its 'inspiration' from a couple of other films which I cannot put my finger on right now. Either way, it's handled very well and the kids are creepy enough in their innocence to convince. So violent in places, so light and fluffy in others. In the first 5 minutes, we see a man being stabbed through his mouth, his wife shot to death and their young child lifted up in the air, before being slammed down onto the ground, not to mention a handful of cop-killings and Ray Lui dispatching of 2 baddies before rushing off to greet his wife at the hospital, who is giving birth to twins (see other reviews for an explanation of the unusual birth complications). Amusing scenes include the kids shoving an ear-swap into daddy Ray Lui's eardrum, daddy coming home to find the kids eating the ornamental fish and Tommy Wong's performance in general.

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/21/1999 A robber is arrested and his 2 siblings are shot dead by a cop while thecop's wife is giving birth to twins. The babies have birthmarks on their foreheads like the wounds on the 2 dead robbers. Is the cop cursed? It doesn't take long for him to find out. [Reviewed by Tai Seng Catalog]

Reviewed by: leh Date: 12/09/1999 Really creepy horror movie, about a police officer who kills two murderers at the same moment as his wife gives birth to twins. The rest of the movie has the two scary children walking around causing accidents and communicating with a third killer, the brother of the ones who were killed. The ending is a bit silly, but otherwise this is an excellent horror film, without the tasteless humour that defuses some similar HK productions.

Reviewed by: spinali Date: 12/08/1999 Summary: NULL Cop Ray Lui helps chase down and kill two members of a merciless mainlander crime trio at the very moment his wife gives birth to twins with red spots on their foreheads; before long, he's hallucinating that his babies are reincarnations of the very criminals he killed. Dogs refuse to approach their house, and their parrot falls over dead. Not only that, but the growing toddlers get involved in mischief like tossing knives at their dad or smashing pins into his ear, not to mention killing and eating their Feng Shui fish! Finally, when the dead pair's co-conspirator (Tommy Wong) escapes from jail -- a guy with a lot in common with Hannibal Lector -- there's hell to pay at the Lui household. More interesting than scary, but there's a veritable Exxon Valdez of blood spillage in this one. (2/4) [Reviewed by Steve Spinali] Reviewer Score: 5