It’s hard to believe, but this film was made in the same year as Jackie Chan’s POLICE STORY and is a good indicator of just how out of touch the Shaw Brothers studio had become. It flopped so badly that even some fans of the first film are totally unaware that it even exists.

The second sequel to THE 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN is actually more of a true sequel than RETURN TO THE 36th CHAMBER, in that Lau Kar-Fai reprises his role as (the real) San Te. However, he plays second lead (and second fiddle) to Fong Sai-Yuk (Hsiao Ho), who, along with his two brothers (I didn’t even realise Fong Sai-Yuk HAD brothers, but never mind), journey to the Shaolin Temple in their own quest to put one over one the Manchu government.

The story is predictable and the script is uninspired. But what’s worse is the ‘humour’ that crept into the first sequel is even more in evidence here – and it’s at least ten times as unfunny. Lau Kar-Leung apparently wrote this himself, and it’s well known that he was having a bad time around this period, which might have contributed to the lacklustre script.

There’s a vague outline of the three-act structure from the other two films, but it’s all very tenuous. As far as I know, Fong Sai-Yuk didn’t exist in the same timeline as San Te, but I could be wrong and I’m prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. His addition to the series is probably an attempt at adding someone familiar to the formula as Lau Kar-Fai had already gone through the training twice before as two different people! In any case, the training is definitely less inspired this time round. This is perhaps not too surprising, as the market had already become saturated with 36th Chamber wannabes. Plus, of course, Fong Sai-Yuk doesn’t need much training, does he?

For all that, though, there’s no denying that the action scenes are pretty damn impressive. For reasons I’ve never been able to fathom, Hsiao Ho only had leading roles in a couple of movies (although he’s visible in many, many others). His acrobatic skill is superb, and his presence saves this from total catastrophe. Right from the opening, we are treated to a blistering display of ability. While I’m on the subject of the opening titles, is it me or does the title sequence have absolutely NOTHING to do with the film itself? I mean, usually it has some relevance, but if this is the case here, it escaped me totally.

It’s not enough to salvage the film, though, and at times it’s all very tired-looking. The genre needed time to rest, and unfortunately this film helped to make the traditional Kung Fu picture persona non grata for a few years. In a very real sense, this movie marks the end of a glorious age, and taken in this context, DISCIPLES OF THE 36th CHAMBER is a little easier to accept. It’s a hard film to like, but it’s impossible to dismiss.