Grim 1993 wuxia movie, not to be confused with older Shaw Bros movie of the same name. I'm a big fan of this genre, and thought I had seen every single swordplay movie that was released during the genre's heydays between 1990 and 1994, but somehow this one escaped my attention, until it was rereleased on DVD by Winson a short while ago.

Starring Zhang Feng Yi and Rosamund Kwan, this is a very bleak, gruesome Ming dynasty story of a man trained as a killer, who cannot escape from the soul-destroying aspects of his profession. The movie features big swords, decapitations, evil eunuchs, exploding chests, bad hair, eyes being sewn shut, murderous courtesans, splashing fountains of blood and wire-enhanced combat galore. With the exception of some outdoors scenes, the cinematography and lighting forego a realistic look for an exaggerated, almost theatrical atmosphere, with plenty of fog and night sky drenched in blue, similar to some of the other wuxia pics filmed mainly on studio soundstages, like BWWH. The film is certainly not as well-scripted and cohesive as the latter, and the characters in particular remain empty chiffres (with Rosamund wasted completely), yet I still thought the movie was very effective in creating a unique feel. The swordfights are competently staged for the most part, with the final showdown a particular standout.
There's no comic relief, and the soundtrack was very nice too.

Perhaps it was just the pleasure of actually once again seeing a wuxia flick for the FIRST TIME rather than having to rewatch familiar titles, but I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

The DVD has decent picture quality, but some mastering problems (e.g. very buggy menu screens) and the optional subtitles are very poorly synchronized, at times appearing not until a particular scene has ended (which makes it a bit confusing to watch at times).