'Corpse Master' aka 'Magic Story', thX for helping ID it!

[thedevilman]

Just a warning first... i am fairly new to the world of HK and Asian cinema. I know a tiny bit about the more popular actors, titles and series. My favorite series being the Lone Wolf and Cub series at the moment. Beyond the basics th0, i am overwhelmed and a bit lost by it all.

Anyhow, now that i've briefly introduced myself... I have been trying to locate any info that i can on the movie 'Corpse Master'...
http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?site_id=4&item_id=1174662

It is part of a double feature DVD. I have had some luck finding info on the other film included, 'Satan's Slave', but have had little luck with finding info for 'Corpse Master'.

I know that Bill Tung Biu is in it and i have found some pretty impressive filmographies on him (i.e. http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/people.asp?id=152) but i can't seem to figure which film on the list is this one. Either i can't figure out the alternate title for it or it is so obscure that it is not listed. At least not on the the lists that i have found anyhow.

I have done a lot of looking now via Google and here. I am prolly just not looking in the right places. Does anyone know the year for this film or an alternate title that i might have more luck finding info for?

thX for any help!

P.S. When i try to go to Bill Tung Biu's filmography here at this site's db, (http://www.hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=4281&display_set=eng) i still get the message, "Access to detailed information requires membership". Am i doing something wrong. I am signed in here at the forum, is there somewhere else i should be signed in for the db? There is prolly a pinned topic somewhere, i still have a lot of looking around to do.

By the way... great site, looking forward to learning more. thX again!
-thedevilman

[Brian Thibodeau]

There may still be requirements in place for accessing the database in its entirety. I believe a review or two are usually good starts, or possibly uploading some scans or screen grabs of credits, actor portraits, etc. I'm sure someone will chime in with better details or a link.

The movie in question sounds like it could be a retitling of MAGIC STORY from 1987, although I'm not sure how many vampire movies Bill Tung actually did, so that's just a guess.

[thedevilman]

thX a lot for the reply. I think that may indeed be it. I will look at it more closely when i get the chance. I also look forward to trying to contribute here and there on occasion in what little way i can.

thX again!
-thedevilman

[thedevilman]

thX to your help and the database here i was able to confirm that 'Corpse Master' is indeed 'Magic Story' (1987). I checked the DVD against the image gallery here...
http://www.hkmdb.com/db/movies/images.m ... ay_set=eng
...and it was a perfect match. Now i have a year and a few more details on the cast thX to this great site.

I'm not going to do a review or anything but since it was a bit of a mystery to me, i thought i would at least give some technical specs in the small chance that it might help someone else.

This DVD release is a 2 disc double feature set from a double feature series from Brentwood called 'Eastern Horror'. In this particular double feature, the first film is 'Satan's Slave' aka 'Pengabdi setan' (Indonesian title) from 1982. The second film is 'Corpse Master' aka 'Magic Story', aka 'Jiang shi shao ye' (Hong Kong Title) from 1987.

Corpse Master is better known under the title 'Magic Story', aka 'Jiang shi shao ye' (Hong Kong Title). It was made in Hong Kong and originally released in the year 1987, however imdb has it listed as 1986. imdb lists it only under it's Hong Kong title and the pseudonym 'Young Master Vampire' th0 and has virtually no other info listed so it's listed year is likely inaccurate. It is presented in it's original language of Cantonese in Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 audio. There are two sets of subtitles. (one on top of the other) English is one and the other i am uncertain since i can not read it, hehe. (it looks like it most likely Chinese th0) The subtitles are hard coded into the video so they can't be turned off or altered in color, position, etc. It is presented in Widescreen but sadly it is done so in Letterbox rather than Anamorphic. All of the opening and closing credits are in their original written language and have no subtitles so they are illegible unless you can read Chinese written characters. This is part of the reason that i had such a problem trying to find more info since i couldn't get the actors names and such.

thX again for the help!
-thedevilman

[Brian Thibodeau]

Glad to see you found the info you needed! And yes, those are very likely Chinese subs underneath the English ones on that disc. Most Hong Kong movies featured them like that at least until the advent of DVD, where each could be given a separate stream.


Brentwood's known for its illicit titles and retitles. They weren't far removed from a bootleg outfit for years, mixing true public domain titles with those for which the pedigree was, at best, just difficult to confirm (but which were usually still owned by someone), though somehow they were able to turn legit on the backs of the filmmakers whose work they released illegally, and now actually licence a great deal of their product. Must be nice...

I have one of these Eastern Horrors sets myself, featuring ROBO VAMPIRE and DEVIL'S DYNAMITE, but I haven't watched them yet, nor do I know much of anything about them. They both appear to be Hong Kong movies, but the credits on the packages skew decidedly caucasian, outside of infamous producer Tomas Tang on both.
http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=99365521525903&item_id=938238

Incidentally, the image used for SATAN'S SLAVE on your two-pack was actually stolen from the cover for the Hong Kong movie WICKED GHOST (1999):
http://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?i ... ay_set=eng
although that's not the movie contained in the Brentwood pacakge. Sneaky buggers.

Speaking of questionable DVD releases, Videoasia, which is a known bootlegging distributor that has the good fortune of having its product sold in Best Buy and other big box retailers, has a series called TALES OF VOODOO:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/102-1279865-9970564?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=tales+of+voodoo&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

and another called TERROR TALES
http://www.amazon.com/Terror-Tales-Vol-1/dp/B000A1INBM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1279865-9970564

that are both top heavy with Indonesian exploitation flicks, which run the gamut from ridiculous to ridiculous, but watched in the right frame of mind, they're a blast. Obviously, Videoasia probably know how little power the original creators would have stopping them, which is a shame, because some of these are wild enough to warrant better presentations. Such as they are, they're worth a few giggles, since you're unlikely to see legit releases of them anytime soon, unless the Mondo Macabro DVD label steps up their release schedule.

I've only got two of these so far, and the quality is much like the Brentwood sets. Non-anamorphic, burned in subs, dodgy print quality.