Labyrinth of Death is an odd but enormously entertaining horror comedy Kung Fu flick. It’s apparently a sequel to a movie I’ve never seen called Mystery of Chess Boxing, which is probably why it didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Fortunately, the filmmakers know that a movie doesn’t have to make sense if the action never lets up. I can even forgive it for being called Labyrinth of Death even though it doesn’t feature a labyrinth of death.
Evil King is a big-toothed vampire who goes around attacking people. He is trapped by a beautiful swordswoman in a cave where she also hides a kind vampire family who are misunderstood by the neighboring village. Seven hundred years later, a priest accidentally awakens them from their slumber. His granddaughter knows the family aren’t evil and sets out to protect them from both her grandfather and the Evil King.
One thing is for sure, this flick is never boring as it contains non-stop action. Usually when I say, “non-stop action”, it’s a generalization, but in Labyrinth of Death there is hardly a single dialogue scene that doesn’t involve fighting or at least vampires hopping around. The fight scenes are fast paced and frantic and feature some wacky wirework and cheesy choreography. In fact, the only scene that didn’t feature any Mung Fu is the part where the grandpa plays mahjong with some vampires. The comedy fights with the little kid vampire are amusing too. (There’s a scene where he pisses and farts on his attackers.) The running joke where every time someone accidentally grabs the vampire mom’s boob, her husband hops over and smacks her is a bit weird though.
The effects are pure cornball, but they add to the goofy vibe. The colorful lightning, light swords, and glowing crossbows the characters use are definitely low rent, yet they are a lot of fun. The villain’s lair set is cool too. The poorly translated subtitles are good for a laugh as well. My favorite line was, “Unmatured kid! Try your best power!”
AKA: Vampire Strikes Back. AKA: Chess Boxing Matrix. AKA: Chivalric Tornado.
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