Bat Wings
Styling himself after Gene Simmons from KISS, kung fu villain Bat Without Wings adopts demonic black and white make-up, crazy hair, and flamboyant wardrobe to wreak havoc, raping and murdering women at whim. Twenty-eight martial artists aim to put a stop to his reign of terror, but only two live to tell the tale, the brave duo finally doing away with the face-painted menace once and for all, or so it seems: five years later, and it appears as though Bat Without Wings has somehow returned from the grave to continue his work.

Even more puzzling than the Bat's choice of glam-rock get-up is the plot for this early-'80s Shaw Brothers kung fu film, which is all over the place and guaranteed to confuse anyone struggling desperately to keep up with the subtitles. I tried my best to follow the muddled story, which rapidly introduces numerous similarly named characters, but it wasn't long before I had to admit defeat and be content to enjoy the more film's outlandish moments (the dismemberment of one of the Bat's victims, moving walls of bamboo in a poisoned swamp, and Christmas reindeer decorations that activate secret doorways), the fighting (of which there is plenty), and the impressive cinematography (the film looks great throughout).

4/10 - way too messy to rate any higher, although I might have added an extra point had the Bat spat blood, breathed fire, or sung 'Rock and Roll All Nite'.,