EAGLE'S CLAW: A well-regarded independent flick, ‘Eagle’s Claw’ delivers Wang Tao fist-fights aplenty, but cannot help being a yawner in comparison to ‘Fatal Needles vs. Fatal Fists’. The eclectic cast includes Chi Kuan Chun and Leung Ka Yan, yet nobody truly makes an impression but seasoned villain Chang Yi. Many critics see this film as a decent example of kung fu away from the major studios; that it may be, but it cannot help being lost in the swathes. Rating: 2 ˝ / 5 . ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND: Sammo Hung struck gold with this bombastically inventive horror-kung fu-comedy. From the grippingly gruesome opening to acrobatically astounding finale, ‘Encounters of the Spooky Kind’ is a bizarre treat with a seemingly endless imagination. Warring magicians Chung Fa and Chan Lung steal every scene they appear in, whilst Sammo sets a new benchmark in screen fighting. Accredited with starting the horror-kung fu craze which was to follow, nothing could ever match the massively influential original. Rating: 5 / 5 .
