RED SPELL SPELLS RED (1983)

 I think my expectations for this Asian horror film were a little high going in. I was told this was a really gross, over-the-top kind of a thing along the lines of BOXER'S OMEN. Maybe I've seen too many of these black magic ghost films but I didn't think this one was all that disgusting. You do get an army of  evil scorpions, some of which appear out of boils on a woman's body, so if scorpions gross you out this might be an extra creepy film for you. On the sillier side you also get possessed chickens escaping from a cock-fight and people dying in ridiculous ways by getting attacked by trees and flung around like rag-dolls. Maybe it was just the cut I saw of this because I was also told there were a bunch of pigs being slaughtered here and that was nowhere in the version I watched. Basically it's your typical nasty spirit comes back from the dead, seeks revenge and has to do battle with good sorcerers with just a pinch of kung fu thrown in towards the end. There is a nice bit where a priest gets possessed and has to kick his own ass. It's all sort of similar to the movie BLACK MAGIC but not as good.  

Revised review after seeing the full uncut version on 1/3/2024:

  Well this certainly was something! What is essentially a similar film to something like the Shaw Brothers' BLACK MAGIC, these filmmakers, working outside of any Asian studio as far as I can tell, really push that template to the extreme here. Of course the main thing that stands out, beyond the typical evil sorcerer vs. good wizard stuff, is the amount of horrific animal cruelty on display. While after seeing so many of these Asian horror films that kind of thing doesn't really shock me so much anymore but the bit where a guy eats a live chicken definitely threw me for a loop. In addition to this you get people covered in real live scorpions, a bamboo crucifixion scene, nudity, dismemberment, an attack by a 35mm film reel, an homage to THE EVIL DEAD where the forest attacks people and a lot more animals being dispatched including pigs, a frog and other poor 4-legged creatures. A real freakshow for non-sensitive weirdos only.