Sex and Zen

Director - Michael Mak (Butterfly and Sword, Marauders on the Train of China)

Starring - Lawrence Ng (Wolf Hiding, The Secret of S), Amy Yip (Stooges in Hong Kong, Queen of the Underworld), and Kent Cheng (IP Man 2, Sleepwalker)

Release Date - 1991

Genre - Comedy

Tagline - "Banned for 400 years!"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I started this journey a decade ago I never envisioned that I would be reviewing the films that I do.  I mean, the migration from horror and exploitation to horror only made sense considering how much of a fan I am of the genre.  However, I never expected to be reviewing sexploitation and Cat III films yet here I am.  I started collecting sexploitation flicks several years back when companies like Vinegar Syndrome and Severin Films turned me on to them.  I then found myself reviewing Japanese sexploitation flicks when Synapse Films' sister company, Impulse Films, started sending them my way.  I didn't really learn about CAT III, or category III, films until Unearthed Films started releasing some of these films from Hong Kong.  Since then I've been absolutely hooked.  A few months back Shout Factory released the blu collection Golden Harvest Vol. 1: Supernatural Shockers.  This set really interested me so I snagged it for my collection.  However, I couldn't just put it on a shelf and forget about it.  Instead, I made time to check it out.  The first film in the set is the 1991 comedy Sex and Zen.

     The film follows a young man who is somewhat of a scholar who laughs at traditional thinking.  He takes on a young bride but wants to continue exploring the female body.  He teams up with a thief who promises to supply him with women if he has a surgeon make him more endowed.  He agrees and as he gains more sexual experience, he starts to realize there is more to life than just sex.

     I went into this one thinking it was going to be a bit raunchy and have some supernatural aspect to it.  While it may have a little supernatural aspect and some sleaze, it was a romantic comedy through and through.  I seriously wanted to like it but I found myself extremely bored with it before we hit the halfway mark.  The acting in this one is actually really enjoyable.  The characters are very colorful and full or energy with the cast going above and beyond to make the scene fun.  With that being said, some of them are rather cliched and blend into the background as the film progresses.  The story for this one is more romantic comedy with a married man fucking around until he starts to realize that something more is waiting for him at home.  The humor works at first but it's kind of a one trick pony and the humor wears off fairly early.  It does have it's sleazy moments but the "supernatural" aspect of the story if very, very light.  In fact, it's so light that I wonder why it was included in this set.  Finally, no blood or gore in this one.  A lot of skin and some laughs but that is the extent of it.  Overall, Sex and Zen is not what I was expecting.  In fact, I hope it doesn't set the tone for this box set.  If it does then I may have lost some  money on this one.