Erotic Ghost Story III

Director - Kai-Ming Lai (Daughter of Darkness, Ghost House)

Starring - Pauline Chan (Hunting Evil Spirit, Spider Force), Tak-Bun Wong (Hard Boiled, Mystery Files), and Shing Fui-On (Queen of the Underworld, Fist of Fury 1991)

Release Date - 1992

Genre - Comedy/Horror

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     I'm deep into it now.  Four films out of the six in the Supernatural Shockers box set from Shout Factory and I have to admit that I'm glad I bought it.  The films are nothing like I was expecting but I am having a lot of fun with them especially the Erotic Ghost Story films.  After watching the first two films I took a look at the box and realized that there was a third Erotic Ghost Story in the set that needed to be immediately watched which is exactly what I did!

     The film follows a young man who has an assigned marriage that he does not want.  He flees from his home and seeks refuge in some old ruins with his bride to be chasing him.  The pair is soon swept into the afterlife where they are used a pawns to kill other gods so one can take control of Earth.

     I went into Erotic Ghost Story III with the same mindset that I went into the other two films with and I have to say that it continues the nudie mayhem that the first two films had but it doesn't go the same distance.  The film has the same wild story, beautiful women, and fun action scenes but it goes full softcore flick instead of a sexploitation comedy.  It was still fun but nowhere near the same level as the first two films.  The acting in this one is consistent with the second film.  The characters are fairly generic and the cast doesn't have an opportunity to act in a traditional sense due to the film's heavy focus on the softcore aspect over story telling.  The story for this one is a more straight forward.  The movie wants the viewers to focus on the nudity which puts the story in the backseat so to speak.  It does offer up a little more supernatural aspects than the previous two films but the comedy is replaced with sleaze.  I love sleaze but it is a bit overdone here and the story suffers because of it.  Finally, the film has a lot of fun sets and locations with some wild make up but those wanting blood will be very disappointed.  Overall, Erotic Ghost Story III is the weakest of the trilogy but still enjoyable especially if you want some late night sleaze.  I wanted to love it but I did like it for what it is.  Check it out.

Erotic Ghost Story II

Director - Peter Ngor (Legendary Couple, The Tragic Fantasy: Tiger of Wanchai)

Starring - Anthony Chau-Sang (The Mad Monk, Lamb Killer), Ichijo Sayuri, and Charine Chan (Happy Ghost 4, Return of the Fox)

Release Date - 1991

Genre - Comedy/Horror

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) 

Rating (out of 5):

     

     I'm three films deep into the Golden Harvest Volume 1: Supernatural Shockers from Shout Factory and I have to admit that I've really enjoyed it this far.  Sure, the first film was a bit of a dull watch but the second and third films were so much fun.  Erotic Ghost Story may have been a very misleading title but that didn't stop me from enjoying it.  This made me really excited about checking out the sequel that was also included in the set!

     The film follows the demon Wu Tang who has now taken another human form and falls for a human female.  She is then murdered by another god.  Lamenting at her death, Wu Tang turns to a village near his lair and forces them to send him a virgin every month and when they don't he sends down his succubus to destroy the village.  

     Erotic Ghost Story II, like most sequels, is not as good as the first film.  The story is all over the place, the characters are nowhere near as memorable, and the nudity is just there with little pertaining to the story itself.  While it may not be as good, it was still a fun watch especially for a first time viewing.  The acting in this one is solid but the characters are not as fun as the previous film.  The film focuses more on the random acts of nudity and sex over the characters and their development.  It's because of this that the cast doesn't have much to work with aside from baring their assets in front of the camera.  The story for this one is all over the place.  It continues the exploits and evil deeds of Wu Tang but that is about the only real connection to the first film.  The nudity happens for no reason with nothing connecting it to the story and we bounce from one thing to the next without really telling a coherent story.  With that being said, the humor and action really finds it's mark.  I probably laughed more at this one than I did the first film.  Finally, the film has a lot of skin and some blood but not enough to satisfy those of you looking for a body count.  Overall, Erotic Ghost Story II fits well in the Supernatural Shockers set. The title is still misleading but it has a lot of skin and some laughs.  It's well worth checking out.

Erotic Ghost Story

Director - Ngai Choi Lam (The Ghost Snatchers, Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky)

Starring - Amy Yip (Stooges in Hong Kong, Robotrix), Hitomi Kudo (Rape &  Rape Special 1, Kyosei Waisetsu Shimai), and So  Man (Erotic Ghost Story II, Ghost Story of Kam Ping Mui)

Release Date - 1990

Genre - Horror/Comedy

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I ordered the Golden Harvest Volume 1: Supernatural Shockers, I thought I was getting into some sleazy horror flicks.  So far, that has not been the case and I'm not disappointed at all.  In fact, I've really enjoyed myself up to this point.  Granted, this is just the second film in the set but it was way better than the first film and even though it was nothing like I expected, it was still a lot of fun.  While Sex and Zen was a extremely dull, Erotic Ghost Story was more entertaining.  While the nudity was a given, the humor more than made up for the lack of supernatural elements that I was looking for.

     The film follows three fox spirits that have meditated for centuries to shed their fur and walk as a human.  However, they are tricked into following their carnal desires resulting in the three of them following for the same man.  After taking turns with the man for several days, they start to revert back to their fox forms before realizing they were tricked into sleeping with him,

     Erotic Ghost Story is not what I was expecting.  Hell, the title is so misleading that I had to check the disc after watching it to ensure I didn't toss in the wrong movie.  With that being said, I truly enjoyed it and while the title doesn't really represent the film, it fits this set perfectly.  The acting in this one fits the film very well but the "performances" are not memorable for the acting.  The three sisters are gorgeous in their own way and are not afraid to bare it all for the camera.  While Yip has her famous cut away, the other two are not afraid of the camera.  We also get some unexpected fight scenes that are well choreographed.  The cast does a fine job with those as well but the main focus is the nudity which isn't overdone like so many films before and after it  The story for this one reminds me a lot of the Witches of Eastwick but in a much more sleazier fashion.  While I enjoyed and found myself laughing, it does run it's course fairly early.  The nudity does help carry it a bit further but the movie could easily be cut down drastically.  Also, the title is misleading.  The erotic part fits but the three sisters are not ghosts in the traditional sense and calling them that takes away from a huge chunk of the story.  Finally, the film isn't a bloody one.  We do get some fun zombie props and transitions early on in the film but that is about the extent of it.  The focus on this one is the erotic and not the ghost portion of the title.  Overall, Erotic Ghost Story is a fun watch especially if you are wanting some beautiful women and some laughs.  While it doesn't satiate those looking for some horror, it still delivers on the skin and comedy.  Check it out.  

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.  

Gut Pile

Director - Jerry O'Sullivan (The Slasher Nurse, Killer Campout Part II)

Starring - Jeffrey Forsyth (Star Trek Phase II, The Vicious Sweet), Ron Bonk (Johnny Z, The Night of Something Strange), and Edward Mastin (House Shark, Joe Vegas)

Release Date - 1998

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Watch your step..."

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) 

Rating (out of 5):

      I have a horrible habit of buying horror films to add to my collection and never watching them.  It's not because I have no interest in it but because I never have the time to watch everything I add to it.  Many years ago I bought the DVD for the 1998 horror film Gut Pile from SRS Cinema during a holiday sale.  It looked like a film I would love but I just never had the time to check it out.  Fast forward many years and the awesome folks over at Saturn's Core has put the film out on blu.  I try not to double dib but the price wasn't bad and I'm a huge fan of TV so I snagged a copy.  I decided to finally check the film out and it had to the this new release from Saturn's Core.

     The film begins with a hunter who accidentally shoots someone.  He buries the body in a shallow grave and keeps it to himself.  The next year he returns to the same spot to hunt with some of his friends.  A fun weekend of beer and hunting soon turns deadly when something sinister awakens in the woods wanting revenge.

     Gut Pile is a film I've seen very few people talking about and even fewer exclaim that they like it.  This made me a bit nervous but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one.  Honestly, I knew nothing about the film prior to watching it but if I knew that the film was as Evil Dead like as it was then I would have watched it a lot sooner.  The acting in this one is solid but there is plenty of room for improvement.  The cast, for the most part, didn't have a lot of on screen experience prior but they did go on to appear in more films after this.  As inexperienced as they may have been, I still enjoyed the characters they portrayed and the performances in each scene.  The story for this one is simple and stretched a bit thin even though the movie only has a 50 minute run time.  I really liked the premise with the hunter hiding a body and going back a year later.  I also liked he flow of the film and the small talk.  It doesn't take away from the film like it does in other films.  In fact, it works with the story to progress.  With that being said, the film is padded to extend the run time.  The film has no reason being more than 30 minutes with the story we are given.  Finally, the film has some deaths with some blood and make-up effects.  While they are nothing memorable, they fit the film and work.  Overall, Gut Pile is a surprisingly enjoyable cabin in the woods type horror film.  It might not be the most gruesome film I've seen but it is a lot of fun.  I highly recommend snagging tis on blu from Saturn's Core.  Check it out.  

The Primevals

Director - David Allen (The Dungeonmaster, Puppet Master II)

Starring - Juliet Mills (Ark: The Animated Series, Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar), Richard Joseph Paul (Oblivion, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise), and Leon Russom (The X-Files, Tales from the Darkside)

Release Date - 2023

Genre - Adventure/Sci-Fi

Tagline - "A civilization lost in time... Invaded one million years ago"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     Full Moon Entertainment has done a lot of good for horror history over the several decades they have been in business.  Starting all the way back when Charles Band launched Empire International Pictures and the release of the classic films Re-Animator, From Beyond, Rawhead Rex, and Crawl Space just to name a few.  When Empire went out in 1988, Band launched Full Moon Entertainment the same year and has been making films under that banner ever since.  While some of the Full Moon releases are easily forgettable, he has still turned out classics like Puppet Master, Evil Bong, Subspecies, The Gingerdea Man, and many more.  Band and both companies have one hell of a track record.  That's why I began following The Primevals so intently when it was announced.  The film was a dream project by David Allen that began filming in the 80s but was shelved due to budget issues.  A few years back Full Moon began raising funds to finish this film and get it released.  I'm glad Band took the time to get this one out to fans of Full Moon and stop motion animation because it's a fantastic film!

     The film follows a group of scientists who venture deep into the Hymalayas in hopes of finding a live yeti after the remains of one was sent to them showing signs of brain surgery.  What they discover is a civilization lost to time that is being terrorized by ancient aliens that are using this ancient race of humanoids for experiments and entertainment.  

     The Primevals is a film that I can see a lot of the pop genre fans brushing off and I get it.  This film isn't for them.  It's for cinema fans that grew up on stop motion like Allen was known for.  This was a style that was over before my time but I always watched the films when I was little when I was a kid with my grandmother.  I remember watching all the Ray Harryhausen classics with her and often wished there was more movies with stop-motion.  This one doesn't disappoint especially if those style of films are your thing.  The acting in this one is very well done.  While the characters are very one dimensional and uncharismatic, the cast still does a phenomenal job at moving the film along.  The dialogue is very heavy but the cast does a fantastic job at finding the correct emotion for the scene which really does help with the film's pacing.  The story for this one is a bit out there but I really enjoyed it.  It's something different and makes great use of the stop-motion.  An ancient alien race enslaving a humanoid ape like species deep in the Himalayan mountains is something that would have been a wild story during the height of stop-motion.  Add in the characters, yetis, and the rest of the film and you are given something that you can watch over and over without tiring of it.  I found myself wanting to talk about it for days after watching it.  It sounds a bit goofy typing it out but it really was compelling.  Finally, the film has a little blood but the focus of the film is the creatures and the stop-motion which is absolutely gorgeous.  I loved the looked of the reptilian aliens, the missing link type creatures, and the yetis.  You can tell a lot of time and passion went into crafting these and I'm sure fans of stop-motion can appreciate the models as well.  Overall, The Primevals is a must see for fans of stop-motion and Full Moon alike.  It's a film that will go on to become a timeless classic and a staple in any Full Moon collection.  Check it out!

Despiser

Director - Philip J. Cook (Invader, Beyond the Rising Moon)

Starring - Mark Redfield (Dark and Stormy Night, Cold Harbor), Doug Brown, and Gage Sheridan (Twilight of the Dogs, First Encounter)

Release Date - 2001

Genre - Horror/Fantasy

Tagline - "Fear for your soul"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) 

Rating (out of 5):

     I know my brain is wired differently than most genre fans.  Most horror fans flock to films that are well polished, edited, and acted with top notch effects.  They want the blood and gore but they want it done with unforgettable practical effects.  Don't get me wrong.  I love that stuff too but I find myself drawn toward the films made on a shoestring budget with nylon stockings filled with tissues and dipped in red corn syrup as guts.  I live for these types of films and when I saw what could only be described as a CGI disaster that is Despiser, I knew I had to have it especially after I saw that my friends over at Visual Vengeance was releasing it.  I went ahead and snagged a copy and quickly added it to my watch list.

     The film follows struggling artist and veteran Gordon (Redfield).  He just lost his job and with his rent now behind, his wife has left him too.  He then finds himself in a car accident and awakens in a purgatory like hellscape with a faction of other survivors are in an endless struggle against Despiser, his right hand Shadowman, and legion of twisted soul hellbent on serving him.  

     Many genre fans would see a film like Despiser and turn their nose up at it and I completely understand.  However, movies like this one are the kind that excite me the most.  They may have horrible effects and the acting may be amateurish but they usually have a lot of imagination and creativity.  Despiser is one of those films.  While it may look like a direct to video Christian film from the earl 2000s, it's actually a solid fantasy horror flick with some of the worst CGI I've seen in a movie.  This brought about a lot of unintentional laughs and I could see myself revisiting it sometime in the near future.  The acting in this one is not the worst I've seen but the cast is extremely stiff in their performance.  The dialogue for most of the film comes out of their mouths almost as if they are drill instructors and afraid to show any emotion.  Several members of the cast would go on to appear in other films and I would love to check those out to see how far they have grown from this film into the next.  The story for this one is absolutely wild and I love it for that.  We have purgatory, high speed car chases, aliens, freedom fighters, romance, and more inside a film that has PBS quality CGI and looks like an early 00's Christian film.  The movie is a bit on the lengthy side but I didn't want it to end.  The pacing, campy dialogue, and editing is able to come together to almost stop time.  Finally, the film has a lot going on especially in regards to the computer generated effects.  The film uses a lot of CGI and every shot of it is horrible.  It's unintentionally funny yet you can't look away.  Sure, I would have loved some great practical effects gore but this horrible CGI is still entertaining to say the least.  Overall, Despiser is a must see.  Fans of b-movies and unintentionally bad movies will want to check this one out.  It's the holy grail for bad movie fans.  I absolutely loved it.  

Kung Fu Rascals

Director - Steve Wang (Guyver, Drive)

Starring - Steve Wang, Troy Fromin (Shrunken Heads, Return of the Living Dead II), and Johnnie Saiko (Hell Comes to Frogtown, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight)

Release Date - 1992

Genre - Action/Comedy

Tagline - "It's not just another day of kung fu fighting"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     I've been a fan of martial arts and kung fu flicks for as long as I can remember.  I watched them growing up with my grandmother and when I hit my teenage years I watched them with some friends of mine.  I've watched a lot of the "bad" kung fu movies over the years and I absolutely love them.  The campier the better.  Sometime back Visual Vengeance, the blu ray oriented sister company to Wild Eye, released the 1992 kung fu comedy Kung Fu Rascals on blu.  I had to add it to my collection so I ordered a copy and added it to my watch list to check out as soon as I could.

     The film follows three young kung fu masters who are on a quest to find a power that can restore their village to it's glory days.  However, an evil man and his gang of kung fu goons are after the same power and will stop at nothing to get it before them.

     I went into Kung Fu Rascals expecting to see some cheesy humor and a lot of fun kung fu.  Instead, what we have is an extremely campy film with a lot of dialogue filled scenes and not that much martial arts action.  I seriously wanted to like it but it wasn't for me.  The acting in this one is a lot of fun.  The film features a big cast of characters with memorable personalities but a lot of the scenes drag on and on for far too long.  This creates a lot of time with these characters delivering dull dialogue.  The story for this one has so much potential but struggles with the pacing.  At it's hear its a film with a story we had seen many times during the early 90s with films aimed at children with a select group of people (often teenagers) go on a quest of self-discovery to find something sacred that will save them while an evil villain and his army of soldiers is trying to stop them.  I could get behind it if it spent more time focusing on fights and setting the scenes instead of the quick jokes and dialogue heavy scenes.  The humor is clearly a parody to the martial arts films of the late 70s except the jokes run their course fairly early in the film resulting in a film that moves at a snails pace with not enough action to hold the viewer's attention.  Finally,   isn't a blood one but there is some fantastic creature designs that I was seriously impressed by.  In fact, I loved them so much that I wish the film was centered more around them instead of the film's lead.  Overall, Kung Fu Rascals might be a bit more fun if you pop an edible or crush some beers.  However, it's not enjoyable as a sober watch and could use a lot of trimming to fix the pacing.  

     

Nosferatu

Director - Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse)

Starring - Lily-Rose Depp (Tusk, Yoga Hosers), Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies, Mad Max: Fury Road), and Bill Skarsgard (It, Barbarian)

Release Date - 2024

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Succumb to the darkness"

Format - Streaming (Fandango at Home)

Rating (out of 5):

     I became obsessed with the Universal classic monsters when I was in high school.  At the time Universal was putting out DVD box sets for each of the monsters and I was scrambling to find them all.  This started my deep dive into the careers of some of the legends that portrayed many of the monsters like Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., an so on.  Chaney Jr. lead me to his legendary father and this turned me on to films from the silent era of Hollywood and what is one of the most iconic films of the time period, Nosferatu.  It was fairly easy to track down a copy of the film due to it being public domain now.  This is a film that I greatly admire and love that younger generations have discovered it because of Spongebob.  When news broke that The Witch's Robert Eggers was remaking the film, I knew I had to see it.  He is a filmmaker that has not let me down and I knew he would absolutely knock this one out of the park.  A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to receive a package for the film's digital release that included a code to check it out.  Damn right I took advantage of that to see the film.

    The film follows an underling sent to a castle deep in the Carpathians to see a Count.  The count is buying an old mansion in England and the young man is tasked with visiting him to sign the necessary paperwork.  What he doesn't know is that this is a ploy from his employer who is in leagues with the count.  The count is secretly a vampire with an obsession for the young man's new bride.  The count plans on locking him away and setting sail to England to be with her but he is able to escape.  He teams up with two doctors, one of which has knowledge of vampires, to stop the count from damning her soul.

     Nosferatu is an iconic silent era film that can be argued that it is still effective to this day.  It does have it's fair share of haters, especially those who disagree with the fact that it was a blatant rip off of Bram Stoker's Dracula.  This remake, like a lot of pop horror releases, seemed to split the genre community.  Some loved the film and hailed it as their favorite of the year while others were disgusted by the sexual energy an Orlok's mustache even though it was period accurate.  I went into this one with both in mind and found myself absolutely loving it.  It may not be as amazing as the original but it's still a must see for genre fans.  The acting in this one is unforgettable.  Hoult and Depp and fantastic.  Hoult has never disappointed me and I'm always looking forward to the next film of his.  Lily-Rose Depp also does a fantastic job as well.  Her performance here is legendary and images of her from the film will live on in cinema history.  The supporting cast is just as phenomenal.  Willem Dafoe, Bill Skarsgard, and so on deliver the same intense and amazing performances.  The story for this one does follow closely to the original film which does borrow heavily from the classic novel.  It's very romantic fantasy heavy with a lot of horror elements scattered throughout.  The film does rely on dialogue heavy scenes to get the character's background and story progressing but it's not that boring.  The atmosphere and tension helps with the pacing issue creating a very effective story.  Fans of The Witch and The Lighthouse will truly appreciate the way the story is delivered here.  Finally, the film has a high body count.  We get a lot of the traditional vampire kills that uses some blood and light make-up effects.  I also love the look of Skarsgard as Count Orlock.  The mustache does fit the period while paying homage to the man who created the Dracula legend.  With that being said, there is several scenes that use a heavy dose of computer generated effects that are a bit goofy.  Overall, Nosferatu is a must see especially if you like the original film or the works of Robert Eggers.  I know pop horror fans will flock to this one but if you are a lifelong genre fan that is on the fence then I highly suggest you check it out.  It's well worth your time!

In the Hands of Fate

Director - Samuel L. Fronsman (Hang in There)

Starring - Adam Joseph Turner (Double Walker, Wanna Play A Game), Keith Migra (The Melon Heads: House of Crow), The Hunting), and Sofia Bianchi (The Other Side, Nightmares Unleashed)

Release Date - 2025

Genre - Crime

Tagline - "Every choice has a price to pay"

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I'm often asked to review horror, thrillers, exploitation, and sci-fi flicks with most of the films, obviously, being horror.  I love my job and I love watching everything sent my way.  Even if I don't like the film, I still love seeing all the hard work the cast and crew put into the project.  However, it's not often that someone reaches out for me to review something that's not from the before mentioned genres.  A few weeks ago I was sent Samuel L. Fronsman's In the Hands of Fate to review.  I agreed to check it out and after spending a little time looking over the poster for the crime film I thought that I wouldn't like it.  That just proves you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover because I absolutely loved it.  It was a bit too long but I still had a lot of fun with it.  I want to take a moment to thank Sam Fronsman for sending this one over!

     The film follows a hired gun for a local crime boss who is tasked with killing one of his pushers.  He does so but leaves a loose end in the form of a female junkie.  He lets her go if she promises to keep her mouth shut.  However, she follows him back to his boss and steals a large sum of money.  As they all scramble to find who stole it so they can kill them, she visits an old friend she met in rehab who happens to be clean now and part of a cult.  She tricks her into going with her so the cult can use the money to expand.  

       In the Hands of Fate is nothing like I thought it would be.  It essences, it's two films connected by a a few characters and their actions.  In fact, the film could have taken the Tarantino approach and split itself up into two films rather than one film over two hours long.  Regardless, of the film's length, I seriously enjoyed it.  It's a lot of fun and some minor changes would make this one damn near perfect.  The acting in this one is a bit uneven.  The performances are not bad but some of the cast clearly has inexperience.  This made some of the dialogue feel forced or fall flat.  Aside from these instances, I loved the characters and how far the cast went to bring them to life.  The story for this one is such a wild ride and something the viewer may not expect.  It starts out with a humble crime beginning with a small time crime boss sending out people to clean up some messes.  However, it eventually leads to a cult with inner turmoil and a conspiracy to remove their leader of power.  I loved how far out this story branches but it could have easily been two films.  An indie crime flick that clocks in over 2 hours is a bit absurd.  Finally, the film has several death scenes but they are nothing memorable or exciting.  They use some blood and computer generated visuals but that is the extent of it.  Someone looking for a big body count or gore will be very disappointed.  Overall, In the Hands of Fate might be a lot for someone looking for a generic crime film to take in.  However, if you are looking for something different with a big story to tell then I highly recommend checking this one out.  I truly enjoyed it.