Holy Virgin vs. The Evil Dead (1991) User Reviews

High energy cult madness from Hong Kong

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 17 December 2016]

HOLY VIRGIN VS. THE EVIL DEAD has one of those fantastic cult titles that really tells you everything you need to know about the film you're going to watch. This is a typically high-energy slice of Hong Kong action horror, with geeky school teacher Donnie Yen tackling a centuries-old Moon Monster with a penchant for human flesh. It's a low budget but frequently thrilling production in which the slapdash nature of the events becomes a merit, making this a fast, funny, and frequently furious kind of movie that could never be made in the west.

The film it most reminded me of is THE SEVENTH CURSE, particularly in the latter half with the excursion into the Cambodian jungle, and while it's not as good as that bigger-budgeted earlier movie, HOLY VIRGIN still packs a punch. The arresting opening sequence - murder at the picnic - really sets up the tone for the rest of the production. There are no slow moments here, just murder, bloodshed, sleaze, and high action. I saw the international version which replaces all the nude girls with clothed versions, but otherwise seems to be intact. The '80s-style special effects are a hoot and the fight scenes are great fun. Yen gets to do what he does best while the high-kicking Ken Lo is one of the few actors who could handle this type of role. I spotted references to THE TERMINATOR, THE KILLER, and THE EVIL DEAD along the way. Moon Lee is referenced in the English credits but doesn't appear, but there's a nice role for Pauline Yeung, of DRAGONS FOREVER fame.

Now There's Something You Don't See Every Day...

[masercot · 12 April 2004]

Donnie Yen is probably the most underrated martial arts star of the nineties. Without him, this movie would be nothing more than a Hong Kong snuff film with mediocre special effects and dozens of naked women...not that a movie like THAT couldn't stand on its own merits.

The movie begins with what looks like a beach party with a teacher and a half dozen of his female students. Paradise? Yes, until a cranky demigod rises from the earth and kills every girl there. It is the ancient Chinese god of misogyny.

The teacher, Donnie Yen, is the prime suspect in their dismemberments. Much of the movie is his search for clues as to the identity of the real killer.

I won't say much more except that the movie switches venue to Cambodia and then turns completely from horror to action movie. How many naked Cambodian women can you have in a scene before it begins to look gratuitous?

Apparently more than twenty...

Fantastic HK horror comedy with lotsa nudity.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 7/10 · 26 May 2006]

A teacher and his five female students are attacked by a monster with neon-green eyes.The teacher escapes but his students are completely dismembered.He soon discovers the monster is worshipped by a cult whose ambition is to rule the world and tear the clothes off young girls."The Holy Virgin Vs The Evil Dead" is a campy soft porn/horror flick that mixes martial arts with shocks and sleaze.The final bit which shows dozens of nude young women in the village is amazing.The film is action-packed and filled with excellently choreographed martial arts fight sequences.There is also a nice amount of violence,so fans of crazy Hong Kong cinema will be pleased.Overall,this lovely Category III flick delivers the goods.Check it out.7 out of 10.

Wild psychotronic kung fu /horror /comedy /action /cheesecake /policer is a fun ride, but only for those who find the title Holy Virgin vs Evil Dead an instant must see

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 17 September 2005]

(Let me save you time and cut to the chase: Look at the title, if it interests you at all then there is no point reading the review, go find the movie and watch it. If the title doesn't interest you then no matter what I say is going to change your mind go find another movie to watch)

This movie is a blast. Its an over the top martial arts horror mixture thats got great fights, monsters, gore, nudity and everything you go to the drive in for, even if its only your living room.

The plot has something to do with the return of the" moon monster" who is trying to find the right girl to rape to get his power back. Along the way he kills a good number of people, is temporarily killed himself, and has to contend with the police, a teacher suspected of his killings and a beautiful princess who are out to stop him. It didn't make a great deal of sense to me (mostly because the subtitles of the print I was watching tended to blend into the background.) Then again I didn't care, this movie is just a good deal of fun to watch with earnest performances, great action, some gore and numerous I can't believe they are doing this moments.

No its not the best film to come down the pike. It meanders a bit too much and as much as I enjoyed it it was just a tad too cheesy in execution. Still if the English title of Holy Virgin vs Evil Dead instantly makes you sit up and want to either know more or see this film, then you've come to the right place.

Not what i was expecting but SO very good!!!

[daveblythe69 · 8/10 · 3 February 2003]

i got hold of this classic from a friend and set down to watch it expecting some kinda cheesey porn with no storyline, terrible acting and an appauling script. But what i got suprised me, the script was really good and one of the best fantasy martial arts storys i've ever seen, granted this isn't a lot but the story kept my attention and i pleasantly pleased. the acting wasn't fantastic but it was a lot better than you see in most films. the nudity wasnt iver used although at times it was VERY pointless an example is one of the most amusing and confusing tracking shots that i know, about 200 naked women standing around taking there clothes off for no reason.

The story is simple and brilliant and explains itself perfectly as the movie develops to let the audience learn more and more. The Moon monster kills and rapes several female students and injures their teacher, he gets out on bail and tries to hunt down the moon monster, this leads to a load of different plot turns and developments and telling them here may spoil the enjoyment for you. a very enjoyable movie that everybody should try and hunt down and watch and enjoy. 8/10 top job

Fun Cat III Entry

[Rapeman13 · 5 January 2007]

Holy Virgin vs. the Evil Dead (1991) While having a picnic, a teacher and his female students are attacked by a flying, raping murderer with glowing green eyes who slaughters the students. 'Ole teach (Donnie Yen) manages to escape, but he is then arrested for the murders as no one believes his story. We soon come to discover that the killer is known as the Moon Monster (the moon turns red whenever he appears) and he's looking for the right girl to rape so that he can gain control over the world. Teach gets out on bail, and along with his estranged wife, brother and the cop who's doing his wife, goes out to hunt down the Moon Monster. Their search takes them to Cambodia where the High Wind Tribe has been haunted by the Moon Monster for over 1000 years and they understandably wanna kill his @ss too. The leader of the tribe gives his daughter, Princess White a magical sword which can kill the monster and she sets about trying to get it done. Eventually Princess White joins forces with the cop, teach, bro & wife team and they manage to kill the Moon Monster by stabbing him in the head with the magical sword, causing his head to expand and then his body to explode into blue light, thus ending his reign of terror.

This Cat III entry is a lotta fun: there's enough gore, nudity, kung fu, flying and 80's looking special effects to keep any trash fiend entertained. 7/10

The Evil Dead vs Holy Virgin.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 8/10 · 30 September 2018]

Recently viewing John Woo and Ringo Lam's 1991 Heroic Bloodshed films Once A Thief and Touch and Go,I got in the mood to view another HK sub-genre: CAT III. Checking lists of '91 CATs, this one stood out right away, which led to me facing the evil dead.

View on the film:

Conjuring up fire and brimstone in the opening, director Chin-Ku Lu & cinematographer Chieh Huang break Chins with head-spinning, barking mad CAT III weirdness that juggles Horror,Comedy,Kung-Fu Action and skin flick genres all at once! Keeping all these going at once, Chin-Ku creates an incredibly lively atmosphere by offering new delights from each new turn the flick takes, from lightning fast Evil Dead-style tracking shots and zoomed out naked ladies, to delightful, rubbery practical gore effects to burning red covering the screen when the eyes of the evil dead light up.

Keeping in the spirit of Chin-Ku's visual style, the screenplay by Ho-Kwan Lee uses the demonic Moon Monster as the thread to each otherwise free-flowing dips into sub-genres, thanks to the possessing powers of Moon Monster allowing for fitties to get undressed, and for the high-kicking fight scenes to be given a supernatural spin. One of two movies he did in 1991,Donnie Yen gives a very good performance as Professor Shiang,which tugs at the ambiguity over which side Shiang backs,in the fight between the holy virgin and the evil dead.