Twelve Gates of Hell (1980)

Twelve Gates of Hell falls into the so bad it's funny category. Just when you think it can't get any more ridiculous, Dragon Lee says, "Hold my beer."

Lee Wan and his father were on their way to meet up with his perspective wife when they were waylaid by evil doers working for the local tyrant. They met up with Lee's potential father-in-law who had been badly wounded by the evil doers for he had been carrying the secret list of rebels. The tyrant would stop at nothing to get his hands on that list including poisoning Lee and leaving him for dead. He was rescued by his future bride. Sadly, his leg had to be amputated to save his life. Happily, he remembered there was a secret book and technique to make a metal leg and the manual came complete with the 18 Kicks instructions! Time for revenge! Whee!

This movie was filmed with all the sophistication of a high school play and probably with the same budget. The fights of which there were many were not particularly inspired but thankfully, they weren't super slow. The few indoor sets were bargain basement finds or thrown together. The cinematography was primitive at best. Even though it was filmed in Korea, don't expect to see any historical Korean costumes, the costumes and wigs were standard 1970's fake Bruce Lee wigs, and bland kung fu wear. The sound effects could range from someone banging on a metal trashcan to 1970's sci-fi spaceship sounds. A twelve-year old on Tik Tok could have filmed some of the special effects better with a cell phone. The acting ranged from adequate to bad.

The outdoor scenes were filmed in Korea and showed a wide range of scenery, laughably all on what was supposed to be the same day at times, but still they were pretty. Mountain scenes with and without snow made good places to fight and ambush. The forest, or the ocean shore, or on the banks of a frozen river were all settings for flipping, kicking, and hitting. Oh, and blowing fire breath. And of course there were the four evil female attendants who could disappear and even more frighteningly----turn into clowns! The horror.

If it sounds like I'm making fun of the film...I am. Even Dragon Lee couldn't help himself from smirking and winking at the camera. Twelve Gates of Hell mercifully clocks in at under 90 minutes. If you are an old kung fu movie enthusiast who isn't afraid to laugh in all the wrong places, and you're feeling up for a challenge that might feel like traversing the 12 gates of hell, you might want to give this one a try. Otherwise best to change the channel with the speed of the changing scenery in this movie.

Read More