Shatter (1974)

The other Hammer / Shaw Bros Collab

The other Hammer / Shaw Brothers collaboration, Shatter’s conception predates The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, as it was originally pitched as a Canadian co-production before being confined to a shelf for a few years and then resurrected as part of the collaboration deal. Rather than a period drama as both companies were used to producing, Shatter sees the action transported to contemporary Hong Kong and it's used to great effect, even if it amounts to nothing more than a lot of glorious eye candy. The film ran into many problems during production and this is evident in the finished product, the editing is off by a beat, it doesn't go anywhere very fast and isn't helped by a mediocre script. Stuart Whitman doesn't care about his role, an entirely one-note performance, but he's carried by the indomitable Peter Cushing who always gives 100%, remaining a joyous presence in this otherwise substandard kung fu exploitation. Ti Lung is the actual star here even if he struggles with his English dialogue, the same problem befalls Lily Li. In the end, the novelty value of Shatter probably makes this more of interest to Shaw fans than Hammer fans; although I enjoyed the film, like Golden Vampires, it just left me wanting more from its initial promise, ultimately coming across as incredibly sloppy and rather underwhelming.

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