"Fame and fortune bring disasters to many"
House of Traps was a Chang Cheh movie featuring most of the Venoms though my favorite, Lo Meng, was missing. Phillip Kwok, Sun Chien, Chiang Sheng, and Lu Feng were all featured in this convoluted tale of rebellion and double crosses. And of course there was a secret list with rebel names on it!The film opened with the lineage of the current emperor and a tale of how the first one was murdered as well as his son.
Prince Zhao Jue is the son of the prince who was killed and is planning a rebellion. Normally, he might have the moral high ground but in the House of Traps, he’s the villain. A villain with a house of traps where he stores treasures stolen from the Imperial Palace and hides the secret rebel list. Scholar Yan Chun Min is chosen from the imperial side to investigate the prince and stop his rebellion. He’s aided by two unorthodox swordsmen. Not everyone will make it out of the House of Traps alive.
This story was hard to feel invested in as the motivations weren’t particularly clear. For a movie with four of the Venoms, it was also short on action. The fights were faster than kung fu posing but not lightning quick either. Phillip Kwok (Lizard Venom) choreographed numerous movies, including this one. His moves were lively and nimble though he wore what looked like a roadkill scarf on his head with matching boot cuffs-a major fashion “don’t”. Ricky Cheng and Chiang Sheng (Venom apprentice) provided levity as kung fu masters disguised as magician street performers. Lu Feng (Centipede Venom), as he often did, played the bare-chested baddie with killer moves. Sun Chien (Scorpion Venom) played against type as a scholar with no martial arts skills. The house of traps provided several lethal traps that permanently prevented some of the characters from leaving. What it didn’t provide were any female characters, another one of those strange worlds where only men inhabit.
House of Traps would have benefited from a better story, like telling us why we should root against the prince whose birthright was stolen instead of for the usurpers. At best it was an average early kung fu flick. I enjoyed seeing the majority of Venoms together for one of their last collaborations, but didn’t particularly care who walked off into the sunset.
19 March 2024
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