It’s a story we’ve seen over and over and over again: A Hell Witch appears at a “devil hole” along with the Hell Virgin, who is the innocent daughter of the Hell King. Now two ass-kicking monks, who are of course named Peacock and Lucky Fruit, must travel to four different devil holes and use their ancient powers of Yang to fight the witch and kill the virgin and stop the resurrection of the Hell King, which would plunge the world into darkness.
So, yeah, it’s basically like an episode of Friends.
And just like Friends, there’s stop-motion beasties, jaw-dropping monster transformations, flying warriors from the Devil Sect, and possessed dinosaurs that eat department store managers. Fireballs explode, men get squeezed to death, and a gigantic claw emerges from a woman’s locker. There are projections of demons, ancient Buddhist drama that involves traitors, and dummies that get thrown from a Ferris wheel. Oh, and cannibalism.
My favorite scene is when Peacock steps on a burger carton and tiny stop-motion tentacled monsters emerge from the carton and escape a dog. “Master always said hamburgers are powerful.” Despite being completely unnecessary, the scene is an absolute delight. I don’t know which is cuter, the little beasties or the dog.
The Peacock King is nothing short of incredible. The film barrels forward in nonstop adventure and the plot is simple and creative. The characters are charming and the one-liners land. There are nods to the Indiana Jones films—including a mischief of rats—but it never feels derivative. The monster designs are heavily inspired by H.R. Giger, and they are absolute spectacles. The beasts transform and pulsate and they may or may not look like murderous toothy vaginas. You just can’t believe the amount of detail and inventiveness that power the special effects in this film. Even the martial arts choreography is impressive: Biao Yuen—a legend in his own right—plays Peacock and he explodes on screen. He flips, flies, kicks, punches, and casts spells, all with a mischievous grin.
Director Ngai Choi Lam is a goddamn legend. He unleashed The Cat and Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky and I can honestly say that his films have changed me at a cellular level. There’s Annie before knowing the work of Ngai Choi Lam, and Annie today, which is now the best version of myself.
You too can be the best.
