Blood Reincarnation

By turns violent, surreal, and doomily crushing, this obscure horror anthology centers around traditional Chinese ideas of the afterlife, updated for the early 1970s. Named for its longest story, BLOOD REINCARNATION spans the worlds of ghosts, murder, vengeance, and the dogged fury of deeds left undone—even from beyond the grave. Written and directed by the prolific Shan-Hsi Ting (The Queen's Ransom) and featuring a wild range of cinematography from Chris Chen Ching-Chu (Fist of Fury), the film features Dean Shek (Drunken Master), Lai Wang (Centipede Horror), Henry Yu Yang (The Fury of the Black Belt), Sha-Fei Ouyang (Seeding of a Ghost), Peter Yang Kwan aka Yang Qun (Tragic Hero), and Ting-Ken Shih (Master of the Flying Guillotine) amongst a slew of other classic Hong Kong actors.

1. THE TREASURE. When a man, his godmother, and his pregnant wife believe they've unearthed buried treasure, greed overcomes them, and in the ensuing quarrel, the godmother is killed. But when the wife is in labor and facing a difficult birth, could it be the work of the godmother's vengeful spirit?  

2. THE WANTON. A married woman and her lover, eager to continue their affair unimpeded, lock her husband inside a wooden crate and dump it into the sea for him to drown. Before long, strange events all having to do with water start to impact the couple, as it seems the husband's ghost seeks retribution for his own aqueous agony. 

3. LIU TIANSU. Esteemed doctor and healer Liu Tiansu is summoned by a mercenary to the county magistrate's compound. There, he's ordered to save the life of the magistrate's ailing fourth mistress. When Liu is double-crossed and the mistress dies, he's sentenced to death at once. The mercenary takes pity upon the innocent doctor, and although he must behead him, he teaches him the blood reincarnation technique. Following his advice, Liu Tiansu returns as a ghost of himself, with only a short period of time to sort things out...