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Beware of Pickpockets, The Big Heat, Sentenced to Hang, Tiger Cage 3, All the Wrong Clues
The Seventh Curse is a 1986 Hong Kong dark fantasy adventure film directed by Lam Ngai Kai based on Ni Kuang's novel series Dr. Yuen Series and stars Chin Siu-ho as Dr. Yuen. The film also stars Chow Yun-fat as Wisely, the protagonist in Ni's Wisely Series who appears as a supporting character in the Dr Yuen Series, while Ni himself serves as the film's narrator and also making a brief appearance as himself.
In this movie, Dr. Yuen (Chin Siu-ho) in the jungle of Thailand attempts to rescue a beautiful girl from being sacrificed to the "Worm Tribe" she belongs to. As a result, Yuen is damned with seven "Blood Curses" which burst through his leg periodically. When the seventh bursts, he will die, but Betsy, the beauty he saved, stops the curse with an antidote that lasts only one year, so on the advice of Wisely (Chow Yun-fat) he heads back to Thailand to find a permanent cure. Action ensues as Yuen and cohorts battle the evil sorcerer of the Worm Tribe, a hideous bloodthirsty baby-like creature, and "Old Ancestor," a skeleton with glowing blue eyes that transforms into a monster that is a cross between Rodan and Alien.
Alternate versions
This film has at least three different endings for each of its official releases:
In the original theatrical release, after the monster-killing climax, there's another by-the-pool-party scene (same pool as seen in the beginning of the film, but is supposed to be another party) in which Maggie Cheung's character (kind of) makes up with Dr. Yuen. Then, we cut to the original party-scene that starts off the movie with Dr. Yuen, Wisely, Ni Kuang (the real author of the two pulp-novel series) and a bunch of beautiful girls. As the author finishes telling the movie's story to the girls, one of them asks if he has another adventure story to tell. The author replies, "Well, we have to see what exciting adventures Dr. Yuen and Wisely are going to have." The two main characters come into frame, toast and finish their drink. Freeze-frame, then comes the end-title music and credits.
In the first video release available in Hong Kong during the late 1980s-early 1990s, the last two scenes were completely cut out, so as the very last close-up of Bachu, the native girl. Instead it is replaced with a two-shot of her and her lover, while the end credits roll partly over its freeze-frame, partly over black. Also, in that video release, the native girl's nude scenes were partly censored with the explicit body parts blacked out to make the film more "family-oriented" (?!).
In the DVD-edition, the second-to-last scene in the original theatrical release is cut out, whilst the final scene is retained, but with the end credits rolling over. The original dialogues are replaced with the end-title music. One would suspect the reason for the last two scenes being cut out in later releases is because they drag on for quite a while, though narratively it is not a bad attempt as the two scenes mirror the beginning of the movie.
