It's a sleazy black-magic oil man movie of vengeance...
Today's episode of Weirdhouse Cinema selection is our first Chinese film: the 1976 Shaw Brothers horror film The Oily Maniac. First and foremost, I have to say that this one turned to be a LOT sleazier than anticipated. We expected an oily schlock monster romp with a little Hong Kong action sprinkled throughout, and that aspect of the film did not disappoint.
But it also features plot elements of sexual assault and misogynistic attitudes overall. So please be aware of that should you wish to watch the film. We don't dwell on it in the podcast episode, but we do mention it upfront before largely focusing on the film's excellent monster and it's place in both Malaysian folklore and Hong Kong cinematic history.
But I can't stress enough how excellent this monster is. So I'd say it's worth watching a trailer for the film -- or perhaps skipping to the monster scenes in the full movie. You can watch this puppy on Amazon Prime and rent or buy it in most formats.
As for the podcast episode itself, here ya go:
We're sticking with the international theme for next week's edition of Weirdhouse Cinema, as we journey into the world of Soviet sci-fi with 1975's Children in the Universe, which you can rent for cheap on Prime or watch for free on YouTube.
Nice job, you covered a lot of interesting info about this Shaw Brothers flick! As a fan of Chinese and Hong Kong cinema, I have watched a couple hundred of the Shaw martial arts, horror, and comedy films. The Oily Maniac is definitely one of the lesser productions from SB, but it still has its moments. Those interested in more SB black magic films should check out the work of director Chih-Hung Kuei such as Hex (1980), Hex vs. Witchcraft (1980), the gross-out pic Corpse Mania (1981), Hex After Hex (1982), and the wacky The Boxer's Omen (1983). Chih-Hung Kuei also directed one of the all-time best SB dramatic martial arts films, Killer Constable, which deserves to be better kn…