The White Butterfly Killer (1973) Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Cheng Hou

Year: 1973

Plot:

The synopsis of the film is that a girl witnesses the murder of her grandfather and plots revenge on the killers. The killers are opium smugglers and so she becomes “The White Butterfly Killer” to get her revenge on the gang that is responsible for killing her grandfather.

Even though that’s the synopsis that is plastered throughout the net, the plot follows a little more closely a revenge plot that isn’t on the film itself.  Yes, there’s revenge, but you have to watch a lot more of it than just the first ten or so minutes, because it establishes itself as a different type of story at first. In fact, you’ll have a hard time deciphering the story if you watch the beginning as there are brawls that have nothing to do with the white butterfly, they just showcase the power of the gang and other random individuals. That’s not to say it’s bad, it’s just a matter of fact. The plot is simple, it’s a revenge flick and the main hero is a woman that seeks that revenge overall through kung fu action.

Thoughts:

The first thing I noticed was the film quality, it was slightly upgraded from the VHS release, but that’s not much. It still wasn’t in HD or anything like that, but it was clear, alongside the sound design which was dubbed. I also noticed that the story was a little convoluted at first glance, with some brawls that don’t seem to follow the main story drag. That’s not to say it’s bad, but it’s definitely a bit out of cohesion.

Once the main story comes through, we do get that revenge plot. A woman’s grandfather is killed because the gang wants to sleep with her, and that makes her want to seek revenge when she sees the gang members at her Inn. From there we get back and forth fighting, and it’s quite good. I did notice that the fighting was close up a lot, but there was enough cuts and breaks to make it worthwhile. The fighting of course was not one and done, with a lot of back and forth. Our heroine is awesome, bringing together some great kung fu against villains that seek to get with her, or defend themselves because she’s attacking in revenge for her grandfather, and a rape that is revealed to be another case she’s after the gang.

The pacing is a little slow. You have to sit through some setup overall, and even though you get some brawling up front, there’s a little bit of story that comes through between that and the more fluid moments to come. That’s standard though, don’t take that as a bad thing. Hsu Feng’s kung fu style here is great, and features a variety of opponents, giving you a good mix to look at. I give “The White Butterfly Killer” a 4 out of 5 rating, as it’s above average with some great kung fu mixed in a revenge plot.

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