Human Lanterns (Blu-ray), 88 Films, Horror

Though featuring the Shaw Brothers custom brand of martial arts mayhem, HUMAN LANTERNS also taps into the early 80s craze for the American slasher film and the earlier Hammer horrors by providing a grisly take on the serial killer feature in an inimitable Hong Kong style. When an unbalanced craftsman decides to get revenge on two Kung Fu masters by creating special lanterns constructed from the human skin of their dead relatives, all hell breaks loose in this gruesome tale of bloody retribution. Taking it's inspiration from movies like Psycho and real cases like Ed Gein, HUMAN LANTERNS is clearly not for the faint-hearted with it's over the top gore and sadistic qualities but this slice of darker than dark fantasy still manages to be both wonderfully horrible and impressively entertaining.