I have seen a lot of Asian horrors but this one surely is weird. I came across this flick by reading old Fangoria magazines and one article (nr 107) was about weird Asian flicks. Secondly having the Centipede Horror VHS this was made one year earlier by the same writer and producer. The Centipede Horror was famous for the use of real Centipede and back then actors did their own stunts in those countries.

Gong Gui Zai is surely one to pick up if you can find it on a legal way for so many reasons. The use of real animals and real scorpions gave it a weird look especially when people are full of the real scorpions all over their body or even faces. But what made Red Spell Spells Red notorious is the amount of animal cruelty. If you have seen Cannibal Holocaust (1980) and thought that was cruel then watch this flick. Pigs are being slaughtered in a painful way. One scorpion is being smashed alive with a stone and there's more going on with animals but the most cruelty is done with a chicken being eaten alive, intestines first then the head. If you can't take that then please stay away from this flick.

It also did remind me a few times of The Evil Dead (1981) when the forest comes alive and one girl legs is spread to catch the spell.

Story wise it's rather simple as a TV producer and a journalist are out to Malaysia to shoot a feature surrounding a wicked dwarf. The story itself is told before the opening credits and is full of magick and spells and a must see on it's own. The dwarf was trapped in a stone grave by 4 sorcerers and killed but before the killing he casts a red spell that everyone should die who enters his grave. Stella, the journalist, and her crew stays in Malaysia but strange things begin to happen once entering a Borneo Long House.

I was also surprised that this flick had nudity or even shots of wet clothes revealing everything. The final again offers magick and Tibetan priests cursing out the spell, but just have a look at the sorcerer with the long white beard as he sits on the ground full of scorpions surrounded by real fire, you can spot easily that no effects were used. An ideal flick for horror buffs or exploitation geeks and of course the criticism. It can't be made nowadays with all the animals involved and the sorcerers but Red Spell Spells Red surely but on a spell on me.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 1/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

A Hong Kong film crew travel to Malacca where they intend to make a fantastical documentary about an evil Sorcerer named the Red Dwarf who was killed and placed inside a sealed stone tomb many years before. Opening the Red Dwarf's tomb breaks the seal and unleashes the vengeful Red Dwarf spirit who sets out to kill the film crew.

This film from Hong Kong is your average Asian horror film dealing with black magic and evil/good Sorcerers and is only really remembered for it's animal cruelty as the other reviews on the IMDb testify as they can't resist mentioning it.

A Frog is cut up, some Pigs are killed and sliced up, there's a horrible slow-motion Cock-fight and the all to often mentioned scene of a guy eating the guts from a live Chicken.

When the only aspect anybody who has seen your film ever talks about is the vile animal cruelty you know you made a bad film lacking in anything else.

Rather slow going at times the jungle scenery and local customs and costumes add a touch of visual flavour but the story is standard fare and pretty predictable. Not enough happens and it's pretty forgettable.

There are a few OK scenes, some nice lighting effects and you can tell the director wanted to included some martial arts as there is a little bit that creeps into a few scenes especially the final exorcism which has the usual bizarre sound effects tagged on.

Little in the way of violence or gore outside the animal cruelty there's a very brief arm amputation, some guy is impaled on a branch and someone's back melts, I think. I guess it was just easier for the crew to film the killing of defenceless animals for shock value than set-up special-effects sequences.

If you like Asian horror Red Spell Spells Red is alright, I didn't hate it but found it a bit of a chore and it's not something I would want to watch again anytime soon.

"Red Spell Spells Red" is one of the rarest HK horror films in my collection.I managed to get this extremely obscure piece of gory horror on VCD whilst being in Kuala Lumpur.In a big cave an evil dwarf sorcerer is performing a bizarre ritual.Suddenly four righteous sorcerers enter the cave and attack him.In the subsequent struggle they wound the dwarf sorcerer fatally and throw him into a stone coffin.They carefully seal the coffin.The present time:a group of photographers investigate the legend of the evil sorcerer.They enter the cave and break the seal.Red smoke gushes from the coffin and ghastly things start to happen.A young man is killed by an unseen force,another is killed by the woods that came alive.When dozens of scorpions attack the people in the village,it seems clear that village is cursed.An old sorcerer tries to remove the powerful spell."Red Spell Spells Red" is a dark and suspenseful horror film that left me stunned.The tone of the film is serious,albeit there is a little bit of humor to be found here.The scenes of scorpions attacking people are creepy and horrifying.The film has some grisly scenes of animal cruelty thrown in for a good measure.Some pigs are killed with a knife and in truly disgusting moment a possessed man kills a hen by eating it alive in front of the camera.The gore effects are surprisingly effective for example a hand is cut off after the sting of the scorpion or a woman is attacked by a fishing net and wooden beams.The film is almost impossible to find,so don't hesitate to get a copy.9 out of 10.