Starting with “The Flying Guillotine” back in 1975, director Ho unleashed his deadly decapitating machine on the big screen and started a trend. But he was too busy doing other horror projects like “Black Magic”, “Oily Maniac” and “The Mighty Peking Man” that he was not able to do the official follow-up. Even so with “The Dragon Missile” (1976), he did manage to do a quick knock off version while other directors and actors were finishing off the troublesome sequel. Interestingly, when it finally came out in 1978, Ho also released the concluding chapter concerning the flying guillotine for the Shaw Brothers in the form of “The Vengeful Beauty” or “Bloody Hibiscus” as in the Chinese title.
Set again in the Qing Dynasty under the ruthless Emperor Yung Cheng who, with the service of his flying guillotine squad continues to kill anyone who he considers a rebel, he now also sets his sight on the bookstore owners and proofreaders. Court officer Han Tian De, who believes that his Emperor is behind the endless massacre, soon becomes a target, despite the fact that he was away at the time; his fortunate pregnant and martial arts expert wife Rong Qiu Yan was unharmed. Nevertheless upon learning that Jin Gang Feng, the squad leader is responsible, she sets out to kill him. Even though she fails in her rushed attempt due to her condition, she manages to escape and decides to have her revenge later.
Not wanting the Emperor to find out that there is a survivor who escaped under his watch, Jin sends out his own three adult children to do the dirty work. Now on the run and having to keep a low profile, Rong while working as a kitchen hand,comes across Ma Seng, a former member of the guillotine squad and since they are in the same boat they quickly find comfort in each other. Meanwhile, Rong's former martial arts brother Wang Jun mysteriously turns up from nowhere but the three of them decide to team up and seek revenge against Jin regardless.
With this final guillotine adventure, which feels like a semi-sequel at times because of Ho's use of actual footage from his original film to emphasize and connect the thin plot together, this essentially is a straight revenge story with a strong female protagonist who is pregnant, thereby adding more tension and drama. The production looks good overall especially those huge outdoor sets that Ho is able to use to his advantage in telling his story.
Action wise, the fight in the bamboo forest and the one with which showcases a topless assassin are definitely the highlights. Furthermore, the end fight with villain Jin in which he lets loose a dozen of his mask wearing lookalikes is equally memorable and creative. Apart from the throwing of the guillotines, there is plenty of sword fighting choreographed in the old wuxia way by the prolific Tang Chia. The action is both fluid and fast-paced while nothing really stands out, the overall workout is entertaining enough.
After starring in “Kiss of Death” (1973), also directed by Ho, Taiwanese actress Chen Ping became an overnight success and earned the title of the “Queen of Hong Kong Exploitation”. Here reunited with Ho, she plays the tough, resourceful, sharp-witted character who is equally vulnerable at times, Rong Qiu Yan. However, by this stage, she was trying to shake her sleazy image hence we don't get to see her fully naked. At any rate, she is tolerable in the action department and she carries the film rather well.
As always, Lo Lieh is just as wonderful portraying the leader of the Emperor's death squad, ruthlessly sending out his own adult children to do the dirty work for him. On the other hand, Yueh Hua once again proves that he is one of Shaw Brothers' top stars, showing up as Wang Jun, a cunning and unpredictable wondering sword master with a dark secret.
For a change, Norman Chu who usually plays minor supporting characters, has a much bigger role here playing Ma Seng, the same Chen Kuan Tai character who in the first film left the guillotine squad. In this version, besides playing the love interest to Rong, he is still a fugitive on the run but he has developed a new technique to counter those deadly head chopping machines. Another notable support comes from Shaw's young starlet Shaw Yin Yin who is certainly not shy in going topless. Elsewhere, everyone's favorite villain Wang Lung Wei shows up as Jin Biao who has the doomed task of trying to kill Rong.
Ho's final stab at the flying guillotine saga has a seedy wuxia touch to it, though it is better and more action packed than his own knockoff “The Dragon Missile” (1976), it fails to reach the height that the original film achieved back in 1975. On the other hand, the film is a breezy seventy eight minutes of tightly plotted chase and revenge film with enough action, cheap thrills and nudity to make it a forgettable light entertainment affair.
