Shaw Scares: Volume 1 – Vinegar Syndrome (Blu-ray)
Theatrical Release Dates: Hong Kong, 1984 (Sex Beyond the Grave), Hong Kong, 1982 (Hell Has No Boundary), Hong Kong, 1980 (Haunted Tales)
Directors: Chiu Jan-Keung (Sex Beyond the Grave), Lee Tai-Hang (Sex Beyond the Grave), Yeung Kuen (Hell Has No Boundary), Chor Yuen (Haunted Tales), T. F. Mou (Haunted Tales)
Cast: Tony Liu, Wai Yee Chin, Mabel Kwong, Kuan-Chung Ku (Sex Beyond the Grave), Leanne Lau, Derek Yee, Yueh Hua, Kent Tong (Hell Has No Boundary), Yun Ling, Li Ching, Chen-Chi Lin, Locke Hua Liu, Shen Chan, Liu Lai-Ling (Haunted Tales)
Release Date: December 2nd, 2025
Approximate Running Times: 89 Minutes 14 Seconds (Sex Beyond the Grave), 96 Minutes 16 Seconds (Hell Has No Boundary), 99 Minutes 26 Seconds (Haunted Tales)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Sex Beyond the Grave, Hell Has No Boundary), 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Haunted Tales)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese (All Films)
Subtitles: English (All Films)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $89.98
Sex Beyond the Grave: "When Ming, an inveterate gambler at mahjong, is given a lucky tablet by a blind peddler, his overwhelming greed takes over his life. Upon a lapse in winning, he is forced to sell his ancestral home, the Tao Tao mansion, ignoring strong warnings from the peddler. Ming is unaware of what happened there, as this home was the scene of a heinous sexual assault and murder during World War II and has been haunted ever since. After Ming's scientist friend David and his family move in, they ignore both the warnings and the various eerie accidents happening around them. When an evil ghost drags their son Nicky into a well, it'll test both their faith and their nerves to get him back." - synopsis provided by the distributor
Hell Has No Boundary: "While out enjoying a seaside picnic with her fellow officer boyfriend, policewoman May becomes possessed by a murdered little girl spirit who immediately unleashes violent rage within her. While these strange powers benefit her at work, they also fuel burning, murderous contempt at all her co-workers and help her manipulate people and circumstances. As those close to her attempt to free her from this vengeful entity, the almighty forces of black magic threaten to overcome her forever." - synopsis provided by the distributor
Haunted Tales: "Part 1. Newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Chow have landed themselves a beautiful yet remote home at Forever Garden. But Mrs. Chow is exceedingly worried about strange happenings on the grounds. There are graves for two children, and no one knows why. Who are the lovely young renters next door who seem too eager to entertain her and her husband? A disfigured man named Stephen keeps bothering her, asking for his eye back. Will she discover the plot before it's too late?
Part 2. Lowly building superintendent Ah Shing discovers children playing a Ouija-like game with a saucer in an empty apartment. When the saucer reveals itself to be a Fox spirit, it delivers him a winning lottery number and a warning. His good luck will reverse unless he promises to refrain from prostitutes, using drugs, and committing murder. The lecherous Ah Shing cannot help himself once emboldened with cash, and as he begins to break his promise, the saucer spirit awaits." - synopsis provided by the distributor
Video: 4.25/5 (Sex Beyond the Grave, Hell Has No Boundary), 3.75/5 (Haunted Tales)
Here’s the information provided about this release’s transfers, "Newly scanned and restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative."
Sex Beyond the Grave comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.
Disc Size: 23 GB
Feature: 22.7 GB
Hell Has No Boundary comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.
Disc Size: 33.2 GB
Feature: 26.4 GB
Haunted Tales comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.
Disc Size: 30.5 GB
Feature: 27.2 GB
The sources for each film look similar when it comes to flesh tones, color saturation, image clarity, and black levels. That said, all of the films have some source debris; these imperfections are most prominent on Haunted Tales. There are no issues with compression and all three films retain an organic look.
Audio: 4.25/5 (All Audio Tracks)
Each film comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles. All of the audio tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, and ambient sounds are well-presented.
Extras:
Extras for Sex Beyond the Grave include an audio commentary with film historian Samm Deighan.
Extras for Hell Has No Boundary include an interview with screenwriter and assistant director Lawrence Cheng titled To Hell with the Devil (30 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with Asian cinema historian Frank Djeng.
Extras for Haunted Tales include an interview with screenwriter Alex Cheung and Teddy Robin titled Adapting Liminal Home into Haunted Tales (12 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles) and an audio commentary with Lance Schibi and Erica Shultz of the Unsung Horrors podcast.
Others extras include a 40-page perfect-bound book with an essay titled The Shaw Brothers Horror Movie That Was Resurrected From The Dead written by John Charles and an essay titled Unfinished Business The Shaw Brothers Guide to Completing Incomplete Films written by Keith Allison, and an essay titled Ghosts, Gore, and Gu: Hell Has No Boundary and the Birth of Hong Kong Horror Horror Films written by Keith Allison.
Summary:
Sex Beyond the Grave: 40 years after she was raped and murdered by a Japanese soldier, a woman’s malevolent ghost returns to the home where it happened and terrorizes a family who recently moved in there.
Sex Beyond the Grave opens with a brutal pre-credits sequence that perfectly sets the tone and stage for what follows. In this sequence a family fleeing Japanese soldiers seeks refuge from an unscrupulous man. A Japanese soldier quickly finds them and kills the husband and son before raping the wife. The unscrupulous man inflicts a final insult when he sexually assaults, kills, and robs her of her fortune.
Although the narrative begins in the past, the bulk of it takes place in the present. The well-executed narrative does an excellent job creating tense moments and building momentum to a finale, which serves as a perfect coda. Another area where the narrative excels is how well it fleshes out characters' backstories.
All around, the cast are excellent in their roles, especially Mabel Kwong, who portrays the vengeful ghost. Her performance is a very satisfying balance of menacing and seductive. That said, the characters—his mistress Mabel Kwong’s character in the opening sequence—are very convincing in their moral lack of clarity.
While Sex Beyond the Grave firmly sits in the supernatural horror genre, it is not surprising with its title that it is a film that leans heavily into exploitation. In fact, its two most exploitative moments bookend its narrative. Hong Kong cinema openly embraces its influences, and in Sex Beyond the Grave, some of the most notable references include The Exorcist and Poltergeist. Additionally, the film features a sound effect borrowed from Flash Gordon. Ultimately, Sex Beyond the Grave is a well-crafted horror/exploitation hybrid, making it one of Shaw Brothers' stronger post-1983 films.
Hell Has No Boundary: A policewoman becomes possessed by a murdered little girl's malevolent spirit, who unleashes her rage on those who mistreat the woman.
Yeung Kuen directed Hell Has No Boundary. He’s known for The Image of Bruce Lee, Duel of the Seven Tigers, Seeding of a Ghost, and The Revenge of Angel.
What begins as a story about a policewoman struggling to gain recognition with her male peers becomes a revenge-themed supernatural scenario. The well-executed premise features a ghost who uses a character's rage to exact their revenge. That said, although the premise is strong, the narrative is not always as effective, as there are many times where it loses momentum and things start to drag. Another area where narrative comes up short is how it focuses more on shock than substance.
Although the cast features many recognizable faces, who are often reliable in whatever Shaw Brothers film they are in, most of the performances are merely serviceable. The standout performance is Leanne Lau’s portrayal of May, a policewoman who becomes possessed by a malevolent spinster. Her character elevates the concept of "Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned" to a whole new level.
While Shaw Brothers had already made horror films before Hell Has No Boundary, the 1980s saw them shift more into this genre. Where their earlier forays into horror were much more effective, Hell Has No Boundary lacks the polish that Shaw Brothers films had during the height of this company’s output in the 1970s. An area of particular note is the special effects, and while most Hong Kong films' special effects have not aged well, Hell Has No Boundary looks crude in comparison. Ultimately, Hell Has No Boundary is a hybrid of crime drama and supernatural horror, and its formulaic approach results in an outcome that is all too predictable.
Haunted Tales: Chor Yuen (Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan) and T. F. Mou (Men Behind the Sun) co-directed Haunted Tales, an anthology horror film made up of two stories. The first story revolves around newlyweds who are haunted by ghosts, while the second story revolves around a maintenance man who wins a large sum of money and quickly loses it by indulging his most perverted desires.
What begins as a story about newlyweds who have just moved into their new home slowly transforms into an eerie tale that blurs the lines between life and death. The events that unfold fit firmly into the realm of supernatural horror, and the narrative does a superb job concealing where it's leading to. That said, this story relies more on atmosphere than carnage, and when it comes to the latter, the story always shows it after the fact.
Where the first story relied on atmosphere, the second story is more of an exploitation than a horror film. It is a tale of excess, and the protagonist fully embodies someone who lacks impulse control. The horror elements that exist, like a Ouija-like game with a saucer, execute well, and they deliver an ample amount of foreboding atmosphere. The only instance of gore occurs in the finale, and it is truly a sight to behold.
The first story has the slight edge, despite both stories executing well. The main issue with the second story is its lack of exposition and that it relies too much on moments of depravity and shock. Both stories feature solid performances from their casts; the standout performances in each story are Ching Li (The Magic Blade) in the role of the newlywed bride and Chan Shen (Lost Souls) in the role of the maintenance man. Another performance of note is Liu Lai-Ling (Bat Without Wings) in the role of a young girl who adores dolls and who lives in the maintenance man’s building. Ultimately, both tales do a superb job holding your attention and delivering gut-punch climaxes.
Vinegar Syndrome’s Shaw Scares: Volume 1 brings together three Shaw Brothers horror films, gives them strong audio/video presentations, and provides informative extras. Highly recommended.
Written by Michael Den Boer
