House of Traps/Review

House of Traps is one of the rarest Shaw Brothers films out there. Until recently, it was only available in low quality VHS and VCD format. In late 2008, Image Entertainment made the film available on DVD. House of Traps is not only significant in its rarity, but also that it marks the last outing of the group of actors known as the “Venom Mob”. Composed of members Kuo Chui, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Sun Chien, Lo Mang, and Wei Pai, the group appeared in several Shaw Brothers movies throughout the seventies and early eighties.

On the first viewing, House of Traps may be a tad confusing. Essentially, the story is about a prince who is planning an uprising to get revenge on his uncle, the emperor. The prince compiles a list of the conspirators pledging their allegiance to his cause are stores it in the House of Traps. The house is comprised of an elaborate five trap system that even those most skilled in Kung Fu would have difficulty emerging from alive. Throughout the film, several conspirators show their allegiance by stealing valuable goods from the emperor. These goods ultimately end up also being stored in the House of Traps. Sensing what is in the works, the Emperor sends out a representative to secretly find out what is going on. While on his travel to the princes domain, he is met with several assassination attempts. Luckily, these are thwarted by a guest the emissary has picked up along the way (later reveled to be one of the Venoms). When killed trying to recover the stolen goods, the rest of the Venoms get involved in the situation and head out to face the House of Traps. This ultimately leads to a final showdown with the princes conspirators, the emissary's forces, and the Venoms.

While the plot may be perplexing on a first go, there are plenty of spectacular displays of martial arts and Kung Fu stunts. The remastered video and audio is on par with that of any other Shaw Brothers production. While the film might not live up to the status it got over the years due to its rarity, it is still a great film and should be a welcome addition to any Kung Fu enthusiasts film collection.

Reviewed by DeadlyDeadite