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Poster for To Kill a Mastermind

To Kill a Mastermind

1979 · 95 min

A tense, shadowy martial arts thriller where paranoia and sudden violence keep you guessing who will strike next.

Overview
The Chi Sha Clan is a vast network of deadly criminals proficient in martial arts. Growing in number at an alarming rate, the Imperial Court orders Yang Chen-yu and his followers to eliminate them. However, doing this proves difficult as no one knows the identity of the mastermind behind the Chi Sha, not even its own members. Spies infiltrate the organization in an effort to destroy from within. But then, no one knows who the spies are and after a few ambushes and security breaches, clan deputies begin suspecting one another of being traitors. With the Chi Sha dwindling in numbers, it's only a matter of time before the mastermind must reveal himself.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • betrayal
  • deception
  • conspiracy
  • violence
  • loyalty
Places
None
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • twist ending
Content intensity
  • Gore strong
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action8
Horror3
Humour2
Realism5
Romance1
Tension7
Darkness7
Complexity6
Emotional weight5

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
action, crime
Directed by
Sun Chung
Written by
Ni Kuang
Starring
Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, Teng Wei-Hao, Sek Gong, Yuen Wah, Yuen Bun, Luo Sheng, Luo Jun, Mang Ding-Goh
Music
Eddie H. Wang Chi-Ren
Cinematography
Cho On-Sun, Lam Ngai-chai
Runtime
95 min
Country
Hong Kong
Languages
Mandarin

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