After bandits murder a retired sheriff named Yang Du and his wife — they are the only to ever escape from prison that he caught — their three daughters are separated for their own safety. Years later, each of the three — Xiufeng (Li Hua-Yang), Qingfeng (Mei Chin) and Zhifeng (Ching Liu) — all seek revenge on their own, with Xiufeng dressing as a man named Lin Kending to fight crime.

The three men — Lu Tianba (Kang Ming), Cao Senxiong (Wu Pin-Nan) and Ke Yingqiang (Yi Yuan) — are brothers who have gone on to even greater crimes after killing Yang Du. And while Qingfeng and Zhifeng’s lives aren’t where they want them to be, once reunited with Xiufeng, they get on the path to revenge.

Directed by Chen Hung-Min, this has wild handheld camera work, as well as night scenes that were lit by the headlights of cars. Everything about this movie is charming, from the swish pans of the camera and abrupt cutting to the music, which mixes the traditional with the modern world of 1968 film scores. Once the girls reunite and start getting their vengeance, this gets really good.

Want to see it for yourself?

You can watch Vengeance of the Phoenix Sisters next Saturday, April 22 at 1 PM in Theater 1 at Metrograph and Subway Cinema in New York City. It’s part of the 10th Old School Kung Fu Fest: Sword Fighting Heroes Edition from April 21-30, 2023!

Tickets are on sale right here!