Wuxia Review: Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force

Two of the biggest 2025 Chinese New Year releases were sequels. The global blockbuster Ne Zha 2 was covered in our previous review. Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force is literally cut from the same cloth, or book to be specific. Both Ne Zha and Creation of the Gods are based upon stories from Fengshen Yanyi, a 16th-century Chinese novel by Xu Zhonglin, translated as The Investiture of the Gods. Nezha even appears in both Creation of the Gods films, along with few other characters like Shen Gongbao and the Immortals. Nezha appears on the Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force poster in the upper lefthand corner, easily recognized by his magic red scarf.  

Both Ne Zha 2 and Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force enjoyed a North American theatrical release, but the latter was very short. At China’s box office, Creation of the Gods II placed third behind Ne Zha 2 and Detective Chinatown 1900 (the 4th installment in that franchise). 

Both films take tremendous liberties with the original story The Investiture of the Gods; such is the nature of book-to-filmmaking. While Ne Zha 2 fits neatly into the Xianxia (immortal heroes) genre, Creation of the Gods II leans more towards Wuxia (warrior heroes), despite both movies emerging from the same epic. Creation of the Gods II is more wuxia because it is told more so from the human perspective. A major plot point focuses on Jiang Ziya (Huang Bo), an immortal who forsakes his magic and returns to being human. He is flanked by loyal immortal protectors and nephew disciples: Yang Jian (Ci Sha) and Nezha (Wu Ya Fan). 

The Creation of the Gods films are part of a trilogy, written and directed by maverick filmmaker Wuershan. All three movies were filmed together from 2018 through 2019, an 18 month shoot that employed some 10,000 crew members. Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms was originally slated for 2020, but the world got sick, so its premiere was delayed until 2023. Originally, Creation of the Gods II was to follow in 2024, but with thousands of special effects shots to be made, post-production took an additional year. 

But before we dig into the sequel, let’s look back at the first film. Trying to watch Creation of the Gods II to start would be like jumping in on Avengers: Endgame (2019) or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011) first. If you know The Investiture of the Gods, every character is introduced with a supertitle in that classic Chinese film way. But if you don’t who’s who, it can be very confusing. For example, in Demon Force, Nezha just buzzes in and out through the battles without any further explanation. Any noob to the story would be like WTH is up with that kid?

Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms begins with an epic siege. It's massive, actualized with lot of CGI as well as a lot of huge mob scenes with hordes of extras. Its magnitude deserves to be seen on the big silver screen. The opening battlefield scenes are humongous, on the level of the finale for most films like this. And the movie marches onward to bigger and more grandiose from there. 

Set during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE), the overall design is ornate and geometric, echoing the aesthetics of the heavy bronze artifacts that have survived from that period. The costuming and armor are excessively opulent, befitting the grandeur of the timeless saga. And the story is twisty. The opening battle is led by Yin Shou (Fei Xiang), second prince of the Shang, suppressing a rebel uprising. Yin Shou’s top soldiers are his ‘adopted’ sons, actually the sons of other leaders, held as hostages to assure loyalty. Su Daji (Narana Erdyneeva), the daughter of the rebel leader, is caught by some of the hostage sons when she is trying to escape. But rather than fall into their hands, she commits suicide. But then there’s the first major twist. Her dying body is possessed by a nine-tailed fox demon. 

The nine-tailed fox is classic demon of Asian mythology. Called huli jing in Chinese, it also appears in Japanese legend as a kitsune and Korean tales as a kumiho. The natural form of a nine-tailed fox is a magical beast usually with white fur, but it can assume the form of a beautiful seductive woman (or sometimes a man) to lure humans of the opposite sex to their doom. The metaphor is reminiscent of a Celtic selkie or a Greek siren (precursor to the mermaid), but nine-tailed foxes are creatures of the land. They just drain the life force – or qi – from their victims, like vampires drain blood. Nine-tailed foxes have magic powers, and often seek immortality through centuries of ascetic practices and qi poaching. Erdyneeva delivers an utterly hypnotizing performance as the fox demoness. Wuershan has a knack for directing femme fatale roles and his films have casted some of China’s most gorgeous actresses to play them.

But back to the story, Jiang Ziya forsakes his immortality to deliver the Fengshen Bang, a scroll of ultimate power, to Yin Shou, who is under the nine-tailed fox’s spell. In a demonstration of magic, Jiang Ziya’s rival, Shen Gongbao (Xia Yu) exposes Yin Shou’s ruthlessness, so Jiang changes his mind, takes the Fengshen Bang and runs. Buoyed with a strong cast of heroes, complicated tangled story arcs and eye-popping special effects, Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms is a lot of film. It's 2 1/2 hours long, and a wild non-stop ride all the way through. 

Even the end credits were an eyeful. Remember those 10,000 crew members? The credits are like looking at the Great Wall of China where every brick is a name. And just when you think they're done, there's an awesome post-credit scene that teases the sequel, then even more credits – the credits weren’t even halfway through. 

The mid-credit scene introduces the villains for Demon Force: Shang Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong (Wu Hsing Kuo) who has opened his third eye, General Deng Chanyu (Nashi) and the Four Heavenly Kings. Part of that mid-credit scene comprises much of the main trailer for Demon Force. 

Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force has even more magic and more huge battles, starting with an ambush and escalating to another full-blown city siege with flying magic eye discs that emit knock out rays to anyone who didn’t drink the Kool-Aid (actually it looked more like watered down soy milk). It launches from the cinematic high bar that the previous film set, and levels up from there.

Again, a female antihero takes the lead. Erdyneeva reprises her role as Su Daji, but her powers are depleted. Stepping up to fill that femme fatale role is a human. Nashi dominates as General Deng, a fierce female warrior who throws down better than the men. She steals every scene she’s in. When Yin Shou, now the king and resurrected from the dead in the end credit scene of the previous film, tasks Wen Zhong to capture Jiang Ziya, he declines because he has retirement plans. Of course, once you’re as powerful as Wen Zhong, you can never escape being involved in the battles of heaven and earth, so he comes back into play later. Meanwhile, Deng steps up in his place and becomes a primary antagonist, pursuing the heroes across ancient China. 

And the Heavenly Kings are magnificently actualized; Mo Li Qing (Seng Ge Ren Qin), Mo Li Hong (Na Yin Tai), Mo Li Hai (Zhang Yilong), and Mo Li Shou (Ai Li Ku) are giant Buddhist devas that wield magical weapons, a sword, a parasol, a pipa (Chinese lute) and a red cord respectively. Within Chinese Buddhist temples, there is typically front gate where effigies of these guardian devas are housed. Demon Force captures their imposing awesomeness like never before. 

The sequel is overwhelmingly spectacular, and even if the story of Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force gets too complex to follow for the uninitiated, it still works on its sheer audacity of vision. Here, the epic fantasies of ancient China are showcased gloriously. Consider the fantasy franchise titans of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and the MCU. All of those are modern, created within the last century. The Investiture of the Gods is a chronicle of that magnitude that has been around since the 16th century. It has been retold countless times in theater, opera, comics, books, and movies. What’s more, there are so many versions and variations of the stories. Now these classic legends are getting their deserved global spotlight in the movies. 

Wuershan claims the Creation of the Gods trilogy is conclusive. It will finish with Creation of the Gods III: Creation Under Heaven, which was originally slated to be released in 2025, but following the delay of Demon Force, it may be pushed back to 2026. 

He has also hinted that he might explore other tales based on The Investiture of the Gods over the next quarter century, and in so doing, would create his own take on the Fengshen universe. 

Which leads us (ever so slightly) back in time to Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012).

If you didn’t get enough nine-tailed fox femme fatale action, check out Painted Skin: The Resurrection. Wuershan took over the director’s chair for this sequel to Painted Skin (2008), reuniting some of the cast of the original, Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei, Chen Kun, but takes place 500 years later so only Zhou Xun reprises her role. Zhou is Xiao Wei, a nine-tailed fox demon, and another captivating female antihero subject for Wuershan. This film is firmly within the Xianxia genre, very loosely derived from Liaozhai Zhiyi (Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio), compiled by Pu Songling in the early 18th century. 

Wuershan demonstrates his signature panache for the big screen spectacle with outrageous color schemes, cascades of flowing silk, glittering golden armor and ghostly white hair tentacles foxtails. His captivating vision of fox demonesses is sultry and seductive, abetted by the two lead actresses. Zhou Xun and ‘Vicky’ Zhao Wei have some of the most soulful eyes in cinema and their chemistry is electric. Zhou’s fox demoness has become tragic, struggling to escape a curse laid upon her for loving a human. Zhao plays the scarred general princess Jing, who dons an ornate golden mask to hide her ugliness like the Phantom of the Opera. And adding to the mix is Yang Mi, playing Que’er, a perfectly chirpy bird demoness. 

Painted Skin: The Resurrection is sappily romantic in that Chinese sacrifice-love-for-station-and-circumstance way, and some of those scenes get a little long, but the musical interlude is a poignant traditional melancholy ballad, and all three actresses are just stunning in their roles. It's funny, sexy, tragic, campy, and stylish, and apart from a few longwinded romantic scenes, moves at a consistently engaging pace. The romantic scenes are redeemed by the literal giving of hearts, as demons have no hearts so they must eat them regularly or in the case of breaking a curse, have one given willingly to become human. 

While Painted Skin: The Resurrection is not as cinematically overwhelming as Wuershan’s Creation of the Gods movies, it has moments of sheer artistry worth the watch. Clearly, when it comes to fantasy cinema, Wuershan is a filmmaker to watch.

By Gene Ching

Immortal Squad, Martial Arts Editor & Action Choreographer

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