Played by X Files regular/bad movie villain Brian Thompson, Shao-Kahn descends from a flaming hole in the sky accompanied by an army of ninjas and camp henchmen, snaps a few necks and threatens to destroy the planet in 6 days. Earth is under attack, he growls, and it. Is. Glor-i-ous! Looking like the offspring of Michael Berryman and Lurch from The Addams Family, Thompson has so many henchmen that he can afford to belittle, berate or brutalize a different one in every scene, throwing those that really disappoint him into pits of fire. When his goons capture Talisa Soto, though, she spits in his face rather than listen to his mwa-ha-ha-ing, yet he lets her off with a snarled You sorely test my patience. Guy must be hell to work for. Check this out: when Thompson and Robin Shou face off against each other, Shou inexplicably transforms into a CGI dragon, which prompts an unfazed Thompson to remark, Youve come prepared. Once Thompson has followed suit, the gods decide their fates shall be sealed.in Mortal Kombat!
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
