To Hell with the Devil 1982

Reverend Ma drifts into purgatory after losing his place for not adhering strictly enough to church conventions, and in that liminal space he meets the nimble thief Flit, who himself is bound for Hell. Their encounter sparks a cosmic tug-of-war: Reverend Ma is sent back to Earth to live another 36 years, while Flit is sent back to recruit more souls. The two become unwilling rivals as they vie for the fate of a struggling musician—an outwardly ordinary man whose talent could tip the balance of their eternal struggle. The stakes are intimate and human, even as the forces behind them feel vast and inexorable.

On the earthly plane, the story threads through a young man’s romance and a family’s expectations. Peggy Peggy finds her patience tested when the musician’s actions derail her audition with the pop star Rocky Rocky. Peggy’s mother Peggy’s Mother guards tradition and money, making a proposal seem almost impossible under their conditions, and her stern stance weighs heavily on Peggy’s willingness to gamble on love. Rocky’s side of the world adds a glitz-and-glamour layer, as the public’s appetite for fame and the music industry’s cunning ways begin to clash with the couple’s fragile bond.

In the middle of these human dramas, Rocky’s agent pulls a fast one: a song Bruce Lee has written—but not officially registered—lands in Rocky’s hands, and the pop star records it first. This act of editorial theft intensifies the contest between fate and choice, weaving Bruce Lee’s life into the larger battle between the two astral competitors. Bruce Lee, in a desperate bid for control, signs his soul over to Flit, trading away freedom for a chance at three wishes that promise to reshape his world.

The wishes unfold with escalating consequences. The first wish aims to crown him as the voice behind his own song and to win Peggy’s love exclusively. The dream seems to bloom as his recording outsells Rocky’s, yet Peggy feels a growing sense of entrapment and eventually walks away. The second wish seeks to grant Peggy perfect obedience, but it backfires when she also becomes malleable to others’ commands, creating a web of manipulation that corrupts their relationship. The third wish moves toward an idyll—a simple life with Peggy—but the price is steep: poverty stretches far into the years, and Peggy is compelled to give up their children for adoption, a heartbreak that shadows their union.

As time passes, Bruce Lee rejects the life tethered to the wishes and seeks to sever the contract with Flit, even begging for its cancellation. Flit, meanwhile, attempts a drastic sacrifice, but Reverend Ma refuses to yield, and their celestial conflict culminates in a fierce clash that destroys both beings. In the end, Bruce Lee rips up the contract and takes a different path—he marries Peggy, choosing a life grounded in love over the lure of power. Yet the battle between Flit and Reverend Ma continues, now as eternal angels at odds in Heaven, a reminder that the forces that tug at human fate are never fully settled.