Xiang Gang qi an 2: Xiong sha

Spawned by the success of THE CRIMINALS (see my review on IMDB), CRIMINALS II used the same formula, as it was inspired from three real-life crime stories happened in Hong Kong. 1) THE DEAF-MUTE KILLER sees the late Hon Kwok Choi (SUPERMAN OF KARATE, THE 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN and many others) as a constantly bullied disabled guy wrongly accused of raping a girl. The real culprit harasses him until the poor deaf-mute reacts in a bloody way. Hon Kwok Choi is marvelous and he often played mute or mentally retarded guys in Kung-Fu films, even if this episode has not Kung-Fu. 2) MAMA SAN is a pimp-story starred by Kang Kai aka Hong Hoi (TOUGH DUEL, WANG YU KING OF THE BOXERS) as a street-guy. 3) THE INFORMER is a gambler-story starred by Shut Chung Tien (TRIANGULAR DUEL; THE TONGFATHER) in the role of the police-inspector. Old character actor Fung Ging Man (who acted in more than 500 HK movies!!!) is a gambler. Actor Wang Hsie plays the prosecutor in the court segments. The best episode is the first one. This anthology was directed by Hua Shan (KUNG-FU ZOMBIE), Horror helmer Kuei Chi Hung (BOXER'S OMEN, PAYMENT IN BLOOD) and Sun Chung (THE AVENGING EAGLE). Even if as not as good as the first CRIMINALS, this sequel is a slightly above-average result for local Crime genre .

Another crime anthology from Shaw, and a disappointing follow-up to the first. Of the four stories collected here, only the first one's any cop, an arty and ultimately depressing black and white instalment about a mute guy victimised by society. Shades of THE ELEPHANT MAN, and one I found very moving. Next up is the story of a vicious brothel madam which just feels like an excuse for sex and violence. The third is a story about cops, informers and debts, and particularly confusing when it comes to the storytelling. The last is a courtroom drama and one I found quite dull. It's nice to see Shaw trying something different with these films, but this one didn't quite work for me.