Red to kill

A lurid and sleazy piece of gratuitously violent exploitation, Red To Kill will either have you switching off in disgust or glued to the screen in complete awe, such are the levels of excess committed to celluloid in this notorious Hong Kong shocker. Personally, I loved it, but then I've always had rather 'dubious' taste in films.

Ben Ng plays Chi Wai Chan, a seemingly mild-mannered care-worker at a home for the retarded; however, it transpires that, as a child, he was badly traumatised by a violent family incident and as a result, he isn't quite right in the head. Now, when Chi sees the colour red, he becomes a sweaty, sex-crazed, spittle-flecked maniac who rapes and kills with sadistic glee.

When Ming Ming (Lily Chung), an orphaned retarded girl with a love of dance, accidentally flashes the gusset of her red knickers to Chi, and later wears a red dress for a dance performance, she becomes the latest victim of the twisted lunatic, suffering a brutal sex attack.

Chi is arrested, but is later freed on a technicality. Ming Ming's social worker and close friend Ka Lok Cheung (Money Lo) vows revenge. She follows Chi to a bar, dressed in a sexy red outfit, and teases him enough to cause him to wig out and go postal in a finale which has to be seen to be believed.

Director Billy Tang, who gave us the stylishly sick Dr. Lamb, goes all out to offend the sensibilities with what may be the most repulsive, yet compelling movie to ever be awarded the Category III rating. Just setting a rape/revenge movie in a home for the mentally handicapped might be considered reason enough for most to avoid this film, but fans of extreme cinema will be delighted. If you are able to look beyond the questionable subject matter, it is not hard to admire Tang's audacity as he enthusiastically ladles on the excess.

Lily Chung and Money Lo both give excellent assured performances, but it is Ben Ng as the crazed sex-fiend Chi, who steals the show. His transformation from gentle care-worker to deranged muscle-bound, sledgehammer-wielding rapist is a joy to behold and goes to the top of my list of all-time favourite cinematic psychos (sneaking just ahead of Anthony Wong as Bunman).

Given the extreme nature of Red To Kill, one should think carefully before viewing. Even if you are an experienced Cat III junkie, be prepared to have your jaw hit the floor at least once or twice during this relentlessly harrowing and sleazy tale.

RED TO KILL (Ruo Sha)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

Though Chinese filmmakers have long been fascinated with images of violence and bloodshed - from the vintage horror films of Ma-xu Weibang through to Chang Cheh's splattery kung fu pictures of the 1970's - it wasn't until the early 1990's that Hong Kong horror movies found a new and unexpected foothold within the cultural mainstream, due to a wave of 'true crime' dramas spearheaded by DR. LAMB (1992) and THE UNTOLD STORY (1993), both helmed by Danny Lee (Chow Yun-fat's cop nemesis in John Woo's THE KILLER). For a brief period, the former colony played host to a wave of confrontational 'Category III' (Adults Only) movies, dominated by the work of controversial director Billy Tang. Already notorious for a scene in RUN AND KILL (1993) in which a little boy is burned alive in merciless detail, Tang proceeded to scale the heights of calculated outrage with RED TO KILL, arguably one of the most harrowing films ever made.

Orphaned by the death of her parents, a mentally handicapped young woman (Lily Chung) is remanded to the care of a hostel for the disabled, where she falls prey to 'benevolent' caretaker Ben Ng, a musclebound hulk whose charming demeanour belies his true nature: Traumatized by a childhood incident in which his mother slaughtered his father and brother with a meat cleaver, drenching him in blood, Ng is prompted to murderous psychosis whenever he sees the colour red, resulting in horrific explosions of rape and murder. Unable to control himself when confronted by Chung wearing a long scarlet dress, Ng assaults her and is promptly arrested, but his indictment is later dismissed on a technicality, and the three main characters (including Money Lo as a sympathetic social worker) converge on the workshop beneath the hostel for a climactic showdown which closes proceedings on a note of ABSOLUTE SCREAMING HYSTERIA!!

Judged alongside similar Asian atrocities, such as MEN BEHIND THE SUN (1987) or the infamous "Guinea Pig" series from Japan, RED TO KILL is either a fearless challenge to established cinematic limits or a reckless descent into the abyss, depending on your point of view. Photographed with stunning visual flair by Tony Mau and expertly edited by Choi Hung, the movie alternates scenes of naive sentimentality with eruptions of graphic horror, taking time to establish Chung's beauty and innocence before unleashing the forces of hell against her. But while Chung and Lo are dignified in adversity, Ng plays the villain as an unstoppable force of nature, literally throbbing with uncontrollable rage; his descent into complete psychosis during the hair-raising finale provokes a devastating rampage which is truly frightening to behold. Unsurprisingly, Ng has been typecast in villainous roles ever since.

But the filmmakers' bravura technique, coupled with an obstinate lack of moral restraint, makes it difficult to defend the film's worst excesses. The protracted rape scenes are designed as a visual spectacle, showcasing the humiliation of vulnerable female characters. Worse still, following the sexual assault on Chung (the movie's pivotal set-piece), the actress is involved in a shocking episode of self-mutilation which not only degrades the entire production, but seems deliberately contrived to test viewers' patience to breaking point. However, despite its questionable motives, the film is executed with such breathtaking cinematic gusto, it compels attention in a way that few other horror movies have managed before or since.

Director Tang continued his one-man assault on the boundaries of taste and decency with such inferior offerings as BROTHER OF DARKNESS (1994) and SEXY AND DANGEROUS (1996) before going 'legit' with a number of socially conscious dramas, beginning with Chinese MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (1997), featuring Ben Ng and HARD-BOILED's Tony Leung Chiu-wai.

(Cantonese dialogue)

RED TO KILL is tied for #1 (with THE UNTOLD STORY...) as my favorite Cat III HK shocker that I've seen so far. Though extremely violent by nature of the films brutal subject matter, RED TO KILL still beautifully, thoughtfully, and compassionately relates the child-like innocence and loyalty of the mentally handicapped. RED TO KILL is the story of Ming-Ming, a mentally retarded girl whose father is killed in a car accident. Ming-Ming is then taken to a home for mentally handicapped kids by Ms. Lok, a compassionate and kind-hearted social worker. Ming-Ming is also greeted by Mr. Chan, a seemingly benevolent and considerate caretaker at the home. Soon Ming-Ming begins to make friends and falls into the daily life at the home, and all seems well, until... And this is where RED TO KILL really takes off. Mr. Chan turns out to be a psychopathic rapist who goes completely out of whack at the sight of any woman wearing any red clothing. After seeing Ming-Ming perform a very innocent dance routine adorned in a red dress, Chan flips the f**k out, and brutally rapes Ming-Ming. Chan is hauled into court but let off due to a technicality. Ms. Lok, who by this point has grown very fond and protective of Ming-Ming, decides to take matters into her own hands and bait Chan into coming after her, in hopes of seeking revenge for the rape of Ming-Ming. Unfortunately, this scheme sorta backfires, leading up to one of the most incredible climaxes in film history. Anyone judging this film solely on the violent nature of RED TO KILL is missing the point entirely. Of course, due to the graphic portrayal of rape and violence, this film is not for all tastes, by any means. But unlike other reviewers who insist on classifying this as violent, gory, exploitation cinema - I feel that in many ways this is a beautiful film that works on many levels. All of the actors are dead-on, whether it be Lily Chung as the lovable, innocent, victimized Ming-Ming, or Money Lo as the compassionate and fiercely loyal Ms. Lok, or especially Ben Ng as Chan, the friendly-care-taker-by-day and psychotic-rapist-murderer-freak by night (whose performance is one of the best that I've ever seen on film, period). The film never tries to portray the mentally handicapped as weak or inferior and really goes out of it's way to shed a pleasant light on those individuals that have mental disabilities. One scene in particular has Ming-Ming sitting in a corner after the trial of Mr. Chan; she is shocked and catatonic due to the nature of the preceding incidents that she obviously can't truly fathom. The other handicapped children are offering her gifts and support to help bring her around, but to no avail. All this while Ms. Lok looks on helplessly with tears in her eyes. The compassion shown in that one scene alone was more touching than pretty much any Hollywood drama bulls**t that I've ever seen. This could have been a truly exploitative film, but I feel the director handled all of the situations with care and compassion, to faithfully tell a story of lost innocence. Now that I've raved about RED TO KILL for so long-I do have one gripe...My copy comes from a company called Universe who did THE WORST SUBTITLING JOB, EVER!!! I see another reviewer quoted the "Crash your Penis" line, so I guess he got the same copy I did. The subtitling is so disjointed in parts (if you speak English, that is...) that a few scenes are almost unintelligible, or unintentionally funny. It doesn't really impact the overall impression of the film, but it can be confusing at times. Overall, I love this movie. There are definitely some intense and graphic scenes of rape and violence that casual film-goers would probably be repulsed by. This film is in my opinion not as gory as THE UNTOLD STORY, THE GUINEA PIG films,etc... but still only recommended for those who enjoy "extreme" cinema. A beautiful, compassionate, horrifying, disturbing film. Highly recommended 9/10

RED TO KILL: Wow! Again, I ask myself why the hell I watch this stuff?! I mean, from my experiences so far, I should know better but damn it, it always seems to start the same way. I get alittle nervous at the beginning. It's that uneasy, quizzy sensation that creeps up from your bowels when the movie first starts. Because no matter how well you think you've prepared yourself, you NEVER really know for sure what to expect, or whether or not you're going to see something that you shouldn't when it comes to these vile Chinese Category 3 chunkblowing displays of moral debasement. And this movie is certainly one of those unredeemable, wretched messes that no one should like to watch, or lord forbid, find enjoyable. Oh, but that's exactly why we LOVE them so much in the first place! But this one wasn't so much shocking to me as it was just plain sleazy. It's the corruption and perversion of innocence in this flick that causes that awful scratching at your principles of what's right and wrong, or at least, it should. Why, you ask? Well, most of the movie takes place in a shelter for mentally retarded young people so the subject matter alone could easily get completely out of control very quickly if you think about all the wonderful possibilities that a creative sicko-twisted mind could come up with. It also stars LILY CHUNG as Ming Ming, yup, you know her all too well. She's the same poor girl who was tormented and repeatedly raped by her father in another supra-sleazy Chinese C3 taboo-trasher entitled DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS. I will give her credit though, she's NOT afraid to snatch her clothes off and perform a mock rape scene in a very visually disturbing, almost pornographic way. So with depraved s**t like that going for it, what's the movie about you're wondering... it tells the story of an insane mental shelter super-intendent who, whenever he sees the color red on clothes (especially girl's panties), he goes totally bonkers and KILLS and RAPES (usually in THAT order too) the woman or young girl wearing it. Yes, I know what you're thinking, I thought the same thing, this is NOT a nice movie and why am I watching it?! But alas, it's not really his fault (or so society would tell us). When he was young, he and his brother witnessed their mother having sex with a strange man and when their father caught her in the act, she killed him with a meat clever. Enraged, she went on to chop up his little brother and ends up killing herself as well, splashing WHAT all over the place? That red, red blood, of course. Hence the name of the movie and why he goes stupid kill-crazy when he sees it. And in the end, it all gets surprisingly real damn moist and just about everyone gets f***ed up some kinda bad. So, all in all, a repulsive idea for a film that shouldn't have ever been made with scenes of detailed filth for which there is no remorse or forgiveness for. The shower scene after retarded Ming Ming's first rape where she tries to "clean" her "dirtied" sexual body parts with a razor knife comes to mind first. Simply nauseating, sickeningly foul, morally-offensive stuff indeed. But ya know, if you really think about it, the whole exploitive nature of the Asian Horror-Shock Cinema just wouldn't be the same without these rare, uncompromising gems of celluloid obscenities.

Ben Ng plays the overseer of a home for the mentally disabled in this outrageous shocker. He also plays the monster rapist stalking every woman in sight.

It's RED TO KILL because the color "red" sets the rapist off.

We get a whole new brand of lurid here. And director Tang is no shrinking violet in his depictions of the numerous sexual assaults. A sequence in which a victim saws off her public hair with a blunt razer blade is a real showstopper.

The actors playing the mentally retarded really look it. One, in particular, looks like he was recruited straight off the Ugly Tree.

A deep thread of sex and voyeurism snakes its way through the narrative. Panty-watchers are well served, too, by a voyeuristic sequence in which an intended rape victim dances for the camera and gives us a bird's eye view of what's under her skirt.

As one expects from Tang, his climactic battle between heroine and victim is over-the-top and not one bit interested in reality. It's Human versus Monster as the rapist meets his match.

Exploitation of the highest order.