Les nuits rouges du bourreau de jade

Just saw it..still puzzled by some details. First: the opening..the innocent young girl is put into the vacuum bed-enjoys the sensation-then is killed with the jade claws. this seems irrelevant to the main plot. anyway-the Frenchwoman who steals the box-shot twice and somehow recovers..how is that? finally, the ending devolves into a Jacky Chan type of slapstick. still, enjoyable..in and odd sort of way.

This is from a critic, which I thing summarize the movie:

Is most certainly not to everyone's taste and yet it's a rather fascinating movie: It's violent, it's perverted, its protagonists are all deplorable one way or another, but at the same time it tells an enjoyably bizarre story in elegant pictures and at a steady pace, it never loses itself in its perverions or bloodbaths but manages to always see the bigger picture, it features some bizarre but fun twists and turns, and it's carried by a very competent cast.

If you're into the grotesque, this is certainly worth a look!

A woman steals an ancient artefact and flees to Hong Kong in order to sell it. Little does she know that the box contains a vial of poison, a poison that paralyses its victim but heightens their senses of pleasure and pain. The people she is dealing with will go to any lengths to obtain the poison.

This film had potential: an intriguing start, the mysterious woman after the poison, the tough, resourceful thief assailed on all sides, the dark tone of the film, the good production values. Yet, for all this its more miss than hit.

The main problem is the plot: it's clumsy, with some contrived, silly developments. Just because the film falls in the horror category doesn't mean you have to fall back on horror clichés. Even worse, the pacing is all over the place. Some incredibly intense scenes that move at a great pace in among some scenes that are incredibly slow and empty, padding the movie. This all leads to a start-stop sort of journey.

The ending is a bit weak too.

Overall: disappointing.

Red Nights is a mysterious tale of death, seduction and sadomasochistic torture, oriented around the contents of an antique box which contains an ancient skull-vial that is filled with a powerfully intoxicating poison. Death seems to follow those who possess it...

Thematically, it's about the pleasure in pain...and the whole film has a sexual aura that manages to make the brutally atrocious acts contained within it, erotically alluring...in a De Sadian sense.

In the first part of the film there are two femme fatales who are at odds with one another.

On the one hand we have Catherine- a blonde, French woman- who is on the lamb in Hong Kong, after having killed the man who extorted the box from the man she is trying to get it back for; and the only one who is able to survive her original spate with death following her initial contact with the artifact.

On the other hand, there is Jade, who is the only one who can harness the dark powers possessed by the contents of the box. Her fate even seems to revolve around it, as if she was the one it was meant for. She seems to be something along the lines of a demonic reincarnation of whatever evil presence was the original owner of the ancient poison- which renders it's victims paralytically incapacitated, whilst remaining conscious and aware, as their sensitivity to both pleasure and pain is heightened. She is a downright vicious seductress who wields an intriguing jade claw and thrives on the pleasure derived from pain...of others.

Jade and her beloved believe they are living out a legendary curse. One that is reflected in the storyline of a stage play interwoven throughout the film. This drives the plot, which slowly reveals itself like layers shed from an onion.

The film has tons of great, realistically gory, special effects (though the blood does seem to look a little painty in parts), and culminates with an eerie tension driven battle sequence.

It's always comforting to know that sometimes evil prevails...

When all is said and done, Red Nights is a sexy, dark, and mysterious cult film, whose sadomasochistic gore will definitely win over the horror fan in you. It has a great blend of tension, subtle humour, and stylish deviance that make it one hell of an attention grabber. You should definitely check it out. Highly recommended.

6.5 out of 10

I just watched it in Fantasporto Film Festival 2011. Wow! The relations between the women are stunningly wicked and the images of the film are beautifully disturbing. Killing people softly but till death do they part! It is such a revolutionary film, never seen anything like it before! If you watch it with a conservative mind and try to put it in any existing frame of genres in cinema, you will be lost. Because this movie is obvious an exploration of new sensations in cinema. A challenge in moral and an escape in reality, this movie is a crossover of love and death, modern and ancient, beauty and fear. Try to watch it with an open mind and you will be surprised how it drills in your heart. Love it!!!