Heung Gong kei on: Keung gaan

I actually watched NAKED KILLER 2 before the first film, but that's no great shakes given that it's a thematic rather than direct sequel; the characters are different here. The alternate title for this is RAPED BY AN ANGEL, and it's also a film that spawned a long-running series; the title gives you some idea what to expect of the subject matter.

The surprising thing about NAKED KILLER 2 is that it's not bad at all. For a film with a rapist as a central character, it's fairly densely plotted, with interesting supporting characters and some well-handled courtroom drama interludes. Not what I was expecting from a scuzzy rape-revenge thriller. Part of this success may be down to director Andrew Lau, who would later handled the INFERNAL AFFAIRS trilogy amongst many other movies.

This was the third title of a 'Babes and Bullets' box set I picked up, the other two films being the disappointing EVIL INSTINCT and THE HUNTRESS: HER NAME IS CAT. NAKED KILLER 2 is a much better film than either of those, although it's worth noting that the UK edition extensively cuts out all of the rape sequences. I don't much like watching depictions of rape anyway so it was no great loss. Simon Yam has a fine supporting role as a romantic Triad while Chingmy Yau grabs all of the attention as the kick-ass lead. As usual for a Hong Kong thriller, there are bad taste elements, lots of sex but little nudity, jolting edits between romance and rape, some cool action, and a general high energy feel to the piece.