Naked Killer

NAKED KILLER is a landmark film in Hong Kong cinema, one that was successful enough to help kick-start a whole wave of 'erotic' thrillers that would fill cinema screens for the next decade. Despite the sexiness in this one, it's more of an assassin thriller, albeit with lots of erotic interludes, near-nudity, and saucy shenanigans between the cast members. I wanted to enjoy the film, and indeed on a superficial level it is enjoyable. However, the thing that lets it down is Clarence Fok's choppy direction. This guy's films always seem incredibly dated to me because of his over-stylised editing and the like, and NAKED KILLER is no exception. I actually enjoyed NAKED KILLER 2 (directed by Andrew Lau) more because of this, not to mention 2004's SO CLOSE. Still, NAKED KILLER provides some things of merit for Hong Kong movie fans, not least an amusing role for Simon Yam as a disturbed cop who vomits every time he draws his gun. Chingmy Yau garners all of the attention as the impossibly beautiful young woman who becomes an assassin, and she's well supported with a knowing performance from Kelly Yao as the older professional. I also spotted Jackie Chan's bodyguard, Ken Lo, playing a sleazy businessman. As is usual for these films, the movie is surprisingly light on nudity, with the main actresses teasing throughout but delivering little; only the unknown supporting actresses are willing to strip off. Carrie Ng has a minor role as a ruthless hitwoman. The action scenes come out of nowhere and are way over the top, with the shoot-out in the car park being a particular favourite of mine, although the ending is also fun. NAKED KILLER is certainly no classic but it passes the time for fans of this sort of stuff.

Producer-director Wong Jing is notorious for throwing together disparate narrative elements, gratuitous action and silly sight gags without bothering to blend them into a homogeneous whole, and the result is usually an infuriating headache trying to pass as cinema. But here the throw-it-all-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach actually works. The result is so wildly contrived that it wanders into the territory of self-parody, but the wild energy of the movie keeps things entertaining if you don't think too much, the production design gives everything a surprisingly posh look for an HK actioner and strong central performances hold the affair together between punch-ups. Carrie Ng, normally cast in sympathetic roles, plays Hong Kong's most virulent man- hater, Princess, a hard core lesbian and stone cold killer, who hires out as an assassin, but you get the feeling she would off guys for grins. And the creatively nasty ways in which she carries out her assignments represent one of the film's biggest attractions. I won't spoil the fun, but OUCH!! Simon Yam takes a break from his usual rolling-eyed psycho types to play a straight-forward cop on the trail of Princess, and producer Wong Jing cast his then-mistress Chimgmy Yau as a rookie assassin who becomes an object of fascination for Princess, but who then spurns the killer's offer of girl-girl love. Bad move. The second half of the the movie involves Princess stalking her intended and their former mentor, Sister Cindy, eventually getting into a brutal throwdown with Yau that may be nastiest girl-fight in the history of Hong Kong cinema, and this is saying something. Not for anyone looking for a gay-friendly, subtle or even fully coherent cinema experience. For the rest, enjoy.

I remember having this movie on VHS way back in the early 90's, and remembered the movie to be fairly alright, so I got it on DVD here in 2012, many years after having thrown out the VHS version. But of course, I have always been a fan of Hong Kong cinema, so it was just a matter of time before it would end up in the movie collection again. The story in "Naked Killer" is about the young, attractive and flirtatious Kitty (played by Chingmy Yau) who end up in training at Sister Cindy (played by Wai Yiu) to become a professional killer, using her looks and sexual appeal to get close to the targets and then eliminate the target. However, Kitty falls in love with police man Tinam (played by Simon Yam) and is torn between loyalty towards her mentor and the love for Tinam. "Naked Killer" takes your average Hong Kong action movie from the 1990's and spices it up with a healthy dose of sexual flavor, like that seen in "La Femme Nikita" and "Basic Instict". The story itself, despite being fairly shallow, is entertaining enough. And it is helped along by the action and gun fights, which of course is a given trademark for the Hong Kong movies from that particular period. But, of course, it is no secret that the movie her really plays on the sexual appeal and makes heavy use of semi-sexual contents, which can be discussed whether or not it was really all that necessary. And oddly enough, there wasn't actually much killing going on in the movie, despite many of the characters were professional contract killers - kind of anti-climatic in a way. Those familiar with Hong Kong cinema will of course be familiar with this, at the time of its release, very controversial movie. And it was of course also the movie that put Chingmy Yau on the map. And you have Simon Yam, of course, though his character was a bit too much (as a police man who accidentally having shot his own brother, and now vomits every time he just holds a gun - it was just a bit too unrealistic), but still, he is a familiar face in Hong Kong cinema. And it should also be said that Carrie Ng (playing Princess) actually did a great job in this movie as well. "Naked Killer" is well worth checking out, especially if you have an interest in the 90's wave of Hong Kong action movies. Chingmy Yau is the female equivalent to femme action movie as Chow Yun Fat was to the male action movies to come from Hong Kong in the 90's. I enjoyed the movie back in the early 90's, and I enjoyed it still here in 2012. I would have give the movie a 6/10 rating, but settled on a 5/10 rating because, in my opinion, there was just a little bit too much focus on the sex scenes and the usage of sexual situations. Hong Kong Legends have a fabulous digitally restored and remastered version out of DVD that is well worth checking out and it comes with some good extra material as well.

I greatly enjoyed this movie. There are various video versions. My copy is the letterboxed, dubbed and uncut VHS version. Chingmy Yau is a beautiful actress and a pleasure to watch. The story is a police tale along well trodden paths most of us have seen before in some form. Nothing in the story itself really jumped out and grabbed me as something new and unseen before. However watching the video I felt as if I were in a Hong Kong cinema. The movie gave me that sort of experience. The real beauty of the movie is in the way it is produced rather than in a unique story line. It is a "cinema experience" and done quite well. I highly recommend it to those who like a movie that is great to watch.

I must disagree with Le Froque, who states that Naked Killer is banned here in Britain; I myself bought a copy of the uncut version some five years ago. It seems to be a common misconception that us Brits are too straitlaced when it comes to sex and violence but the opposite is true - yes, it isn't seen in everyday life but we've got more than our fair share going on behind closed doors. Naked Killer is good film but the English subtitles are a nightmare. There are spelling mistakes all over the place, grammatical errors that would make even a proper meat-head jump up and down with anger and sometimes they don't even even follow the action. Having said that, they appear to have coined a new word, "sexiful", which I personally think is pretty neat - and my wife thinks "sexiful" is quite descriptive.

Not as good as John Woo's or Ringo Lam's films, but still a nice change of pace, a lot campier than Woo or Lam. Good cinematography by William Yim and stylish direction by Clarence Fok Yiu-Leung, a couple of very impressive action sequences. Possibly the Citizen Kane of lesbian hitwoman films, I think this is the only one I've seen though. As usual with Hong Kong movies, the wonky subtitles provide a bit of unintentional entertainment.

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* I never thought Asian women were attractive until I saw this movie. Thank you "Naked Killer". Before, I was an ignorant fool. I was blind, but now I see. These women were gorgeous. This is the first time I actually liked a movie solely for the looks of the women. Not because of sex or nudity, just to look at them. I say again, gorgeous. So four beautiful women are assassins. No real story to speak of, just beauty to look at. There is Kitty who is the lead star and the prettiest. Then there is Princess who is a very hot lesbian assassin. She has a sidekick Baby and then there's Sister Cindy who is the leader. Eventually Princess and Baby square off against the other two. There were some cool fight scenes. But again, it's really about looking at beautiful women killers. Good Lord they were hot. One point against the flick: Only one killer technically gets naked. Baby shows her breasts. The rest stayed clothed. But there's enough beauty and mayhem to keep the movie enjoyable.

"Naked Killer"/"Chiklo Gouyeung" is a typical example of Hong Kong vicious action cinema.It has plenty of bloody violence-the action is fast-paced and never lets up.There are some energetic fight scenes reminiscent in style to John Woo's explosive action flicks.All women contained here are beautiful and deadly.The film actually reminds me similarly-themed Hong Kong thrillers like "Black Cat" or "Beyond Hypothermia".The acting is decent-the performances by Chingmy Yau and Simon Yam are especially worthwhile.So if you're an action buff give this title a look-you won't be disappointed.7 out of 10.A perfect film for fans of highly energetic action stuff!

Whoa. Chingmy Yau is one of the most mesmerizing women I've seen onscreen. From her scene in the salon, she really got my attention and held it throughout. This one's is probably Wong Jing's opus. The storyline isn't the main focus whereas you follow the plight of Kitty. I really loved how her character is played from sexy babe, to socialite, innocent but also deadly. How her relationship with Sister Cindy and Tinam also keeps it interesting....and heck, add Princess and Baby in the mix for more fun! Then, you have the action. This is HK cinema in its prime and it shows. From gang shootouts, training exercises, and assassinations, the action scenes are fast and frantic and done really well. Plus, Wong Jing's eccentric flair adds quirkiness; recall the crime scene where the cops are looking for something and you'll see what I mean. A great film with a bit of everything added in. Definitely see it for the beautiful Chingmy!

Yeah, I just finished this brand new DVD of the highly-acclaimed, sexy Hong Kong action thriller... and looking over the trailer after it was over I was thinking, "Man, I don't remember that scene... or that scene... or that camera angle..." Sure enough, I check out the running times online and it seems that the US version is 11 minutes shorter than the Hong Kong version. Which seems weird in that there is all kinds of explicit gore evident in the movie... I mean, if they can show a close-up of a fellow getting shot in the family jewels... what in the heck are they AFRAID to show? Probably just some female nudity (since there doesn't ever seem to be anyone really "naked" in this movie... just the suggestion of nudity). One scene seemed to be a direct take-off (homage? copy? ripoff?) of the famous interrogation scene in "Basic Instinct". Maybe it was a more faithful re-creation in the original cut? I guess I'll never know... since it's unlikely I'll ever want to sit thru this again. I just wish I'd had the chance to see the complete version the first time... or at least have a big WARNING on the packaging that the movie is NOT complete.