(1992)
Dir - Lam Ngai Kai
Overall: GOOD
With action scenes that would fit snugly at home in any Bollywood production and a premise that plays out as ridiculous on screen as it does on paper, The Cat, (Wai Si Li zhi Lao Mao) is quite anarchic and fun. An adaptation of Ni Kuang's Old Cat novel as part of his Wisely Series, director Lam Ngia Kai from The Story of Ricky fame forgoes coherent plotting in favor of bizarre set pieces, utilizing over-the-top visual effects with hilariously absurd results. There is a cat and dog kung fu battle in a junkyard, a scene where an indestructible, possessed alien cop mows down a gang of firearms dealers, another scene where he high-kicks a keg of beer before exploding it with a machine gun, and a cheap-looking tentacle blob creature likes to absorb buildings and rip people's flesh off and set them on fire. Characters sometimes speak directly into the camera and flashback sequences recap moments that happened only two minutes earlier as well. Outside of a slow first act, Ngai Kai keeps the rest of the proceedings moving nicely and whatever the hell the story is supposed to be about, who cares when so much violent, explody, and head-scratching nonsense is on screen?
(1992)
Dir - Shinya Tsukamoto
Overall: MEH
Backed by a much larger budget and with a comparatively "conventional" approach, Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo: The Iron Man sequel Tetsuo II: Body Hammer is more cyber punk action movie than wacked-out body horror. At least to some extent, the man-to-machine transformations are even more extreme than in the previous film, though the emphasis on avant-garde body-morphing is less encompassing until the final act is reached which throws narrative coherency to the wind. Here, the mythology is fleshed-out where now an entire society of cyborg terrorists exists and the seemingly mild-mannered protagonist is actually given a backstory, be it a still bizarre one involving his insane, human-weapon-building father. The film is still far from user friendly as the largely hand-held camera work is once again grating on the senses, the gore prominent, and the tone is quite thoroughly disturbed. The change in approach is welcome, but it still unmistakably proves that the franchise is an acquired taste that may baffle and annoy more than captivate.
(1993)
Dir - Siu-Hung Chung
Overall: MEH
This somewhat typical Category III film from Hong Kong director Siu-Hung Chung, (aka Billy Chung), and producer Kirk Wong offers the usual uncomfortable sleaze for those willing to appreciate it. Yeuk Ji Luen, (Love to Kill), also has Anthony Wong Chau-sang who has made a career largely out of playing despicable scumbags, something that he does quite explicitly here. While it is appreciated that the film is so ridiculous in tone, the combination of perverse and disturbing rape, juvenile vulgarity, nerve-wracking suspense, and awkward comedy makes for a haphazard result. Characters say things like "How can I help you if you don't tell me?", "You're my wife", and "You'll be in trouble" so much that it may just be part of the intended humor, but that coupled with the often agitated editing gives it a amatuerish feel as well. Mostly though, it is primarily focused with women getting brutally and psychologically tortured and raped. The final act drops the goofiness and settles itself more firmly into unpleasant terrain, for better or worse. It is all part of the "charm" then and ultimately comes down to how comfortable the viewer is with such things.
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