The Stewardess
Director: Sam Leong
Year: 2002
Review: 7.5
There are times that
all of us probably question our taste and judgement in films. For whatever
reason, occasionally a film will appeal to you that no one else seems to
particularly like and you sort of wonder why. This is such a film. I watched
it the other night and thought it was a complete hootfest – it struck me
as playful, inventive and at times quite funny. So I was curious about other
people’s opinions on this one and found three reviews – all, if not trashing
it, having major reservations about it. Well, until proven that I am entering
an early stage of dipsomania or I have a neurological disorder, I will stick
with my opinion that this film is wonderfully silly and more fun than a blind
date with an over stuffed pincushion.
Just don’t go into this film expecting an attempt at a horror film as the
cover and the basic plot can easily mislead one into thinking it might be.
This isn’t a horror film – it doesn’t in any way seriously try to be a horror
film – it satirizes Japanese horror, Chungking Express, The Matrix,
triads, serial killer movies and a bunch of other films in an amusing tongue
firmly in cheek way. It is also not a straight out comedy though in the sense
of a film like “Scary Movie” – it goes under the pretext of being a horror
film but in truth it is just an anarchistic black screwball comedy trying
to crawl out from beneath the blood splattered bodies and the severed body
parts.
Sam Lee – doing his usual Sam Lee shtick though in a generally charming and
not so tiresome sort of way – thinks himself to be a real lover and pick
up artist of the opposite sex. One night in a local hotspot he thinks he
has struck gold when he persuades the voluptuous Lee San San to come home
with him. After one night of passion (in which she basically manhandles him
under the sheets), the lovely and demure San San tells him that he is meeting
her father for dinner. “Your father?” Sam questions – “yes Dragon -
the head of a major triad gang” and she is very much a daddy’s girl. The
father tells Sam not to cheat on his sweetie because if he does he will be
killed or even worse – castrated. Gulp.
After being fingerprinted and photographed by dad – San San shows him a picture
of her old boyfriend in a wheelchair. Sam praises her for such kindness –
to which she looks at him like he is crazy and says “no, this is what happened
to him after I caught him cheating on me”. Another time she walks in on her
father about to kill a man who stole money from him – but bless her little
heart - she pleads for mercy – its mom’s birthday, father – don’t kill him
– just break his hands. Sam is needless to say a bit concerned about this
relationship – but things are soon to go from bad to so much worse.
Sam comes across a cute bubbly Japanese neighbor dressed in red from head
to foot who introduces herself, as “I’m Yurei. I am an air hostess”. What
she neglects to mention though is that she is a raving psychopath, that she
can take harder punches than Mike Tyson and keep on smiling, that she likes
playing with sharp objects and that she can run down a speeding van in high
heels – just your typical air hostess in fact. Her Cantonese is fairly limited
and she can’t go much beyond her intro, but her lack of communication skills
doesn’t bother Sam much as she has more body language than a shelf full of
Websters. In truth Sam is feeling so restless (i.e. horny as hell) that even
if he was aware of her charming predilections, he would still likely go for
it – and as it is when she gives him a purr, a grunt, a smile, a squeal and
begins disrobing all is lost for Sam.
It takes Lee San San about a minute to get Sam to confess and he soon has
dad, his right hand man, Lam Suet, and an army of goons tracking him down.
He brings in Sam and Yurei for questioning, but after she gurgles and tweaks
his “cute” nipples he makes the mistake of stepping on her red ruby shoes.
Never step on a stewardess’s shoes. Many bodies later Sam is running down
a lonely road with a smiling red dressed stewardess closing in for the kill.
It’s all done though in a light quirky manner that doesn’t always make sense
but who cares and Yurei may be the most lovable and endearing serial killer
that you are likely to ever come across. As soon as actress, Seina Kasugai,
enters the film she completely takes it over in a comically mesmerizing performance
in which she does little more than roll back her eyes, squeak, giggle, smile,
glower, kill and then clean up afterwards. But its impossible to take your
eyes off of her maniacal wound up gleefully comical portrayal. She also looks
great in red.
I want more of Yurei – a sequel – a series as she takes on Ekin Cheng, Dayo
Wong and Michael Wong and turns them into hors d'oeuvres on cocktail crackers
– that of course wouldn’t be so much a serial killing as a mercy killing
(sorry that was a cheap and unnecessary add on to this review!).
My rating for this film: 7.5
