The Sweet Smell of Death
Director: Wong Ying-kit
Year: 1994
Rating: 3.0
The Sweet Smell of Death is
rather rancid like sushi left out too long in the sun. This 1994 lowlife
Cat III film has the redeeming qualities of a voyeur of small girls. This
was another one of my vcds left alone for too long that I decided to finally
watch. In the old days when there were Hong Kong film video stores in NYC,
I would go into them on weekends and scoop up bunches of vcds at silly low
prices. I still have tons unwatched. Now and then I get the impulse to watch
one and generally regret it. 1994 was sleaze central in Hong Kong films.
Pretty much anything was allowed as long as it was rated Cat III and there
was an outburst of grotty crime and sex films. This one centers on a serial
rapist who likes to video his rapes and sometimes leaves them alive and sometimes
not.
Poon (Poon Tak-chuen) is the dimwitted cop
assigned to catch the rapist and later murderer. Not the most sensitive of
people with the first victim who is left alive. He goes around to her office
and tells everyone she was raped and then when he questions her, he asks
if she was a virgin. I was raped you idiot. I mean before. Yes. Then why
do you have a std you liar. She had been asked by her boss to show a house
late at night and a man with a mask and candles is waiting for her. The man
is her boss. Other rapes follow until he sees a woman that really intrigues
him. This is Mill played by Mikie Ng - who is the incredibly cute assassin
in Rock on Fire - a decent B film if ever you get the chance. Meanwhile,
Poon suspects it is Lin (Teddy Lin) and follows him everywhere - even into
brothels. At one point in attempting to get Lin's DNA he stops him on the
street and masturbates him. There have to be easier ways. This is for
the raincoat brigade. Creepy in a bad way.
