Director:
Huang Kuo-Chu
Year: 1993
Rating: 5.0
You don't go into a film titled Whore & Policewoman expecting Sense
and Sensibility and within a few seconds you know Jane Austin would not approve.
A woman is tied to a bed and a man is whipping her leaving bloody welts on
her body that he then proceeds to lick. And if that wasn't enough for one
night he takes out a huge snake and leaves it on her body freaking her out.
Yup, straight into the heart of darkness or a Cat III film. It is a strange
hybrid of grim exploitation and action as it goes back and forth between
a few rather horrific sexual scenes and some pretty good action - not to
mention some female bonding. It stars Julia Cheng who was in her share of
trashy films and Michiko Nishiwaki who was one of the better Girls with Guns
stars. This may have been Michiko's final Hong Kong film which might explain
her mysterious vanishing act in the final action encounter.
May Lin (Julia Cheng) is a prostitute working the streets along with her
roommate and friend Nana. When Nana is tortured and beaten and left for dead,
May remembers that they always videotape their trysts! When she tells the
cops over the phone that she has a videotape suddenly a group of killers
are on her doorstep. The film takes off at this point into a good chase over
rooftops and elsewhere - and at about the 30 minute mark Michiko is assigned
to protect her and bring her in. Not so easy. Michiko has a few good fights
in this one showing some terrific moves, leg kicks and acrobatics. Nice seeing
her get some quality time for a change.
The film then slumps badly - Cheng's acting is as annoying as a crying baby
on a plane - whining and yelling all the time and she and Michiko spend way
too much time bonding - partly over a vile group rape scene as Michiko helplessly
looks on. We really didn't need that though it sets up a good fight in a
food market with Michiko against many. But strangely in the final big fight
scene at the end, Michiko is sidelined by an injury and another woman who
I have no idea who she is takes on the action and disappears. A very erratic
film that has some good moments - mainly around Michiko - and a lot of sleazy
parts - and some boring parts. May Lin is even beat up by a group of other
prostitutes just for the heck of it. Directed by Huang Kuo-Chu, who has mainly
done the action choreography in a lot of films but has only directed a few
- one with Michiko called Passionate Killing in the Dream. Also starring,
the always creepy Charlie Cho and Kwan Hoi-san.
