Husband Killers
Director: Fire
Lee Ka-Wing
Year: 2017
Rating: 7.0/10
It would be difficult to claim this was
very good as much as I want to because it isn't but it is pure Hong Kong
- partly insane, stylish, filled with killers and blood, a script clearly
written on drugs and so much fun - and that these days is a good thing with
so many productions toning stuff down to make Mr. Beijing happy. No toning
down here (ok no nudity). It feels a little retro - Naked Killers sexy female
gunslingers - but you would have to call it Well-Dressed Killers as these
women want to look their best and apply the lipstick and leather like Da
Vinci before going out to kill. Look good, kill good - a saying among the
professional killer trade.
The film also fits nicely into the Meetoo#
era - if you treat women badly - 9 out of 10 do - they get what's coming
to them - while at the same time fetishizing and objectifying the female
form and these actresses have fine female forms. With clearly less budget
than a Hong Kong billionaires birthday gala - it nearly all takes place in
interior locations and not many of those. But it still manages to look good
and hire some reasonably well-known actresses - Stephy Tang - an idol in
her day, Chrissie Chau (P Storm, Master Z, 29+1), Gaile Lai and veteran Pauline
Suen who I haven't seen in years and still looks amazing - kind of taking
on a Carina Lau look here. In fact, all four of these actresses are over
30 and look spectacular - good to see them getting work - even in a crazy
ass film like this. They must have had a ball.
David (we never see his face but the credit
goes to Sammy Leung) has excellent taste in strong women - give him credit
for that - a wife and a mistress - both professional killers (as shown in
two opening scenes). The two of them find about each other and after trying
to kill one another decide instead to kill David and his latest mistress
- who happens to be a member of an elite police squad. Stephy and Chrissie
track him and her down to a seedy love hotel run by Pauline and her two sons
- one a slobbering pervert and the other a masturbating pervert. The husband
is nowhere to be seen so they all try to kill each other once again. And
then the two perverts and Pauline try and rape them.
A decent amount of spurting blood but the
action choreography is nothing to worry John Woo about - more stylish than
good - none of these actresses show much physical ability - putting on their
clothes is better choreographed. But what sets this film apart from other
low budget girls with guns films that have come out over the past bunch of
years is how outlandish much of it - how little the director Fire Lee Ka-Wing
seems to care about reality or creating real tension - and some dialogue
that was wonderfully trashy and funny. In the end I guess this has to be
taken as a comedy really. The girls when they are not trying to kill each
other or save each other do a lot of girl talk about sex, deflated breasts
and what shits men are - and I liked this little bit as one girl goes "aaaaabbbb"
- what's are you trying to say? "C you later bitch, boom.". I enjoyed this
more than I should have.
