Ah, Category III Hong Kong cinema; How does one sell this
onscreen depravity to the uninitiated? Perhaps,
determining if you’re already a fan of trash cinema from other regions of the
world is the best place to start.
Specifically, films from Italy and Japan during the 1970’s &
80’s. If you’re a fan of films such as The New York Ripper, Night Train Murders, White
Rose Campus, and Rape! 13th Hour then Category III films are the
next logical step in your education of trashy world cinema.
The Category III film Daughter
of Darkness from 1993 is not a bad place to start, but probably not as
infamous as say Red to Kill or Ebola Syndrome. Daughter
of Darkness may not reach the heights, or depths depending on your
perspective, of those films but it certainly delivers the violence and
debauchery that they’re known for.
Viewers going into Daughter
of Darkness for the first time expecting extreme sex and violence right from
the jump may be confused for the first half an hour or so, as it kind of plays
out like a twisted, slapstick sex-comedy.
We are introduced to an overly animated and extremely pervy police
detective played by the always entertaining Anthony Wong. Right from the start, Wong is giving a
completely over-the-top performance with extremely animated facial expressions
that would make Jim Carrey blush. When a
young girl named Fong enters the police station claiming that she has
discovered her entire family murdered in their home, our story is set in motion
and it’s going to be a wild and shocking ride to the end.
It's during the beginning of Wong’s murder investigation
where we get the majority of the comedic bits.
Wong’s character is a Chinese Mainland detective and there’s some less
than subtle commentary going on with his very goofy performance. He enters the crime scene like a bull in a
china shop; walking directly through blood, posing for pictures with the
bodies, and just generally disrupting the crime scene and destroying
evidence. We also get to see what an
absolute pervert Wong’s character is and his fascination with breasts during
these opening scenes! The character of
Officer Lui is setup as a morally corrupt buffoon but he eventually shows that
he’s a fairly effective investigator and a somewhat likable character by the
end.
Once Officer Lui gets around to questioning Fong about the
massacre of her family, he quickly realizes that her story doesn’t add up. At this point in the film it becomes kind of
a wacky procedural with Lui getting himself into some silly situations as he
interviews the locals about Fong and her family. Lui eventually learns that a fellow police
officer named Kin is somehow involved in this crime and that’s when the story
starts to turn dark. It’s discovered
that Kin and Fong are romantically linked and that they had planned to run off
to Hong Kong to get married and escape the abusive home life that Fong was experiencing
with her family. When Lui presses Kin on
his involvement and the fact that the bullets used in the murders come from a
police issued gun, Kin confesses to the crimes.
This, however, doesn’t sit well with Lui. So, he decides to once again interrogate Fong
to find out what really happened that fateful night.
Like other Category III films, such as Dr. Lamb and The Untold Story,
the horrific details are told through flashback, and boy are they
horrific! Fong’s home life with her
family is a living nightmare! She is
verbally and emotionally abused by her mother and siblings and physically
harmed by her father (possibly step-father (?)). Rape, incest, and torture playout on screen
before we reach the ultra-violent demise of this foul family. One can never hear the song “Row, Row, Row
Your Boat” the same after witnessing this shocking and appalling scene. This entire sequence is definitely where the
film earns its Category III status. The whole thing ends tragically and
will leave you with a feeling of hopelessness.
No doubt, this is an exploitation film, first and foremost, but there is
a halfhearted attempt towards social commentary concerning Mainland China,
specifically their judicial system and the way everything concludes with the
case at the very end of the film.
Daughter of Darkness
is a very solid exploitation film and a prime example of what some of the more
infamous Category III films have to offer.
It’s a bit uneven in terms of the tonal shift that the film makes about
a third of the way through, but that’s also what makes the film
interesting. I would probably recommend
something like Run and Kill or The Untold Story to those looking to dip
their toe into the cesspool of Category III, but this isn’t a bad place to
start either.
MVT: Anthony Wong and William Ho as the sadistic father are
both entertaining to watch, but both characters are a bit one note. Lily Chung as Fong shows a bit more diversity
and really earns the MVT. A brave
performance that isn’t simply a victim in this film.
Make or Break Scene: Opening – Anthony Wong’s entrance to the
crime scene. Goofy antics amongst a
bloodbath of a murder scene.
Score: 7/10