As Category III sleaze goes, this may be Anthony Wong's finest hour, if not his second finest. Perhaps his finest is "The Untold Story", perhaps not. I loved him in Ringo Lam's "Full Contact" and the recent "Infernal Affairs", but "Love To Kill" occupies a special place in my dark heart because it's so unrelentingly grim and nasty.
Wong plays a violent, jealous husband (and father) who treats his wife like crap and rapes, assaults and humiliates her constantly. He also incarcerates her in her own apartment and forbids her to have any friends. His son isn't treated any better and is witness to much of the defilement his mother bears.
Danny Lee ("The Killer"), a local cop (what else?), befriends Wong's wife after learning of her predicament and hatches a plan to save her from her brutish husband. Naturally, Wong is at odds with Lee's good intentions and a bloody confrontation looms. When said confrontation occurs, the gore flies and the corpses crash to the floor. Even Wong's son gets the sharp end of his father's stick.
"Love To Kill" is sensational exploitation, a film that goes all the way and keeps going until it becomes repugnant and has alienated most reviewers... and that's what makes it so admirable. Several versions exist, and the version I caught has an end credit roll over shots not appearing in the movie. These shots feature Wong's wife in a graphic bondage scenario and wearing a long chain as she clutches the bars of her front door.
Wong is hissingly convincing and the music score insinuates itself into your soul.
Add it proudly to your vile collection.
