Red to Kill

Ben Ng plays the overseer of a home for the mentally disabled in this outrageous shocker. He also plays the monster rapist stalking every woman in sight.

It's RED TO KILL because the color "red" sets the rapist off.

We get a whole new brand of lurid here. And director Tang is no shrinking violet in his depictions of the numerous sexual assaults. A sequence in which a victim saws off her public hair with a blunt razer blade is a real showstopper.

The actors playing the mentally retarded really look it. One, in particular, looks like he was recruited straight off the Ugly Tree.

A deep thread of sex and voyeurism snakes its way through the narrative. Panty-watchers are well served, too, by a voyeuristic sequence in which an intended rape victim dances for the camera and gives us a bird's eye view of what's under her skirt.

As one expects from Tang, his climactic battle between heroine and victim is over-the-top and not one bit interested in reality. It's Human versus Monster as the rapist meets his match.

Exploitation of the highest order.

An extreme, intense psycho splatter rape horror from hong Kong. the story is about Ming-Ming, a girl with severe learning difficulties, who is spending her days in a home where one of the doctors is a lunatic psycho necro rapist, who goes completely insane every time he sees the color red. All this because he had some traumatic experience in his childhood. Then at some point Ming-Ming is performing a dance number with red panties, and things really start to go wrong.

The film is excellent made. The colors are spectacular and the cinematography is superb. Ben Ng is probably one of the most intense screen villains ever, and the violence is brain numbingly nasty. Politically correctness is non existent however, and one thing for sure, this movie would never ever have been made in a western country. right up there with Dr. Lamb, Bunman, and the whole lot.

Be prepared, this one could send you into therapy if your not prepared, and you probably feel like taking a shower when your through watching this demented little gem.

I've seen quite a few of Billy Tang's films, and I must say this is the best. The direction is great, Tang's penchant for blue lighting works perfectly with the material. Lily Chung plays a retarded girl who is sent to a home after the death of her father. Ben Ng plays the mild mannered director, who happens to be a psychotic killer and rapist, his violent impulses triggered by the color red. This is an awesome performance, ranking as one of the most entertaining film loony's I've ever seen (and that's no small number). While bleak, there is also plenty of humor, some unintentional, due to the poorly translated subtitles ("Crash your penis, cut it to make soup!"). Fans of HK horror will love this.

"Red To Kill" is a controversial Cat III film from Hong Kong's "Billy" Tang ("Run and Kill", "Dr. Lamb"). It's uncompromising stuff - the treatment of its subject matter is bordering on being extremely tasteless but I found the director managed to keep the film on the right tracks thanks to moving and realistic performances by the main actors.

Briefly, the movie tells the tale of a psychopathic rapist who just happens to be a doctor in a home for people with learning difficulties, and a girl, Ming-Ming, who is living in the home. The sight of the colour red sends the mad doc' into a murderous, sex-crazed rampage and the results are pretty strong and not for those of a nervous disposition.

"Red To Kill" isn't a "feel good" movie and you may indeed feel like a hot shower after viewing it. I felt more than a little dirty that I had enjoyed the film...be warned - it doesn't pull its punches....

Worth checking out if you're a fan of the harder-edged HK productions.

RED TO KILL is tied for #1 (with THE UNTOLD STORY...) as my favorite Cat III HK shocker that I've seen so far. Though extremely violent by nature of the films brutal subject matter, RED TO KILL still beautifully, thoughtfully, and compassionately relates the child-like innocence and loyalty of the mentally handicapped. RED TO KILL is the story of Ming-Ming, a mentally retarded girl whose father is killed in a car accident. Ming-Ming is then taken to a home for mentally handicapped kids by Ms. Lok, a compassionate and kind-hearted social worker. Ming-Ming is also greeted by Mr. Chan, a seemingly benevolent and considerate caretaker at the home. Soon Ming-Ming begins to make friends and falls into the daily life at the home, and all seems well, until... And this is where RED TO KILL really takes off. Mr. Chan turns out to be a psychopathic rapist who goes completely out of whack at the sight of any woman wearing any red clothing. After seeing Ming-Ming perform a very innocent dance routine adorned in a red dress, Chan flips the f**k out, and brutally rapes Ming-Ming. Chan is hauled into court but let off due to a technicality. Ms. Lok, who by this point has grown very fond and protective of Ming-Ming, decides to take matters into her own hands and bait Chan into coming after her, in hopes of seeking revenge for the rape of Ming-Ming. Unfortunately, this scheme sorta backfires, leading up to one of the most incredible climaxes in film history. Anyone judging this film solely on the violent nature of RED TO KILL is missing the point entirely. Of course, due to the graphic portrayal of rape and violence, this film is not for all tastes, by any means. But unlike other reviewers who insist on classifying this as violent, gory, exploitation cinema - I feel that in many ways this is a beautiful film that works on many levels. All of the actors are dead-on, whether it be Lily Chung as the lovable, innocent, victimized Ming-Ming, or Money Lo as the compassionate and fiercely loyal Ms. Lok, or especially Ben Ng as Chan, the friendly-care-taker-by-day and psychotic-rapist-murderer-freak by night (whose performance is one of the best that I've ever seen on film, period). The film never tries to portray the mentally handicapped as weak or inferior and really goes out of it's way to shed a pleasant light on those individuals that have mental disabilities. One scene in particular has Ming-Ming sitting in a corner after the trial of Mr. Chan; she is shocked and catatonic due to the nature of the preceding incidents that she obviously can't truly fathom. The other handicapped children are offering her gifts and support to help bring her around, but to no avail. All this while Ms. Lok looks on helplessly with tears in her eyes. The compassion shown in that one scene alone was more touching than pretty much any Hollywood drama bulls**t that I've ever seen. This could have been a truly exploitative film, but I feel the director handled all of the situations with care and compassion, to faithfully tell a story of lost innocence. Now that I've raved about RED TO KILL for so long-I do have one gripe...My copy comes from a company called Universe who did THE WORST SUBTITLING JOB, EVER!!! I see another reviewer quoted the "Crash your Penis" line, so I guess he got the same copy I did. The subtitling is so disjointed in parts (if you speak English, that is...) that a few scenes are almost unintelligible, or unintentionally funny. It doesn't really impact the overall impression of the film, but it can be confusing at times. Overall, I love this movie. There are definitely some intense and graphic scenes of rape and violence that casual film-goers would probably be repulsed by. This film is in my opinion not as gory as THE UNTOLD STORY, THE GUINEA PIG films,etc... but still only recommended for those who enjoy "extreme" cinema. A beautiful, compassionate, horrifying, disturbing film. Highly recommended 9/10