Red to Kill

Red to Kill is about a mentally retarded girl who is brought into a home for the handicapped after her father dies in a car crash. She's welcomed with open arms by all the residents and staff. Well, to add some spice to the story one of the staff is a psycho killer who goes absolutely nuts when he sees the color red....or whenever he takes off his glasses. Will the mentally challenged girl wear the color red? Find out in Red to Kill.

Now I've seen four Cat 3 flicks, Ricky O, Untold Story, Ebola Syndrome and now this, and each one doesn't disappoint. The dude who plays the maniac does an awesome job. I'm not sure if I've seen a crazier portrayal of a psychopath ever before....he was definitely the best part of the film. If you're looking for a unique, crazy flick, Red to Kill definitely fits the bill. 8.5 outta 10

"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.

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.

RED TO KILL: Wow! Again, I ask myself why the hell I watch this stuff?! I mean, from my experiences so far, I should know better but damn it, it always seems to start the same way. I get alittle nervous at the beginning. It's that uneasy, quizzy sensation that creeps up from your bowels when the movie first starts. Because no matter how well you think you've prepared yourself, you NEVER really know for sure what to expect, or whether or not you're going to see something that you shouldn't when it comes to these vile Chinese Category 3 chunkblowing displays of moral debasement. And this movie is certainly one of those unredeemable, wretched messes that no one should like to watch, or lord forbid, find enjoyable. Oh, but that's exactly why we LOVE them so much in the first place! But this one wasn't so much shocking to me as it was just plain sleazy. It's the corruption and perversion of innocence in this flick that causes that awful scratching at your principles of what's right and wrong, or at least, it should. Why, you ask? Well, most of the movie takes place in a shelter for mentally retarded young people so the subject matter alone could easily get completely out of control very quickly if you think about all the wonderful possibilities that a creative sicko-twisted mind could come up with. It also stars LILY CHUNG as Ming Ming, yup, you know her all too well. She's the same poor girl who was tormented and repeatedly raped by her father in another supra-sleazy Chinese C3 taboo-trasher entitled DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS. I will give her credit though, she's NOT afraid to snatch her clothes off and perform a mock rape scene in a very visually disturbing, almost pornographic way. So with depraved s**t like that going for it, what's the movie about you're wondering... it tells the story of an insane mental shelter super-intendent who, whenever he sees the color red on clothes (especially girl's panties), he goes totally bonkers and KILLS and RAPES (usually in THAT order too) the woman or young girl wearing it. Yes, I know what you're thinking, I thought the same thing, this is NOT a nice movie and why am I watching it?! But alas, it's not really his fault (or so society would tell us). When he was young, he and his brother witnessed their mother having sex with a strange man and when their father caught her in the act, she killed him with a meat clever. Enraged, she went on to chop up his little brother and ends up killing herself as well, splashing WHAT all over the place? That red, red blood, of course. Hence the name of the movie and why he goes stupid kill-crazy when he sees it. And in the end, it all gets surprisingly real damn moist and just about everyone gets f***ed up some kinda bad. So, all in all, a repulsive idea for a film that shouldn't have ever been made with scenes of detailed filth for which there is no remorse or forgiveness for. The shower scene after retarded Ming Ming's first rape where she tries to "clean" her "dirtied" sexual body parts with a razor knife comes to mind first. Simply nauseating, sickeningly foul, morally-offensive stuff indeed. But ya know, if you really think about it, the whole exploitive nature of the Asian Horror-Shock Cinema just wouldn't be the same without these rare, uncompromising gems of celluloid obscenities.

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