The Peeping Tom

This is another Hong Kong movie that it got the infamous CAT III certificate, obviously the CAT III rating was given because of the rape scenes and the graphic violence and bloody images.

This was directed by Ivan Lai (director of Daughter of Darkness), the movie features some good sound design and camera work.

Obvisiouly, you want to see a CAT III flick for the sleaze and violence, well we have sleaze and lots of it, which it's most focused on the rape scenes, the rape scenes are not trying to be disturbing or disgusting, but arousing (that kind of stuff that will shock the censors).

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't go far with the gore, we just see the bloody aftermaths.

Unlike many other serial killer CAT III movies, the killer of this movie is a metro sexual, with a leg fetish.

This is not the movie you would let your children watch! The movie has nudity and even rape! Not so surprising since this is the story of a crazy psycho who kidnap women so he can rape and kill them! Top of the cake; he cuts of their legs and keep them as a souvenir! The rest of the body he dumps!

In a confrontation between police and some bank robbers, he takes notice of a female inspector with perfect legs. He gets obsessed with her and starts to invade her private life, breaking into her apartment, waiting for her to arrive! Even her family is not safe for this crazy madman!

Good acting, nice directing and a very realistic script, makes this movie better and more scary than an average suspense/erotic thriller! People who enjoyed: Henry-Portrait of a serial killer will definitive enjoy this Hong Kong flick!

Score: 8/10

This film is about a serial rapist/killer with a leg fetish. In one of the rape scenes, he takes his unconscious victim in his van and parks it in a busy Hong Kong street. He then goes on to undress the victim, fondles her breasts and legs, savouring the beauty of her naked body. The rape itself is done in a very exploitative manner. The rape victim, played by an absolutely gorgeous Japanese actress, is meant to be unconcious. While she is being raped, she is shown in full-frontal nudity and moans quietly. The rapist is also a very handsome man. This leaves no doubt that the director intended to maximise the titilation effect of the rape scene.

Obviously, this is not a very politically correct film. It makes rape look glamourous and sexy. Do these sort of films encourage rape fantasy or even rape ?

That's what updating a classic thriller (this is loosely based on the 1960 film by Michael Powell) Hong Kong style looks like.

Mark Chen is the nutcase getting his kick of murdering young women with pretty legs and filming his deeds (of course, raping the victims before comes quite natural). Jade Leung (of "Black Cat" fame) is the young policewomen whose paths accidentally cross with those of the killer. He falls in love with her, infiltrates her life and preys on her sister and her lover.

For a HK Cat. III thriller this has a rather straightforward story, fine acting by the leads, and very stylish direction. Atmospheric, violent (to a certain degree - there are much more violent Cat. III movies) , erotic - highly recommended to all fans of modern Hong Kong moviemaking.

I have to admit that I didn't find Jade Leung particularly attractive in her signature role, the assassin Black Cat, but "Peeping Tom" changed my mind: this woman is a goddess. With longer hair than before, a stunningly gorgeous face, and a fit body, she is a thoroughly captivating screen presence - and pretty much the only reason I didn't turn this movie off long before the end. Apart from Leung, "Peeping Tom" has limited artistic or entertainment value: the story is just an amalgam of other HK and foreign serial killer thrillers (hell, it could easily be a sequel to "Naked Killer 2" - it even has the same actor playing the villain!), and it is full of holes, the biggest of which is probably the fact that although the police know exactly how the killer looks like, they DON'T issue a public warning, so he continues to go around luring unsuspecting girls even in broad daylight! The director does manage to work up some suspense at certain points, but most of the time this movie is just repulsive. (*)