Perfect cast and a good story

Crappy film

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Man, these Hong Kong CAT III films really are a sight to behold! Like this number from 1994, "Red to Kill", which is not only the best CAT III film I've seen so far, but also one of the most solid rape/ revenge flicks I've watched. Now, for those of you who have no idea what CAT III is, it's a rating in the HK film system, basically the equivalent of a hard R/ NC-17 in the MPAA's system. Because it's not technically a genre, but rather a rating, CAT III films are really diverse, but when most people use CAT III to describe a film, they're talking about a particular type of CAT III films that are often filled with rape, gore and other taboo subject matter, often adding a good helping of goofy comedy to the mix. Anyway, the plot to "Red to Kill" is both absurd and absolutely tasteless. It's about a guy who runs a school for retarded people by day and rapes as well as sometimes murders women wearing red at night. You see, when this guy was a little kid he watched his mother, who was wearing red kill his father with the help of her boyfriend. During the struggle, his mother fell on a meat cleaver, killing her as well. Well, flash forward a few years later and the sight of red on a woman is enough to make this guy go bonkers. After raping and murdering a few nameless women at the start of the film he rapes one of his students. She survives and testifies against him in court, but the guy gets off Scott free, so her sister decides to bring justice, HK CAT III style! Any who, "Red to Kill" is a sweet film. It has a very groovy score and well as a solid script for a film like this. Likewise it boasts several strong performances and director Bill Tang brings a lot of imagination to this one, handling all the different elements of this film very nicely. I also dug the scenes where the rapist stalks his victims as it has a very gritty feel that would be right at home alongside two of the most notorious American exploitation offerings of the early 1980's, "Maniac" and "Don't Go in the House". Overall a really solid and enjoyable film, check it out if you like mess up movies, otherwise you MIGHT want to stay clear of this one.

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

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.

This one is a little better than the average rape-movie from Hong Kong. The atmosphere in the movie is breathtaking, thanks to Ng, who delivers one of the best and most intense portrays of a sick rapist i have ever seen!!! The atmosphere makes this movie, so the occasional gore seem pointless. There is a lot of bad acting though...