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Your perception of someone or something shouldn’t be based on first impressions Don’t judge a book by its cover, and the same goes for a Hong Kong movie’s title, especially if it’s in English. This was one of my many takeaways with regards to how to properly look at something or someone at face value without being deceived, and it all came together during my viewing of Category IIB. To explain further, I would say that viewing would be rather unconventional. With a name that calls to mind the exploitation film genre, the title of it had captured the imagination of many, and one of my friends described the antagonist of the film in a rather intriguing and outlandish manner. He noted that the character is like the male version of Takeshi Miike’s “Audition,” and I couldn’t help but agree with him.
From the very first moments, NUDE FEAR shows disturbing images of a young girl who just came back from school. She is faced with her mother’s naked and bound form after a violent attack that left her mother dead. Instead of panicking, she goes into denial for some time. The reality is that this is a far too surreal and grotesque sight. The young girl victim doing homework in the midst of all the sickening deeds successfully carried out only a few minutes or hours ago is probably one that is not easy to erase from my mind. I still wonder how can a human has this ‘disease’. Especially in this case when the activity was a simple assignment for the so-called ‘innocent’ daughter who for some reason had to ignore the loved one’s blood showering down onto the exercise book from above.
Towards the conclusion of Alan Mak’s remarkable debut directorial piece, a dedication pops up on screen that more so if it was heartfelt literally sent shivers down my spine. The “Hope His Nightmare is Over” is what he personally sounds elike ven when is publicized statement reads. It is indeed my impression that after having watched some of the events and actions that determinably are not so fictional set out to take place in NUDE FEAR, so befure the sending of this vague yet extremely informative feeling telegraphic, Knowing what some likely-less-than-fictitious is existing within this shrouded information: very few people get affected in a similar manner, how their lives are supposedly should differ after the same statements are issued. These words are considered of minor importance, however, to ensure that I’m not the only one who thinks that through personalization they are. Together with the excerpts beginning with “Hu-Du-Men” and “Ah Kam” I am able to openly say that this is the third one, “from” the Hong Kong movie.
On his review film “Another Hong Kong Movie Page,” Tim Youngs said “All the plot elements have been done elsewhere” and “some viewers will find [its] formula generic.” While this may be the case on some level, I suspect it’s almost impossible to not feel any excitement about a movie where a team of policewomen and police officers are on the hunt for a very intelligent serial rapist/murderer (who I shall not name because telling you will destroy the whole film) plus a copycat protégé (who is in the shape of Sam Lee) whose novel and disgusting method of killing their victims include slicing open the body from the vagina to the abdomen so that they suffer painful death by blood loss and then remove their tongues.
And when the identity of the Homicide Bureau detective Superintendent assigned to the investigation is revealed, the audience comes to understand why Kathy Chow portrays her the way she does. She has emotional ties irrespective of her being an emotionally detached individual. The unfortunate little girl who endured the trauma of witnessing her mother was brutally killed not only goes through a lot of anguish but is also propelled toward action due to the unfeeling nature of the world around her.
As suggested in the earlier paragraphs of this review, the mix of this film is made a little more tense by incorporating more than a single red herring that features in the plot and one of the main villains from NUDE FEAR’s being an antagonist in the film’s main conflict. The reason they are familiar is because they are the last ones to be suspected by the protagonist; her colleagues and their superiors. Lu Yu and goh Chi Mung, two actors whom I find fascinating on screen, play those roles. Although it might sound odd to others this very Agatha Christine-type narrative still gave me the chills because instead of the heroine or the innocent noble person, it was the film’s master criminal who openly wondered, why can the world be so perverted?
More than on the spot IMHO, the oration this particular speech makes which without one grain of doubt perplexed and at the same time made logical sense to him has is far reaching Peter’s long diatribe where he, rather shockingly, offers a philosophical question and provides an equally bizarre answer about “the relations between human beings have changed because they have choice,” and then proceeds into detail what drove him into the path that temporarily “stops” included the abduction of young girls, one of whom is played by Ruby Siu, as well as the murder of at least one adult female. One of the most prominent and single-handedly shocking diatribes that come to my mind is well delivered by Peter, which, I must point out, is delivered along with great accents and ends unbearably smoothly.
In spite of the holes in the plot, which Joe Ma and Susan Chan definitely have some blame to take for, I will say that NUDE FEAR (also) is a film whose story stayed captivating when I viewed it the second time around. For the record, a good amount of other folks parts who I am sure helped shape this idea do work as signs of its quality production and as such have long eluded scholars, including producer Chung Chi Wing, cinematographer Keung Kwok Man, and editor Cheung Ka Fai. Like with the movie itself and the far too neglected primary controversial and non-A-list cast, it seems to me a rather unusual tragedy that the claim of these people has not received more acclaim.
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