Naked Killer (1992)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Bare Essentials

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Fox recently released a collection of five Hong Kong kung-fu films ranging from classic to obscure, including the early Chow Yun-fat drama Hong Kong 1941 (1984), the Indiana Jones-type adventure Magnificent Warriors (1987) starring Michelle Yeoh, the bizarre Jackie Chan flick City Hunter (1992), based on a Japanese manga and the classic Yuen Wo-ping-directed Sammo Hung film Magnificent Butcher (1979). The most exciting of the collection, however, has to be Naked Killer (1992), a chicks-who-kick-ass film that played in 1994 at the Roxie Cinema to enthusiastic audiences. A once in a lifetime hit for director Clarence Fok (Yiu Leung Fok), Naked Killer stars the gorgeous Chingmy Yau (with her cute overbite) as the ill-tempered Kitty, who teams up with and learns from the more experienced killer Sister Cindy (Wai Yiu). Kitty's involvement with a lily-livered cop (Simon Yam) causes all hell to break loose, and two former students of Cindy's -- Princess (Carrie Ng) and Baby (Madoka Sugawara) -- come gunning for her. Fok's smooth direction effortlessly and clearly captures the action, so that no spectacular move goes unseen. Of course, the women dress in everything from tight leather to sleek evening dresses and they always look great, especially when they openly flirt with each other. (It's a real male fantasy film.) Despite the title, however, no one appears naked (except for a brief glimpse during the opening titles). The Hong Kong film industry draws a strict line between actresses who appear naked and actresses who don't, and the good roles only go to the latter group. Fox beautifully presents a clean, wide-screen transfer of the film, available in both English and Chinese. The DVD also comes with an arty "beautiful Hong Kong girls" gallery, several interviews, promo materials, and trailers.