I remember having this movie on VHS way back in the early 90's, and remembered the movie to be fairly alright, so I got it on DVD here in 2012, many years after having thrown out the VHS version. But of course, I have always been a fan of Hong Kong cinema, so it was just a matter of time before it would end up in the movie collection again.
The story in "Naked Killer" is about the young, attractive and flirtatious Kitty (played by Chingmy Yau) who end up in training at Sister Cindy (played by Wai Yiu) to become a professional killer, using her looks and sexual appeal to get close to the targets and then eliminate the target. However, Kitty falls in love with police man Tinam (played by Simon Yam) and is torn between loyalty towards her mentor and the love for Tinam.
"Naked Killer" takes your average Hong Kong action movie from the 1990's and spices it up with a healthy dose of sexual flavor, like that seen in "La Femme Nikita" and "Basic Instict". The story itself, despite being fairly shallow, is entertaining enough. And it is helped along by the action and gun fights, which of course is a given trademark for the Hong Kong movies from that particular period. But, of course, it is no secret that the movie her really plays on the sexual appeal and makes heavy use of semi-sexual contents, which can be discussed whether or not it was really all that necessary. And oddly enough, there wasn't actually much killing going on in the movie, despite many of the characters were professional contract killers - kind of anti-climatic in a way.
Those familiar with Hong Kong cinema will of course be familiar with this, at the time of its release, very controversial movie. And it was of course also the movie that put Chingmy Yau on the map. And you have Simon Yam, of course, though his character was a bit too much (as a police man who accidentally having shot his own brother, and now vomits every time he just holds a gun - it was just a bit too unrealistic), but still, he is a familiar face in Hong Kong cinema. And it should also be said that Carrie Ng (playing Princess) actually did a great job in this movie as well.
"Naked Killer" is well worth checking out, especially if you have an interest in the 90's wave of Hong Kong action movies. Chingmy Yau is the female equivalent to femme action movie as Chow Yun Fat was to the male action movies to come from Hong Kong in the 90's.
I enjoyed the movie back in the early 90's, and I enjoyed it still here in 2012. I would have give the movie a 6/10 rating, but settled on a 5/10 rating because, in my opinion, there was just a little bit too much focus on the sex scenes and the usage of sexual situations. Hong Kong Legends have a fabulous digitally restored and remastered version out of DVD that is well worth checking out and it comes with some good extra material as well.
