Director: Dennis Yu
Year: 1980
Country: Hong Kong
Alternate Titles: San gau
Genre: Rape-Revenge; Exploitation
Plot:
Heading off on a trip together, a group of friends finds their trip spoiled by a group of thugs who end up raping one of the girls and murdering her brother, but when they’re unable to be charged for the crime their father sets out on a crusade of vengeance against the thugs for what they did to his family.
Review:
There’s quite a lot to like about the film. Among the better elements featured here is the outright sleaze present that makes this feel down and dirty. This gets intense almost immediately with the pre-credit sequence showing the bandits catching and slaughtering a pig in the middle of the jungle which is a feature carried over into other parts of the film where the group is shown catching and killing animals to eat before turning their attention to the friends camping. Beyond the animal violence, there’s a lot of sliminess and disgust dripping off the attitude of the thugs where the instigating rape that propels the movie forward is appropriately sleazy and disturbing. Given that this goes for the explicit in the encounter focusing on the group overpowering, stripping, and forcing themselves on her in quite graphic close-ups allows for a generally unpleasant sequence that continues with the accidental death of the brother trying to bring them to justice shortly after the attack which sets the rest of the film in motion.
Featuring that appropriate setup in the first half, the film has a lot to like with the revenge part of its setup. Since they go free, we’re treated to several fun scenes of the group running amok in town trying to intimidate anyone else from coming forward against them, there’s enough action to be had here before getting to the full-on revenge aspects. Rather than go for catharsis in the exploits against the thugs, Yu this one goes for the jugular with a vengeance as the deaths doled out are quite brutal, graphic, and generally emotionless as he is out purely to make sure they die as a result rather than teach a lesson. That ensures the low-rent nature of the traps and encounters are realistic and capable of appearing as something a person could realistically manufacture in this scenario. Even better is the cheap but effective gore that adds a thrilling nature to the scenes and overall makes for a lot to like here.
There aren't a lot of flaws with this one yet they are pretty prominent. The biggest drawback will undoubtedly be the feeling that the violence and sleaze here border on the gratuitous due to the overall presentation featured here. The low-budget look and feel this creates is quite bleak with the attitude towards the thugs as well as the retribution carried out later that comes across more like a gleeful reveling of sleaze than outright condemnation. That difference in tone is a key part of the grubby, slimy atmosphere which might not be something all viewers are appreciative of. As well, there’s also the issue of the film running through the usual tropes of the genre which isn’t a fault of this one but of every film that attempts this style. It’s no surprise the first third climaxes with the rape of the protagonist, followed by the events that allow the guilty to go free and finish off with the torture of the group that committed the crime. It’s no surprise what’s going on and can make this feel no different from other, better entries in the style by going through the motions like it does, however, these aren’t truly detrimental factors against the film overall.
Overview: ***/5
Featuring plenty of sleaze and a grimy atmosphere that’s engaging if not entirely original or special, this one emerges as a general curiosity in the genre rather than becoming anything more which potentially is the point behind it. Fans of the more exploitation-heavy side of the genre or curious about an Asian take on the Rape/Revenge style are well-advised to look into this one while most others and especially those with little interest or tolerance for the style should heed caution in favor of other entries.
This review was originally written for Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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