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 ven in the rancid depths of category III cinema,
there is bad taste, and then there is bad taste. Ivan Lei, director of such
redoubtable classics as "Ancient Chinese Whorehouse" and "The
Peeping Tom", is a master of bad taste of the highest order. His
seminal "Daughter of Darkness", an archetypal example of the
sleaziest reaches of the genre, is a perfect case in point. The viewer is
not so much made aware of this from the very start as beaten around the head
with it, as the opening sequences revolve around Police Officer Lui
(unsurprisingly played by Anthony Wong) investigating the scene of a
bloody domestic massacre. His techniques involve asking surviving relatives
whether or not everyone in their family had 'big tits', and claiming to be
able to ascertain a victim's time of death by fondling their naked breasts.
This pretty much sets the tone
for the whole film, though it very rapidly eschews humour in favour of some
truly nauseating shocks and some of the most questionable content ever to
grace category III cinema. Though it is made with a reasonable amount of
skill and polish, and entertains in a morbidly fascinating way, make no
mistake about it: "Daughter of Darkness" is not a film to be taken
lightly, or for viewers unprepared to withstand the almost physical assault
it delivers.
Supposedly based on an actual case, the plot follows
the popular 'true crime' structure also used in films such as "Human
Pork Chop" and "There
is a Secret in my Soup", beginning with a police investigation
and revealing the horrors of the story via a series of flashbacks. The
story in question is a real anti-Cinderella of a tale, whereby a poor
girl, Wei-Fong (played by Lily Chung, seen in many category III films,
notably the director's infamous "Red
to Kill") suffers shocking treatment from her family and brutal
sexual abuse from her father (Ka-Kui Ho, a prolific genre actor, also in
"Bloody Beast" and "Story
of Ricky"). Despite trying to free herself from this terrible
situation, and her understandably concerned boyfriend's rescue attempts,
Wei-Fong's father uses blackmail and worse to keep her at home and within
reach of his drunken advances. Finally, after an unbelievable amount of
abuse, Wei-Fong snaps and slaughters her whole family in an orgy of
bloody, but justified, carnage.
The film is exactly as lurid as the plot suggests,
and perhaps even more so, if that is possible. In addition to the frequent
scenes of Wei-Fong being abused, there is a great deal of pointless,
gratuitous footage of her having sex with her boyfriend (Hugo Ng, also in
the similarly titled and themed "Brother of Darkness").
Presumably this is designed to serve as some kind of romantic counterpart
to the shocking, graphic abuse Wei-Fong suffers at the hands of her
father. However, being that both types of sexual encounters are shot in a
cheap, sub-pornographic manner, complete with ridiculous mock orgasms, it
makes it very difficult to count Wei-Fong's scenes with her boyfriend as
anything other than additions to the film's exploitation quotient.
All of the scenes of abuse feature Lily Chung nude or
in varying states of undress, and the way the camera lingers on her
breasts leave little doubt that director Lei was aiming for some kind of
sick titillation. This leaves the viewer feeling very uncomfortable,
almost with the impression of being implicated in the awful crimes of the
rapist father. Nevertheless, Lei's direction, in general, is actually
quite good, mainly as he keeps things moving along quickly. There is a
fair amount of tension built as the abuse escalates, along with a mounting
sense of horror that the viewer feels as the film reaches its climax.
The actual story does carry an emotional impact
beyond the graphic content, and the viewer does feel sympathy for poor
Chung, as Lei spends a fair amount of time fleshing out her character.
Although her relationship with her boyfriend does feel tacked on, the
incredibly gory finale genuinely rouses the viewer as Wei-Fong takes her
family, and her monstrous father in particular, to task. It is perhaps
worth noting for completists that many versions of the DVD have a censored
version of this scene, showing only two of the times she stabs the father
in the neck instead of the actual ten featured in the outstandingly brutal
uncut edition.
Special mention must go to Lily Chung, who manages to
win over viewers with an effective performance in such a demeaning,
thankless role. Ms. Chung spends almost half the film naked and suffering
unspeakable torment, much as she did in many other films, including "Eternal
Evil of Asia" and "Fatal Obsession". Although quite
obviously typecast in the role of victim, Chung is always an appealing
actress, and it's a shame that she was never given more of a chance to
stretch her range. And of course Anthony Wong turns in his usual
charismatic performance, though he is mostly relegated to the sidelines
and used for only occasional comedy relief, which is probably just as
well, as the tone of the film is already uncertain enough.
Chung's performance and Lei's direction aside, it
should be pretty clear that "Daughter of Darkness" is a film for
a select audience only. Although well made, tense and featuring an
exciting final scene, its sheer volume of sleaze and abuse on display
undoubtedly places it on the further reaches of extreme cinema. For the
converted, however, it is superior to the vast majority of its peers,
coming highly recommended as an almost definitive example of its type.
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