After a woman (Chan Ping) is brutally raped by a gang of thugs and contracts a deadly STD known as “Vietnam Rose,” she goes to work at a nightclub in order to learn kung fu from the streetwise owner (Lo Lieh) and exact revenge on her attackers.
The typical kung fu revenge plot gets a ‘contemporary’ and adult treatment when Chan Ping assumes the role of a rape victim out to neuter her attackers with a knife, pickaxe, or anything else she can get her hands on. The Kiss of Death is an exploitive category III film that initially revels in showing Chan in compromising situations, while ultimately showing her convincingly evolve from a frightened victim to a relentless man killer. The film’s adult material is not explicit, but is quite racy for 1973 and possibly even more so now for its political incorrectness. It will no doubt be offensive to sensitive viewers. It should also go without saying that this one is definitely not for the kiddies.
The Kiss of Death was Taiwanese actress Chan Ping’s first film with Shaw Brothers and immediately established her as a screen sex symbol. With a few notable exceptions, she would spend most of her eight-year film career starring in sexploitation films like Illicit Desire (1973) and The Girlie Bar (1976). Scribe Yau Gong-kin’s tale of rape and revenge was clearly meant to cash in on two of the most popular attractions for filmgoers, violence and sex. But Chan’s performance is exceedingly good in what would undoubtedly be a throwaway role with lesser talent.
Chan plays a 21-year old factory worker, who on her way home one night is chased by five men up to a rooftop where she is cornered and raped. She survives the painful encounter, but discovers that she now has a potentially lethal sexually transmitted disease as a result. After following a man (Simon Yuen) who she believes to be one of the attackers into a nightclub, she witnesses the owner’s competent fighting skills, in spite of having a gimpy leg. Under the pretense of needing work, Chan is hired by Lo Lieh and she eventually convinces him to train her so that she can get revenge. Not surprisingly, the two fall in love, but Chan keeps the relationship mostly platonic for obvious reasons. Eventually, one of the attackers (Kong Do) walks into the club. Chan convinces Kong Do to take her out for a date and she puts her training to use focusing on the weakest point of a man’s anatomy. Ironically, this proves to be the ultimate revenge for the crime committed against her. Thus begins a campaign of bloody violence as Chan learns the whereabouts of the remaining men. Along the way, the thugs attempt to kill her first and her roommate teaches Chan the art of tossing razor-edged playing cards. A final showdown takes place in a private casino where Chan walks into a trap and Lo Lieh races to help her before it is too late.
The Kiss of Death could have been a first-rate action/drama while retaining the existing grim tone. Rape is never a pretty topic, but it is an unfortunate reality and should not be disregarded as a plausible motivation for violent reaction. Had director Hoh Mung-wa chosen to be a little more discrete about the film’s subject matter overall, the story would have delivered more impact without becoming laughable at times. The importation of some kung fu action that belongs in a period film only makes matters worse. Initially, Chan’s plight is genuinely frightening. Her subsequent desire to fight back and get revenge is justifiable. But little scenes here and there remind us that we’re watching exploitation, such as when Chan is ‘innocently’ groped by her female costar Hui Siu-hung, pieces of Chan’s clothes are torn in battle, or the camera lingers at opportune moments. The worst scene is when Chan is taken by her friend to a private gynecologist in order to diagnose her disease. Warning bells should have gone off at the very suggestion, but she hesitantly goes and the viewer is subjected to an awkward scene where the old man proves to be every bit the pervert you would expect a gynecologist who locks his door and pulls the shudders to be.
The fighting in the film is very much in keeping with the popular style of the early ’70s when dealing with contemporary settings. The kung fu is rough with little attention paid to forms. Lo Lieh belts out some good moves while having to fake a bum left leg. His training of Chan Ping goes too smoothly though and she seems miraculously ready to fight to the death in record time. Chan doesn’t perform kung fu nearly as well as the reigning action starlets of her day like Angela Mao and Chang Pei Pei, but she does possess their charisma. By the end she acts tough enough to fight a room full of thugs even if she doesn’t move with the grace, speed, or power one would expect of her character. The film’s oddest action element is the razor-tipped playing cards. Imbedding poker cards into the wall seems more convincing when it is made clear that they have thin plates inside, but they still seem like impractical weapons for a woman to use against a mugger. I laughed when I saw one attacker get a face full of them.
It is impossible to take The Kiss of Death seriously on most levels. Violent but fanciful kung fu that is pretty mediocre, unsavory or gratuitous sex and nudity, and some abrupt editing should illicit more laughter or groans than anything else. But then again, Chan and Lo both play their roles well. The simple premise of a woman getting revenge on the men who abused her is a nice contrast to the Dirty Harry style excesses of the era. This film would make a good remake by a director capable of more subtlety, but then it wouldn’t be a Shaw Brothers film. The bottom line is that The Kiss of Death is too awkwardly offensive to be a great exploitation film and too poorly choreographed to be an exciting action film.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Shaw Brothers
