Naked Poison		Return to Review Archive - N
	Year:	2000	Samuel Leung
	Director:	Cash Chin Man-Kei
	Producer:	Lee Siu-Kei
	Cast:	Sophie Ngan Chin-Man, Gwennie Tam Gwen-Yi, Samuel Leung Cheuk-Moon
	The Skinny:	This sleazy thriller recalls the glory days of Category III smut. What that means is the movie isn't very good, but also possesses an outlandishly sick edge which makes it somewhat watchable. Featuring "points" from Sophie Ngan.
	Review by Kozo:	Prototypical Category 3 smut about twisted loser Min (Samuel Leung) who inherits his grandfather's Chinese medicine store and proceeds to whip up aphrodisiacs that allow him to get it on with fine babes—and maybe some not-so-fine ones. Min seems like a nice guy, as he's tortured at work by evil people like coworker Winnie (Sophie Ngan). However, he has a dark side, which surfaces when his grandpa dies via snake bite while he watches perversely. Also, he creates a "poison" which revs up the female sex drive and induces amnesia afterwards. Were this not just a film, Min would likely be a hero to the editors of Maxim magazine.      Sadly, the drug is also addictive, a property which Min uses to take over the company and generally get back at those who have wronged him. He also proceeds to lose all sense of morality and begins to rape, pillage and murder. Model Gwennie Tam shows up as Ling, a kind coworker who apparently wouldn't mind being Min's girlfriend. You'd think such a boon would smarten the guy up, but unfortunately Min's journey to the dark side turns Ling from potential savior to potential victim.      Overall, this is odious stuff from "Cash" Chin that recalls the sleazy Category III flicks of the early to mid-nineties. What that means is the sickness is so over-the-top that the film can become strangely watchable in that rubbernecking-at-the-accident sort of way. Director Chin (The Fruit is Swelling, Sex and Zen 2) doesn't go easy on the sick stuff, so fans of the genre will likely go home happy. Samuel Leung inhabits Min remarkably well, as he—and we mean no offense here—really looks the part of a disaffected loser. Fans of Category IIB queen Sophie Ngan get the added bonus of "points," which is a term that will have meaning if you read HK newspapers, or frequent www.hkentreview.com. Given the type of film this is, discussion is useless. If you don't like this type of film, then you'll hate Naked Poison. If you do like this type of film...congratulations! (Kozo 2000)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Universe Laser Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Removable English and Chinese Subtitles
		image courtesy of www.filmplay.com
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