Wong Lo-Yiu suffers in Naked Human Nature.

Kitty Lai, Grace Kam, Sheena Cheung, Derek Wong, Vincent Luk Chun-Yin, Yaya Tse, Katie Kwok, Vincent Lo Chi-Hang, Masako Lai Yee-Lok, Ringo Kwong Chi-Ming, Wong Lo-Yiu, Lawrence Lai, Chan Lap-Man

Things go downhill from there. Lee Siu-Lung wrote and directed the second film, “Sin World”, dramatizing a real-life crime where a young man murdered his mother and sister. Shing (Vincent Luk) is a sweaty introvert who frequently has visions of S&M parties and moving manga panels running through his head. Then the pot boils over (Literally!) and he proceeds to murder his mother (Yaya Tse) and sister (Katie Kwok) in bloody, over-stylized detail. “Sin World” offers some exploration of Shing’s motives, but the revelations are prosaic and terribly one-note. Lee Siu-Lung seems more interested in bludgeoning the audience with extreme style and blood effects than digging that deeply into the ripped-from-the-headlines situation. Vincent Luk’s creepy performance, which is more of a caricature than a convincing portrait of a disturbed individual, doesn’t help matters.

Producer Nip Ling directs the final segment, “Cry 2”, a wordless tale about a woman (Wong Lo-Yiu) who’s stalked by a baseball cap-wearing scumbag (Lawrence Lai) before he kidnaps and rapes her. “Cry 2” should be commended for its attempt at placing an audience within the emotions of a rape victim, especially as she copes with the post-traumatic stress, and Wong Lo-Yiu gives a brave and revealing performance. However, some details are pandering (the rapist is depicted as a freak who licks the television while watching video of animal predators), and the whole thing is so pessimistic and uncomfortable to watch that it’s difficult to recommend. There’s decent meaning here but is it worth the 30 minutes of discomfort and gratuitous style required to reach it? I’m going to say “no.” Multiply that statement by three and you’ve got Naked Human Nature. (Kozo, 7/2013)