This June, Spectacle presents two classics of the ‘Girls With Guns’ genre- a style of Asian action films featuring strong female leads packing serious amounts of heat and deadly kung-fu moves.
Originated by 50s Japanese B-movie icon Seitaro Suzuki and popularized during the 80s and 90s, these films are now considered commonplace amongst the Hollywood landscape, usually festering in video game adaptations (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) or genre pastiche (Kill Bill).
The best ones, however, not only feature visceral gunplay and hire-wire martial art acts, but also situate the female lead as the dominating hero warrior over the weaker sex, in both the fabric of the film and in Asian society.
Luckily, we’ve picked two of the best. Hold on to your butts, because they’re about to get picked up and slammed.
NAKED KILLER
Dir. Clarence Fok Yiu-leung, 1992
Hong Kong, 93 min.
In Cantonese with English subtitles.
FRIDAY, JUNE 6 – 7:30 PM
MONDAY, JUNE 9 – 7:30 PM
THURSDAY, JUNE 19 – 10 PM
FRIDAY, JUNE 27 – 10 PM
A gleefully sleazy, over-the-top CAT III camp romp about dueling lesbian contract killers and the impotent policeman caught in the middle, NAKED KILLER is a joyous ode to all things (s)excessive.
Following a traumatic crime bust gone awry, Hong Kong cop Taninan can’t seem to perform in the line of duty or in the bedroom… until he meets the enchanting seductress/killer Kitty. Their tango is soon cut short by Sister Candy, a veteran assassin who snatches Kitty away and teaches her the ways of professional execution and how to tap into her sensual side. Almost just as quick, two of Sister Candy’s previous students show up to murder their former teacher, prompting an all-out lesbian assassin war.
With tongue planted firmly in-cheek, director Fok Yiu Leung crosses titillating eroticism with a strong sociological undercurrent denouncing male piggishness. But he also knows how to entertain, and wildly so: copious amounts of milk drinking, dick slicing, office shoot-’em-ups, underwater knife fights, and Skinemax soft-core lesbian playfulness all wrapped up in a engrossing amount of 90s neon bliss… it’s all here and then some.
This is the 1992 summer action blockbuster you deserve.
“Imagine the erotic world of Basic Instinct exaggerated into a kung-fu cartoon of sexy lesbian avengers executing quadruple leaping somersaults in a deadly assault against the opposite sex.” -The New York Times
“John Woo on acid… Naked Killer breaks Mach 5 within the first 10 minutes and never lets up. Bursting with colorful lighting, angles, and set pieces, it’s a panoply of Nineties sex and violence, decadence for decadence’s sake, with little moralizing thrown in. A genuine crowd-pleaser…” -The Austin Chronicle
“It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before… a stylized girlie graphic novelization of psycho hot babe killers as channeled through and re-imagined by Quentin Tarantino… Naked Killer is girl power gone gonzo, a geek’s wet dream doused with libido lightening messages about Chinese society’s misogyny.” -Pop Matters
YES, MADAM
(aka Police Assassins)
Dir. Corey Yuen, 1985
Hong Kong, 90 min.
In Cantonese with English subtitles.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4 – 10 PM
TUESDAY, JUNE 17 – 10 PM
FRIDAY, JUNE 27 – 7:30 PM
A female buddy-cop/martial-arts movie featuring international stars Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock in their breakout roles, YES, MADAM follows Inspector Ng (Yeoh) teaming up with Scottish investigator Carrie Morris (Rothrock) to get on the trail of a crooked businessman hellbent on getting an incriminating piece of microfilm back from a bubbling group of low-level criminals who stole it.
The first significant roles for both leading ladies (Yeoh a former beauty queen and Rothrock a former marital arts instructor), the film became a critical and commercial success and launched the careers of both women, with subsequent sequels and spin-offs for the YES, MADAM franchise. Most importantly, it provided the blueprint for all future ‘girls with guns’ films: an equal mixture of acrobatic spectacle and determined heart.