An insightful look at the history of Hong Kong's exploitation cinema, from the early days of the Shaw Brothers and such shockers as "Killer Snakes" through to the advent of the Category III rating in 1988 and then the June 4th massacre in Beijing. The latter led to a panic in Hong Kong, before the Handover of the former UK colony to Mainland China, and a number of motion pictures proceeded to take freedom of speech (and sometimes political symbolism) to the extreme. This is the story of one of the most curious and invigorating periods in exploitation filmmaking.
Direction
Waddell clearly adores this trash—contagious energy throughout.
Production
Incredible access to rare clips and the actual weirdos who made them.
Director
Calum Waddell
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Category III rating was created partly to compete with booming home video porn—HK cinemas needed butts in seats, and government-regulated sleaze was the answer.
Josie Ho's presence matters: her father founded one of the studios pushing Category III boundaries, making her testimony literally inherited trauma disguised as industry history.
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