THE PEEPING TOM (1997)
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YOWZA! Japanese AV "actress" Miho Nimoto blazes up this poster for Ivan Lai Gai-ming's 1997 CAT III beauty, THE PEEPING TOM.
Though only a bit player in the film, Miho is nips and bounds (See the
movie. You'll get it. wakka wakka wakka) the main attraction. A few
years past the CAT III prime, a film sporting this rating was usually a
shot-on-vid embarrassment. This film, not so.
Jade Leung Chang plays a hottie Police Officer who catches the sicko eye
of local perv Mark Cheng Ho-nam. Cheng is a rapist/killer on the
rampage who's hobby is to record ALL of his dastardly deeds for
posterity. Enamored with Ms. Leung at first sight, Cheng erects a
scheme to snare her into his dirty lair. Primo CAT III stuff. Below is
an oldie review I did for Cityonfire.com. It's about 15 years old and
shows it's, and my, age. Enjoy!
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The degradation dependable Ivan Lai comes up with another genre
winner. The Peeing Tom is Lai's 1996 effort to keep hope alive for the
diminished Cat III industry and deserves a piece of the mantle along side
his Daughter of Darkness films. The peeper of the title is a nasty throwback
to the cut 'em up villains of the early 90's like Simon Yam's Dr. Lamb
and Anthony Wong's Bunman. Mark Cheng gives a stylish and eerie performance
as the sadist with a camcorder. Wielding an aluminum bat, he abducts beauties
of the late night HK streets, takes them back to his den of ill repute,
and films them as they scream bloody murder.
On a fateful
day, Cheng, strolling the streets of HK with camera in tow witnesses and
films a police shootout, and here, becomes infatuated with super lady cop
Jade Leung. For the next hour it's a cat and mouse game as Leung and her
police cohorts mount the usual worthless investigation and try to catch
the perverted Cheng before he gets to his object of affection. The title
of the film more than meets it's expectations. This isn't Cat I family
fare and TPT delivers the goods in boobs-n-blood.
There are ample
amounts of body parts on display, intact and dismembered, whatever your
liking. Japanese beauty Miho Nomoto is exposed for most of her screen time,
for no apparent plot reasons, but for the pervs in the audience, and she
gives us a lesson in abstinence while in the shower. Along with the genres
wagon load of nudity we also get the usual power tool to the flesh and
rivers of blood. Cheng adopts his disaffected outsider with creepiness
and impending psychosis. There's a great leg (pun intended-you'll see)
in the film where Cheng freaks us out by pulling a Chungking Express Faye
Wong-sans the Garfield stuffed animal-and sneaks into Leung's apartment.
Once inside
he films her intimate surroundings, eats noodles, watches some anime, takes
a bath, sniffs her under-things and enjoys a cat nap. All cool psycho behavior.
But here's the rub that keeps it from the top of the genre heap. There
is no rhyme or reason to his psychosis; he's just crazy for the films sake.
The little reasoning offered at films end is poor and mars the effect of
the previous hour and a half's madness.
The genre has
been done to death, unfortunately, and the characterization of Cheng, which
starts off promising, is reduced, into a flimsy carbon copy of the original
baddies from the hey-day. That being said, the production is nicely mounted,
as the city locales are well utilized. The direction by Lai is solid and
the cinematography is atmospheric, colorful, and grimy enough for Cheng
to hack into his work. It's all been done before but I don't care. TPT
set out what it intended to do, shock and titillate. There's not much more
you can ask of the genre.
