Running Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: N/R, probably NC-17
Format: Widescreen 1.87:1
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: Cantonese
Subtitles: Chinese, English, Thai, Vietnamese, and Spanish
Region: All
MSRP: $49.95 (OOP)

Own It!
Naked Killer (1995) (Import)

Kitty (Chingmy Yau) is a violently inclined young woman who becomes a high paid assassin after her father is killed by her stepmother's adultererous boyfriend. Trained by the more experienced Cindy (Kelly Yao), Kitty learns how to use her body and her sexuality as a weapon. But this does not go unnoticed by Tinam (Simon Yam), a cop who knew Kitty in her former life, or by Princess (Carrie Ng), a particularly jealous former student of Cindy's.

Naked Killer is considered an Asian exploitation classic, basically because of its hardcore violence, especially against very personal male body parts. Despite the word "naked" in the title, the sex is pretty tame, and none of the lead actresses take their clothes off. But the action scenes are shot well, and the movie as a whole is very stylish. It definitely falls in the "must be seen to be believed" category.

The picture is soft, and the remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 sound lacks direction. The sound effects don't sound as bad as some other Media Asia's other discs, but the music occasionally warbles.

There is a somewhat puzzling bug in the transfer. Starting at timecode 46:21 and for the entirety of the following scene where Yam and his partner visit Yau at her house, a little artifact sticks down from the top matte. However, the artifact only appears in shots that don't involve Yau, which means it was probably a problem with the camera that was used to shoot Yam's close-ups.

More importantly, the print used for the DVD is uncut for violence and sex. Previous versions of this film were cut for either one or the other.

The DVD includes English subtitles, which are essentially the same as the infamously funny and incoherent ones that this movie has had ever since it was in the theaters. However, the subs have been given a slight rewrite that has made them less funny but no more comprehensible.

The trailer to Naked Killer is included, and it incorporates some footage that has nothing to with the movie (a shot of the three female leads in superhero masks, a shot of a hand reaching for a knife past a woman's backside). Some of this footage is also edited into the film's title credits. There are also trailers for A Moment of Romance, Black Cat, and Black Cat 2.

Scott Hamilton