Best pals Yat-tiu (Sunny Chan) and Sam Cool (Alex Fong) are top triad hit men, until Yat-tiu starts an affair with Ling (Kathy Chow), sexy wife of crime boss Ma: caught in the act, Yat-tiu is forced to kill Ma, and finds himself on the run, accompanied by loyal pal Sam. After double-crossing, power hungry bitch Ling reveals the fugitive's whereabouts to the triads, they are attacked and left for dead (Sam is shot; Yat-tiu is not so lucky, being ass-raped by 14 triad members—Yowch!). Amazingly both men survive their ordeal, but their subsequent existence is a far cry from their triad days, Sam resorting to scratching a living as a low-rent killer while caring for Yat-tiu in the derelict building they now call home. Eventually, however, the opportunity arrives for the men to settle their score with treacherous Ling and her triad associates...
Hong Kong gangster films of the 80s/90s are renowned for their themes of honour, friendship, betrayal, and loyalty, as exemplified by the movies of John Woo, in which male characters would share such a strong sense of camaraderie that they would willingly risk their lives for each other. Cheap Killers, from director Clarence Ford, takes this male bonding to a whole new level, his two anti-heroes displaying such strong emotions towards each other that the film frequently verges on the homo-erotic, becoming rather comical as a result. Fortunately, Cheap Killers is not all thinly veiled gayness; when the guys aren't sharing a shower in the rain or having an affectionate man-hug, they're blasting and hacking people to death, making the film a satisfyingly brutal flick for any fan of the heroic bloodshed genre.
Hong Kong gangster films of the 80s/90s are renowned for their themes of honour, friendship, betrayal, and loyalty, as exemplified by the movies of John Woo, in which male characters would share such a strong sense of camaraderie that they would willingly risk their lives for each other. Cheap Killers, from director Clarence Ford, takes this male bonding to a whole new level, his two anti-heroes displaying such strong emotions towards each other that the film frequently verges on the homo-erotic, becoming rather comical as a result. Fortunately, Cheap Killers is not all thinly veiled gayness; when the guys aren't sharing a shower in the rain or having an affectionate man-hug, they're blasting and hacking people to death, making the film a satisfyingly brutal flick for any fan of the heroic bloodshed genre.