Review of The Rapist

The Rapist (1994)
9/10
Tun Men Se Mo
8 May 2014
On August 9, 1993, Lam Kwok-wai was arrested by the Hong Kong police. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of robbery and eight of rape. He was also charged with and convicted of 3 murders. This film was released on December 30, 1994; some would call that indecent haste. His appeal was dismissed on August 15, 1995, so his crimes were still very much in the public consciousness when Chuen-Yee Cha put together this low budget, much under-rated and clearly misunderstood film.

There are attempts at humour, but he has taken few liberties with the real story. The rape scenes are graphic, especially the last one, which is very long, but this is not a grindhouse exploitation film, anything but. Dickson Lee Ga-Sing turns in a stellar performance as the deluded villain, a man who attacks a girl, rapes her, asks her to be his girlfriend, then denounces her as a bitch when she leads him into a police trap.

If like some you watch this film and see only misogyny, watch it again with your eyes open.
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