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Escape from Brothel (1992)

Dir: Lung Wei Wang

Hung (Pauline Chan Bo-Lin, who recently committed suicide) was married off to a low life character leaving her true love, Sam (Alex Fong, best known for being in the highly successful "Angel" series with Moon Lee) behind in China when she moved to Hong Kong. Sold into prostitution by her Husband to cover a debt, she now leads a life of humiliation with her friend Ann (Reina Murakami).

Sam is told by two friends that they have a chance to be smuggled into Hong Kong to do a job, and Sam jumps at the chance to see Hung.
When he gets there Sam finds out that the job is really a robbery as part of an insurance scam. When it goes wrong Sam goes on the run from the Cops and those that hired him who want kill him to shut him up.
He locates Hung, and finds out the truth of her life...

 

This infamous bit of CAT III history (1992), may be tame compared to some of the later CAT III films but it still delivers the exploitative groceries in bulging bags.
Directed by Lung Wei Wang, who directed the Andy Lau starrer "Bloody Brotherhood" and the femme action film "Widow Warriors", it's a sleazy tale, packed with sex, nudity and a splash of the red stuff.
Heavily cut in the UK, this is typical Hong Kong exploitation. Whereas the Japanese avoid or 'fog' nudity, the Chinese have no such hang-ups. And "Brothel" is loaded with full frontal female nudity... completely exploitative. So it's doing its job well.

The sex scenes vary from the comical (with Hung and Ann trying not to look too bored as they moan and groan to please their huffing and puffing clients) to the downright nasty...typical HK mix in fact.
The infamous scene where Ann is made to abuse Hung with a baseball bat is not that explicit but still makes you glad your Family aren't there to point fingers and question your twisted morals!

None of the sex is erotic, but Chan and Murakami look fantastic and have no hang-ups when it comes to the close up nudity. None of your American body double rubbish here! Neve Campbell take note!!
But some of the sex scenes play like a straight porn flick, and the story is put one hold for various soft-core fumblings and thrustings.

There is not much of the damaging humour that some CAT III films clumsily shoe horn into their running times...but one slapstick scene where Hung attempts to hide Sam from her Madam (complete with comical piano tinkling) is wildly out of place and, of course, very embarrassing.

The violence is brief until the full-blooded finale, although one scene where a woman is strung up and has her nipples wired to a portable electric generator is strong stuff and is classic CAT III sleaze.
The finale, as stated, is where the blood comes in. Some splattery head shots and nasty knife wounds (including a bit of intestine action) are added to bruising hand to hand fights.
The end will leave not many happy viewers, as full CAT III nastiness is unleashed on our tragic lovers.

So, not art. Oh no, definitely not art, but it piles on the sex and nekkid ladies and mixes in some nasty violence at the end.
Not prime CAT III meat maybe but still a very satisfying munch on a, politically incorrect stuffed, sleaze sandwich.
The HK DVD is as basic as they come though...it's full screen with no menu or even chapters!