MURDERER PURSUES is a virtually unknown and forgotten Shaw Brothers thriller that turns out to be surprisingly great. It's a contemporary story looking at the plight of the Vietnamese boat people. Five friends head across to Hong Kong where one of them becomes a cop while the others turn to crime. Months later their paths cross once more when a sadistic criminal bent on revenge begins to hunt members of the group.
There's a lack of star wattage here but the film turns out to be thoroughly compelling. It's a dark and gritty fable filled with harsh violence. Characters are tortured to death with boiling water and are frequently shot and stabbed. Wang Chung, a former Shaw star, directs and does a very good job of it too. The genuinely Vietnamese Ray Lui is solid as the hero but inevitably the stand-out turn is from Danny Lee, playing in support as the leader of the robber gang. Kent Cheng is great fun as always. The villain is particularly ruthless and shot in a way reminiscent of the horror genre. The action-packed story is filled with incident including fights and chases and fuelled with rage, building to a rooftop climax that doesn't disappoint.
There's a lack of star wattage here but the film turns out to be thoroughly compelling. It's a dark and gritty fable filled with harsh violence. Characters are tortured to death with boiling water and are frequently shot and stabbed. Wang Chung, a former Shaw star, directs and does a very good job of it too. The genuinely Vietnamese Ray Lui is solid as the hero but inevitably the stand-out turn is from Danny Lee, playing in support as the leader of the robber gang. Kent Cheng is great fun as always. The villain is particularly ruthless and shot in a way reminiscent of the horror genre. The action-packed story is filled with incident including fights and chases and fuelled with rage, building to a rooftop climax that doesn't disappoint.
