A naïve man named Lung (Poon Chun-Wai), desperate for a job, gets duped into being a bodyguard in a Hong Kong brothel. Meanwhile, a young woman, May (Cheung Choi-Mei) arrives in HK from Malaysia with dreams of becoming a famous singer. She too is immediately tricked and is forced to work in the same brothel that Lung has just taken a job at.
After a mysterious assailant kills one of the customers in the brothel, Lung and May flee together fearing that they'll be implicated in the murder. With nowhere to go, and her passport stolen, Lung takes pity on May and allows her to stay at his place. To comfort each other, they end up sleeping together.
Lung begins a new job at a nightclub run by 'Madam' (Margaret Lee), a tough businesswoman with much underworld clout. Madam becomes obsessed with Lung and, desperate to make him her plaything, attempts to trap him with the lure of money, lifestyle and sex. But when realises that Lung still loves May, Madam turns nasty and hatches a plot to drive them apart with disastrous results for all.
Brief Encounter is a small-scale erotic action / drama, with a minor cast, that still manages to be effective despite its limitations. The most recognisable faces in the cast are the always reliable Eddy Ko (Heroes Shed No Tears, 1986; Thundering Mantis, 1980) as a hitman who develops a bond with May, and perennial sleazebag Shum Wai (in what amounts to an extended cameo). The bulk of the film is carried by Cheung Choi-Mei and Poon Chun-Wai, who most viewers will recognise as 'Dick' from Pantyhose Hero, 1990. He is less memorable here and slightly bland for this particular role. However, top marks go to Margaret Lee (Centipede Horror, 1982; Red Panther, 1983) as the ruthless, sexed-up Madam. She plays each scene with a level of intensity, so you're never quite sure what her character is going to do next.
The steamy sex scenes are fairly strong but filmed with a bit more style than similarly budgeted films of the time. There's also quite a rough attempted rape to crank the sleaze levels up a few extra notches. The action is mainly courtesy of Eddie Ko's hitman character but there's also a decent enough massacre in a textile factory which ends the film on bloody and downbeat note.
3 out of 5
Review source: Rainbow Audio & Video, VHS (USA) (Cantonese language with English subtitles)
After a mysterious assailant kills one of the customers in the brothel, Lung and May flee together fearing that they'll be implicated in the murder. With nowhere to go, and her passport stolen, Lung takes pity on May and allows her to stay at his place. To comfort each other, they end up sleeping together.
Lung begins a new job at a nightclub run by 'Madam' (Margaret Lee), a tough businesswoman with much underworld clout. Madam becomes obsessed with Lung and, desperate to make him her plaything, attempts to trap him with the lure of money, lifestyle and sex. But when realises that Lung still loves May, Madam turns nasty and hatches a plot to drive them apart with disastrous results for all.
Brief Encounter is a small-scale erotic action / drama, with a minor cast, that still manages to be effective despite its limitations. The most recognisable faces in the cast are the always reliable Eddy Ko (Heroes Shed No Tears, 1986; Thundering Mantis, 1980) as a hitman who develops a bond with May, and perennial sleazebag Shum Wai (in what amounts to an extended cameo). The bulk of the film is carried by Cheung Choi-Mei and Poon Chun-Wai, who most viewers will recognise as 'Dick' from Pantyhose Hero, 1990. He is less memorable here and slightly bland for this particular role. However, top marks go to Margaret Lee (Centipede Horror, 1982; Red Panther, 1983) as the ruthless, sexed-up Madam. She plays each scene with a level of intensity, so you're never quite sure what her character is going to do next.
The steamy sex scenes are fairly strong but filmed with a bit more style than similarly budgeted films of the time. There's also quite a rough attempted rape to crank the sleaze levels up a few extra notches. The action is mainly courtesy of Eddie Ko's hitman character but there's also a decent enough massacre in a textile factory which ends the film on bloody and downbeat note.
3 out of 5
Review source: Rainbow Audio & Video, VHS (USA) (Cantonese language with English subtitles)