Trust Me U Die (1999)

Director: Billy Chung (Siu Hung)

Producer: Charles Tang

Cast: Simon Yam Tat-Wah, Mark Cheng Ho-Nam, Sam Lee Chan Sam, Chan Ying Lai

Running Time: 94 min.

Plot: See Gwailo's review below.

GWAILO'S REVIEW: Billy Chung Siu-hung's (Love to Kill, Esprit D'Amour) films are so-so at best. He is a very inconsistent filmmaker. His genre jumps with ease but upon arrival seems to waver in his delivery. He has employed Category III, Melo-drama, comedy, ghost story, swordplay, action - but his direction is mediocre in all. He seems to have the chops that bring big talent to his films - Anthony Wong and Danny Lee in Love to Kill, Ti Lung in High K, and Jordan Chan in The Cheaters. For Trust Me U Die, he taps Simon Yam, Mark Cheng, and Sam Lee.

In Trust Me U Die, Chung seems to have found his niche, blending bits of every genre he's worked in. The film is more of a pastiche than anything else, and this mixture makes for an odd, campy offering. The film elicits heavy handed melodrama, 'weird' comedy, and category III attributes, perhaps best described as Cat III-lite (rape scenes w/o T&A). The films opening is a cue for things to come. A jacked, greased up track runner takes on a sportscar in fast motion-ending with a bloody collision into a wall. One of the most odd, and funny, scenes I've ever seen.

Cut to doctor Simon Yam, working diligently in his London lab. Yam is experimenting with a new drug, SS 160, a 'super steroid'. The steroid is supposed to make the weak- strong and the ignorant-smart. A breed of 'super humans'. In walks a British prof. who pats Yam on the back for his work than calmly proceeds to tell him that he is going to take the credit for Yam's steroid. Bad idea. Yam takes down the doc and-without police investigation-travels back home to Hong Kong. Once there, Yam enlists the aide of an old med-school chum now doctor, Mark Cheng, to help him further his research. Yam also brings his gorgeous assistant/lover, Joey Tan, along.

Suddenly the film switches gears and we leave Yam in favor of Cheng and his vile exploits. Cheng dupes perfectly healthy patients into operations where he sells their organs on the black market. Cheng is also apparently a card carrying member of the 'spike drink gang' and injects Ms. Tan's Hi-C with downers and proceeds in raping her on a stretcher. Yam later finds out about his colleagues misbehavior and secretly uses Cheng as a human guinea pig to test his steroid. Unfortunately, Yam's new drug wasn't FDA approved and this brings about some disgusting to look at scenes for the viewer.

Also joining this sick ride is Sam Lee. He plays a whimpy cop who frequents whorehouses and runs for his life during robberies. Hurt in the line of duty-running from a crime-Yam injects him and Lee is transformed into a 'super cop'. Now he is arresting baddies with the greatest of ease and satisfying many a ho. Also included is a nasty scene where Lee is 'wanking', complaining about his overactive libido. At scenes end, Lee is left with a....er.....load on his forehead. Lee's scenes are genuinely funny and could only be found in a warped film like this.

Trust Me U Die is comic book colorful, illicits a rock-n-roll soundtrack and has an ample amount of english dialogue that makes it seem geared toward the west. This mean spirited, goofball of a movie squashes any social comment attempted by the makers - probably something about the HK medical profession or new medical advances - but when you watch, you will not give a crap. There are way too many subplots in the film that make it seem unfocused, but again, you will not give a crap. The main attraction seemed to be Simon Yam and his new uber drug but it switches to Cheng and his depraved medical practice, switching again to Lee and his silly shenanigans, finally coming full circle and settling on Yam. If you can get past all these subplots, which really isn't hard to do, the film can be campy fun.

GWAILO'S RATING: 7.5/10