Daughter of Darkness

Rating:
Summary: Interesting film
Review: But that's about all you can say. Yes, it makes its point 3000 times over, that's easy to see, but it's also sloppy. It can't decide if it wants to be softcore porn or slasher film, and in the end fails on both counts. Most characters are too caricateurish to be taken even half-seriously. The whole thing just doesn't hold up as a solid story. The poorly-translated subtitles provide some unintentional laughs.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, but still decent
Review: I feel like I should give this more stars, because I sincerely liked this movie, but my critical side says, "NO."
This is the only DVD of the movie you can get, and despite the rating of Category III, it has VERY obviously been censored at several points. Two examples that readily come to mind are when she's stabbing her brother and when her father covers her with icing.
They don't even try to hide the fact that it's censored, it's just, "First stab, cut to her looking up, blood-spattered, and moving on to the next kill."
I think that's what bothered me the most, the fact that the film was built up to the final murder scene, and they toned down the shock factor.
Also, the film grain and coloring changes every now and then, obviously taken from seperate reels. More of an annoyance than anything, really.
Otherwise, the movie is great. Some of the characters may seem a bit extreme, but have you SEEN some mothers yell at their daughters?!? The parts where she calls her daughter a "demon" for no real reason is what hit me the most, as I know more than one asian girl whose mother has called her that.
The subtitles are HORRIBLY translated, so be warned about that. ("Fong, how's up?")
It's actually a dark comedy more than anything else for the majority of the movie, when you're following around the immensely perverted yet dutiful investigator of the case and his loyal assistant.
The movie begins as a tragedy when the confession begins, and even then it cuts back to the investigator a couple of times for a quick laugh. Wholly inappropriate after a rape scene, if you ask me.
In general, worth a watch if you're a fan of revenge movies or asian cinema. No others need apply.

Rating:
Summary: Eeewwww...but wait, there's more...
Review: This incredibly shocking Category III film (Asian Culture's equivilant of NC-17) is one of the most disturbing and distressing films I have ever seen, but there's more here than just exploitation and splatter for their own sake. It's also one of the most virile and potent indictments of the permissiveness of Asian culture, and of the collapse of the traditional family structure. In that way, it has far more in common with the more "elevated" examples of the genre to which it belongs...namely, several of the films by avant garde director Takashi Miike. Miike's films often revolve around the disintegration of the Asian Family, and "Daughter of Darkness"...knowingly or not...accomplishes much the same purpose. Mindless splatter film or social commentary? Who knows. Either way, you'll feel the pain, and you'll walk away from this film feeling a bit "dirty", and more than a little bit shaken. After all, that's the point of horror, right?
Recommended, but definitely not for the weak of stomach or the feeble of mind.
This is filmmaking with a bite...or a stab...or a slash...