Fatal Termination
 
Director: Andrew Kam
Year: 1990
Rating: 6.0
Hong Kong newspapers reported last week that after 32 years of analysis Chan Cheuk-yan was released from the state mental hospital after being declared no longer a danger to herself. But as soon as she saw a speeding car, she clutched her hair and ran back inside. She is best known as the young girl actress in the 1990 film Fatal Termination.

Seriously, how could the director Andrew Kam and the producers D&B not have been jailed for child abuse. This film is famous for one scene and it is a palooza. Seeing it again after many years I was just as flabbergasted with my jaw hitting the floor as the first time. It went on for much longer than I had remembered to the point of cruelty. A true only in Hong Kong scene. And I had completely forgotten what happened to the little tyke after that. She of course did not end up in a mental hospital but in fact played the young Wonder Woman aka Anita Mui in Heroic Trio. But I bet she recalls that filming to this day. I am sure it was safe but it sure looks dangerous as hell. One thing going wrong would have splattered her all over the road like a broken egg. Her parents should probably have gone to jail as well but hell it is show business.



For the first hour of this film it is a standard crime movie with a few action scenes and then it goes bonkers - completely jumps the train track. Moon Lee who had played a sweet wife and mother for much of the film - disappointing her fans - goes fucking nuts when her child is threatened. Just blasting away with a machine gun in a primal scream. Arab terrorists are in Hong Kong to buy weapons and their point man is Ko Mok-fu played with vicious glee by Phillip Ko. He bribes the venal Custom Officer Robin (Robin Shou) and two of his men to allow a shipment at the airport to go through. But they in fact steal it and demand more money. At the same time a police officer from the Political Department played by Simon Yam shows up to arrest one of the terrorists at the airport and a big gunfight breaks out. He suspects that something funny is going on in customs but Shou manages to lay the blame off on Michael Miu Kiu-wai who gets suspended. He happens to be the brother of Moon who is married to Ray Lui who is also a cop. They have an adorable little girl named Yan Yan.



Double crosses pile up like double decker buses at rush hour and everyone wants to kill everyone. All fairly standard so far - decent but the directing is wobbly with scenes suddenly cut off and a lack of common sense. Hard to read subtitles didn't help but you don't need subtitles to understand what comes next. Ko Mok-fu thinks that Ray Lui knows where his arms shipment is and so has his men kidnap Yan Yan in her pink tutu and hold her by her hair outside of a speeding car with Moon on the hood of the car punching through the windshield. Moon finally does and throws one guy out of the car while strangling the driver while this wild-eyed Gweilo is holding the girl. This car ride lasts for two minutes but it feels like an eternity. And then it really gets nasty. Insane final thirty minutes.