Run and Kill is another movie rated Category III (CAT III) by the Hong Kong film censors, so it must contains excessive sexual content or extreme violence, the only CAT III element in Run and kill is the violence, nothing more.Run and Kill is directed by Billy Tang, director of some memorable CAT III's like: Dr.Lamb and Red To Kill.Plot: Cheng (nicknamed as Fatty) is having a good life, married, with a daughter and a job. But his life is going to get destroyed, when is returning home he finds his wife having sex with another man. Fatty get's depressed and he goes in a bar getting drunk, he "accidentaly" hires a hit-man for kill his wife. Now Fatty is in trouble, not because of his wife murder, but he also don't have the money for pay the hit-man ! Now Fatty is going to start a violent trip in hell......The first time i saw Run and Kill i thought that it was just "okay", but then, i watched the Austrian DVD by Illusions UNLTD films i liked it more. The DVD from Illusions UNLTD films contains a far better transfer and according to some reviews this version contains far more violence, that was previously trimmed, but i can't really make a quick comparsion, i don't remember of major differences.The highlights of the cast goes to: Simon Yam (playing a sadistic war veteran) and Danny Lee (playing a police inspector).Run and Kill is a good CAT III, maybe not with many CAT III elements, but it's still recommended

"Fight! Fight! Between the heavy and the light! The light don't win, we all jump in!" I'll never forget that chant. When I was young and whenever there was a height/weight disadvantage someone would begin chanting this. It was never really a serious threat, since the chant would make the bigger person almost always not try as hard, and usually making the fight into a tie. Why did I think of this? Because in this movie, you're rooting for the fat guy! Sure I've rooted for a fat guy before...maybe in a WWF or MMA match, but not in a flick I don't think. Upp, I did want Lardass in Stand By Me to get revenge. But in a violent, gritty, next-move-could-be-fatal type of way, never. Until now! Go Fatty! Run and Kill starts off with a guy named "Fatty" accidentally putting a "hit" on his wife. His wife cheated on him, so he went to the club got really drunk and started slurring around the wrong people. Well, what follows is a some of the worst luck a guy can go through. Run and Kill started off well with good character development, but then strayed off a little bit during the middle when Fatty was getting into more heat. Which is weird, you'd think it'd get more interesting. Not really. More characters were introduced at a fast rate, including the villain of the movie, but it all felt kinda jumbled and rushed. Truthfully, one moment I was watching Fatty do something with the cops, then suddenly I was watching a warehouse scene where guys were shooting at each other. Im still a tad confused if it was either Cops vs. Bad Guys or two warring groups. Anyways, that doesn't matter. What matters is what went on during the final 20 minutes.Run and Kill is another CATIII goodie from the director Billy Tang. Now seeing three of his movies, I can now easily pick his style from a group. That upward camera view close up on the bad guy. Nice stuff when looking for a menacing, insane look. The actors were all pretty good as well, especially Fatty and the Villain. Overall, Run and Kill was a pretty fun watch. It delivered the goods with acting, violence and camera work, but was kinda average with the story-telling. I enjoyed the story of revenge, the beginning and the end, but the middle not so much. Though I do recommend it to CATIII lovers out there.

Hin Sing 'Billy' Tang has directed many noteworthy pieces of cinema in Hong Kong. His work include Red to Kill (1994) and Dr. Lamb (1992, co-directed with Danny Lee), but I think Run and Kill (1993) is perhaps his masterpiece, at least from films he's directed completely himself. Run and Kill stars the "fatty" Kent Cheng as Cheung, a business man who has a beautiful wife and little girl. He lives peaceful life with his family and goes to work in his company everyday and is a good family father. One day after coming from work he learns his wife is cheating on him with another man, and he gets shocked very badly. He goes to the nearby bar and gets drunk big time. Soon he meets one mysterious character who starts to ask things from Cheung and recommend some things which his wife deserved.. Cheung is very drunken and he says something he'd never mean and once he gets to home after waking up in the street, he learns what's happened and what's going to happen. The incredible and frightening trip to Hell has begun and the worst is yet to come. Run and Kill is totally powerful experience and even more harrowing after the second viewing. The film begins as some usual Hong Kong "slapstick comedy" as Cheung plays with his daughter and does silly things as they are getting ready to go to work and school on that fateful morning. It may feel very irritating as Cheung acts so childishly as he tries to entertain his child. That's okay, since fathers play with their children and try to amuse them. The tone of the film, however, won't stay that way once the first 15 or so minutes have rolled. The film changes from light family film/comedy into a shocking cheating tragedy into a hellish quest for life after the real nature of the happenings is revealed. The beginning and ending of this extraordinary film are as different with each other as possible. The beginning is comedy, the ending is nightmare.The usual dark colors and cinematography of director Tang is again powerful element, and really creates the infernal mood of the film. Once the horror begins, there's hardly any sunny scenes or happy colors, but menacing dark and blue smoke and empty rooms with nothing but despair. This film is perhaps as dark as they come, even from Hong Kong. The greatest power of Run and Kill among these cinematic elements is the structure how it changes its nature so wildly and becomes such a trip to the heart of darkness after beginning very differently and lightly.Meet Simon Yam, the most frightening, sadistic and dangerous screen psychopath ever in any film:Simon Yam's character in Run and Kill is totally incredible. He plays a traumatic Vietnam veteran who is undescribably evil and wicked inside and that we unfortunately learn very soon. I'd like to tell more about how this character becomes to the film, but Run and Kill belongs to the movies that you should know as little before viewing as possible. Yam's character is equally bad and dangerous with Anthony Wong's character in Herman Yau's The Untold Story. Yam's character in Run and Kill shows its most evil sides during the film's most infamous and sadistic scene which involves the death of one young character. That scene is so harrowingly powerful and disturbing act of violence that it is hard to imagine being even more powerful on any level. It gets worse. The way how Yam acts in that scene is as frightening as the act committed itself. Yam seems not to act anymore, he seems to BE like he'd be normally, it is that realistic and convincing. His face expression and other movements during that scene are totally unimaginable and made me cringe during that scene as I fully noticed them now during second viewing. Imagine Anthony Wong's face expression during the credits of The Untold Story (as he's in the police photographs) and you have the idea how powerful Yam's acting in the scene is. The scene in Run and Kill is definitely among the most gruesome and disturbing scenes ever in any film. Is it there in vain and only to exploit? No, because it is an important element in the story and finally makes Cheung's character to become what he becomes.After that scene, the film has still approximately 15-20 minutes of running time and as it should be clear by now, it is total Hell and despair whole thing. The point and theme of the film is how seemingly normal and peace loving human mind may become greater evil and more wicked than he'd ever dare to think. Cheung becomes as evil as Yam at the end, and so the inner demon and wickedness in Cheung's soul has been released and is no more un-active hiding in the background of his mind. Run and Kill is extremely depressing and dark film which hasn't got too much (if any) positivism in it, and perhaps the only positive characters (who stay alive) are the police officers, led again by Danny Lee, the actor in many other police roles and the co-director of Dr. Lamb. The violence is very strong, too, and rarely have I felt so much pain to watch the mayhem on screen as every act of killing and stabbing hurts badly as it is realistic and never glorified or distorted to look harmless and an noteworthy tool to solve things. Run and Kill is very honest in this department and that's why it is so effective and challenging film experience.Run and Kill was almost too much and too powerful experience for me, and so this is definitely not for any casual viewer. I think many/some viewers would without a doubt simply faint during the most infamous killing scene, especially if seen in the theatre on big screen. The power of Run and Kill is so great, it can affect people so effectively as people have actually fainted during the most powerful films and run out of theatres. Especially people who have own children will definitely feel very bad during that scene as I did, too, without being a father. Run and Kill is very likely as dark and pessimistic a film as possible and the power of this film is not likely going to be beaten or even equalled and I think those who manage to do so, are also made in Hong Kong or Japan, whose film makers have freedom to do their art without following some restrictions and commercial aims.Run and Kill gets the full 10 rating from me as I find this so remarkable piece of the dark cinema and its message is close to me, too. This really shows how noteworthy films some of the CAT 3 films are, despite the fact that some/most (?) of them were made simply because of money and fact that these were so popular in Hong Kong back then in the early 90's. Run and Kill among The Untold Story is the greatest achievements of these CAT 3 films and they have many important things to tell and discuss, but only for the adventurous.

Run and Kill is an excellent example of what the Chinese do so well - a violent revenge thriller, in the vein of MAN WANTED and RETURN ENGAGEMENT (both also starring SIMON YAM). Kent Cheung plays a mild-mannered man who accidentally involves himself in the murder of his wife when drunk at a nightclub one evening. When he sobers up and realizes what has happened, he goes to the police, headed by DANNY LEE, who find his tale somewhat hard to believe! He soon goes home to find the gang leader who wants his payment for the murder of his wife, and when he can't pay, gets beaten up for his troubles. The plot thickens from here on, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for you. Suffice to say there are a few nasty moments involving a lead pipe, and a burning child....you find yourself really rooting for the hero (?) of the piece as he comes up against the lunatic Simon Yam. This film is based on a true story, which makes it all the more gripping if you can stand the gore and violence on display. Unfortunately, this movie isn't available in the UK, but if you get the chance, it comes highly recommended.