Raped By An Angel 3: Sexual Fantasy Of The Chief Executive (1998)

Directed by Aman Chang

Produced by Wong Jing

Starring Alex Fong Chung Sun, Angie Cheung Wai Yee, Pinky Cheung Man Chi, Kenix Kwok Ho Ying, Simon Lui Yu Yeung

Only Hong Kong producer Wong Jing could take elements of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair and blend them into a sexual thriller set firmly in post-Handover Hong Kong. The fact that it works so well could be attributed to the (then) topicality of the plot, paired with former Director of Photography Aman Chang's visually arresting direction and a willingness to deviate from prior formula. Accordingly, this becomes the most accomplished entry in an unquestionably sleazy series of films.

Chang's second outing shows up a less sensational, more intelligently plotted, riff on a now familiar theme. Kicking off in tenuously futuristic style (shot in 1998, set in 2001), the focus of this third installment is the (apparent) mental disintegration of prime candidate for Chief Executive of the SAR, Li (Fong). Whilst running for office, Li starts collapsing under lurid hallucinations of naked women and imaginary sexual fantasies. Attempting to hold his sanity, he buries himself in his job, neglecting his wanting wife (Kwok), sinking himself in extra-marital affairs. Seemingly by precognition, former girlfriend, and now psychotherapist, Yee (Cheung) materialises in his life, offering a solution to his condition.

Suddenly things start to go terribly wrong for Li. Slightly handicapped office girl Chi (Pinky Cheung) is raped by an unknown assailant, and semen analysis matches Li's DNA. Li suffers an unfathomable form of amnesia, 24 hours of his life seems to have gone astray. Under hypnosis he recalls a sea-bound liaison with Yee, but his story cannot be corroborated with conclusive evidence. It is down to highly skeptical cop Luk (Lui) to follow his instincts and open the web of deception to unveil the truth, leading to a climax where nothing is as it seems.

Wong and Chang craft an infinitely more involving thriller this time out, keeping their audience guessing right to the very end, and even then you won't be so sure. Performances herein are uniformly excellent, with Fong going against type by portraying the tortured victim, a role he carries off with uncommon ease. Pinky Cheung is engaging as the mentally handicapped Chi, and Angie Cheung devilishly ambiguous as the femme fatale of the piece. The ever reliable Simon Lui rounds out the cast effectively as the techno-geek Sherlock Holmes of the narrative, lending a light weight dose of humour to the proceedings. Chang delivers yet another visually striking work, once again playing on his technical expertise to enliven the plot with fine crafted imagery. Slightly less exploitive than the previous entries, "RBAA3" almost elevates the series into an altogether new and more welcome plain of stylishly erotic mystery thriller. Well, almost…

Although a less than outstanding transfer, Universe's disc is a more than acceptable representation of Chang's engaging erotic thriller. Colours are muted by comparison to the other four films in the series, coming off a spot washed out in some sequences. The image clarity is generally quite sharp and there are pleasantly few instances of motion artifacts on display. The only real quibble one could lay at the feet of this disc is lack of shadow detail in a few passages, coupled with an abundance of grain/pixelisation in the darker scenes. EMP's "score" is represented well by a clear, though undistinguished, Dolby 2.0 audio track. Extras are represented by an extensive Stars File of all the principal cast, as well as the theatrical trailer and Attractions trailers for "Your Place Or Mine", "Cheap Killers" and "Tricky King". All up, another relatively nice disc from Universe!

Well, this is a much more welcome addition to the series, as previously stated almost lifting the film series out of the gutter and into semi-respectability. As a straight erotic thriller, this happily downplays the rape element of the previous films (though does feature a rather harrowing recounting of Pinky's rape that is expanded upon with each successive flashback), effectively being a better film for it. Chang's visual style gives the viewer plenty of eye candy to ingest, as well as constructing an appropriately convoluted plot to keep you engrossed. Right down to its shock twist ending, this is a solid low budget thriller. It definitely rates as the very best of a very sleazy bunch, albeit with a bit more spit and polish than the rest.

Review by M.C.Thomason