The Shaw Brothers production THE DRUG CONNECTION/DH HOU MI SHI (1976) was an uncredited remake of the American International Pictures blaxploitation classic COFFY (1973). About Kao Wan Fei (Ping Chen), a pure-hearted nurse who becomes a vigilante after her sister is hooked on drugs, THE DRUG CONNECTION was quite sleazy and violent (as you’d expect), but far from exceptional. Still, given the sheer volume of truncated late seventies Shaw Brothers movies, the mere fact that the film is cohesive renders it above-average amid late-1970s Shaw productions.
A sequel entitled LADY EXTERMINATOR (A-SIR DU HOU LAO HU-QIANG) was released in 1977. It’s much wilder than its predecessor, and so more in keeping with the over-the-top aesthetic we’ve come to expect from the Shaws. LADY EXTERMINATOR has also become one of the rarest Shaw films, with its sole availability being a bootleg recording of a foreign subtitled print projected on a wall—and to add further insult, it tends to be confused with BARANG TERLARANG, a dull 1987 Indonesian trash-fest that’s better known for its Americanized title LADY EXTERMINATOR.
It’s much wilder than its predecessor, and so more in keeping with the over-the-top aesthetic we’ve come to expect from the Shaws.
The LADY EXTERMINATOR under review opens with a montage of clips from THE DRUG CONNECTION that highlight the action and violence of that film (and so make it seem far more exciting than it actually is), followed by a man (a police informant, we learn) being tied to subway tracks and run over by an oncoming train. Determined to infiltrate and take down the criminals responsible for the killing, the police seek out Ms. Kao, who was jailed at the end of the previous film.
LADY EXTERMINATOR has also become one of the rarest Shaw films, with its sole availability being a bootleg recording of a foreign subtitled print projected on a wall.
Kao was also hooked on heroin in THE DRUG CONNECTION, and justifies her need for periodic injections to her law enforcement superiors by saying they’re necessary for her to fit in with the scumbags she’s tasked with infiltrating. This she does quite well, but her higher-ups inevitably grow suspicious.
From coolasscinema.com
In the title role the vibrant and sexy Ping Chen, who headlined many a Shaw production, is strong. Clad in bellbottoms and go-go boots, she cuts a striking figure, particularly when seen wielding the rifle that became her weapon of choice in the preceding film (although I’m afraid she can’t hope to compete with her inspiration Pam Grier).
I’m afraid she can’t hope to compete with her inspiration Pam Grier.
Director Chung Sun, a Shaw regular, keeps things lively, with insanely fast pacing that’s bolstered by energetic zoom-happy visuals. There’s plenty of action (as expected), including an impressively choreographed Kung Fu brawl, a car chase and a climactic shoot-out that incorporates electrocution and asphyxiation, and closes the film out on a satisfying note of uninhibited excess.
Vital Statistics
LADY EXTERMINATOR (A-SIR DU HOU LAO HU-QIANG)
Shaw Brothers
Director: Chung Sun
Producer: Run Run Shaw
Screenplay: On Szeto
Cinematography: Nai-Tsai Lan
Editing: Hsing-Lung Chiang
Cast: Ping Chen, Hua Yueh, Hua Tsung, Shirley Yu, Tung-Sheng Erh, Chung-Tien Shih, Lun Hua, “Rosie” (Rose Cheng), Kuo Hua Chang, Shih-Ou Chang, Chuen Chiang, Han Chiang, Nan Chiang, San Chiang, Tao Chiang, Szu-Ying Chien, Chun Chin, Tien-Chu Chien