Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 07/25/2010 Dangerous Encounter - 1st Kind is a bit of a slow burn, as there are various characters and plotlines, as well as a MacGuffin in the guise of a box of Japanese bank notes, introduced that don't seem to gel together at first. There are also several scenes, most notably the disgusting and very graphic killing of a cat, that only look to be thrown in for the exploitation factor. But everything is masterfully drawn together during the final act, which leads up to a suspenseful and tense confrontation in a graveyard. It turns out that's a fitting setting, as the violence ratchets up. This isn't the sort of movie that necessarily goes for quantity in the blood department, but, actually, the restraint shown by Tsui makes the deaths that do occur on-screen have all that much more impact. In the end, there are no winners or losers, no heroes or villains, and no real resolution. In this case, though, that's a very good thing. The questions and thoughts Dangerous Encounter - 1st Kind will leave the viewer with speak highly to its' ability, like with all great films, to actually engage and draw people in. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: MilesC Date: 05/16/2001 Summary: Brutal, nihilistic, and amazing. Having seen Dangerous Encounter- 1st Kind, it is now obvious to me why some claim that Tsui Hark "sold out" with his more mainstream offerings in the mid-'80s; this is one of the most raw and inflammatory films I've seen from Hong Kong. It's like proto-Fruit Chan with all the knobs turned to 10. Tsui's vision of society out of control is reemphasized constantly, from the many odd and darkly humorous asides to the shocking finale. Although there is, naturally, plenty that looks cheesy in this now 21-year-old film, the overall effect is still stunning. A must.

Reviewed by: leh Date: 12/09/1999 Tsui Hark's second film had serious censor problems due tothe political contents, and had to be re-cut. Some black political undertones and a strong sense of nihilism still survived in this violent and downbeat movie, but it would have been interesting to see it like it was intended.

Reviewed by: spinali Date: 12/08/1999 Summary: NULL In this concerto of controlled mayhem, Lin Chen-Chi (a more frightening Anita Yuen) likes to stick pins into the brains of mice, drop troublesome cats onto barbed wire, and make bombs out of heavy-duty firecrackers. By chance one evening, she witnesses three high-school kids run over a night-worker by accident. As she's a trouble-maker of the 1st kind, she finds out their school and blackmails them into even more sadism. One misfired prank against a mean-looking white motorist manages to put a boxful of Japanese bank drafts into their paws -- money that otherwise would have gone overseas to buy arms. These kids aren't cruel by nature, but it's an easy habit to learn, especially now that the mob is after them. The baddies (nasty Caucasians, in an unsettling reversal of all those U.S. films using Chinese villains) don't play with tack-guns and fire crackers like the kids; these guys have AK-47s, and their leader has a messy habit of eviscerating his enemies. You can imagine the mess in the HK backstreets. Eventually, they employ triads to help to round up our four protagonists. Director Tsui Hark, HK's best, uses widescreen, presumably to pack as much red latex blood and body parts in every scene as possible. Low-budget, high-effect testicle-shrinkers like these constitute the minor evidence of how superior Hark is to John Woo, Ringo Lam, and the roll-call of trendies set to emigrate to the United States. Gunfights in graveyards are an HK cent a dozen, easy irony. This one has teenage kids, kids you've grown to like, shooting it out with seasoned contract killers, blood flowing down rain-gutters. The innocent are killed with the guilty, and it's all minus Woo's male-bonding, duke 'em out formula. This quartet of kids will kill to survive; but at heart they're just cowardly teenagers. The animal torture sequences, albeit short, will send animal rights workers into shock (you won't see SPCA disclaimers in any HK movie), but they're certainly effective. When you have real violence in a movie like this, the line between reality and fiction becomes blurred, until you don't know what to expect. But it's exciting, and disturbing, and even has a backbone of humor to keep us from falling too far into the gloom. (4/4) [Reviewed by Steve Spinali] Reviewer Score: 10