Midnight Caller (1995)
Reviewed by: danton on 2002-01-03
Diana Pang Dan is known to HK movie fans for pretty much two reasons - and they're the same reasons that made Amy Yip famous a few years back. So it's not surprising that Pang Dan's movies are mostly cheap Cat III titillation flicks that are amusing mainly for their attempts to show as much of the star's assets as possible without actually revealing anything.

Midnight Caller is a little different. For starters, it's rated II, so while there is some brief nudity, there are no sex scenes. Secondly, the movie actually has a plot. However, it seems the people who made this movie apparently couldn't make up their mind whether this was going to be a thriller or a comedy, so in typical HK fashion they decided to make it both!

Pang Dan plays the host of a radio call in show who becomes involved in a criminal case when one of her callers turns out to be a mad man who's blowing up various buildings. She notifies the police and pretty soon has to deal not only with a mad man who's trying to kill her, but also with a costar whose deadly acting skills are too much even for her: Michael F. Wong. Wong plays the police inspector assigned to her case who obviously falls in love with her. So the movie starts alternating serious elements (the stalker) with the comedic antics of gifted comedian M. Wong. Will Diana be saved? Will Michael get the girl? Do we really care?

This movie is pretty bad, but also a lot of fun in a campy way. The final reel features a Diana Pang Dan dance routine that is so cheasy it had me rolling on the floor. Overall, I enjoyed this movie, the way a really bad movie can be a hoot to watch. Oh, and the charming Joyce Ngai plays Michael Wong's tomboyish sidekick - too bad she never had a bigger career.