Thanks to Dennis for including some of the above clips in the Daily News report. I couldn't help but notice Dennis' short addendum to the TIFF write-up for
RED NIGHTS, which he included in the news about the film's premiere.
TIFF: Red Nights description
Red Nights also boasts the long-overdue return of Hong Kong starlet Carrie Ng, famous for her sexy and deadly presence in such films as Naked Killer and Sex and Zen. Here she revels in her role as the jade-clawed Dragon Lady, equal parts seductress and psycho-sexual killer… A bittersweet fortune cookie of murder and deceit, Red Nights inhabits a mysterious realm where Italian giallo and espionage thrillers coexist with the exoticism of the Far East. [Carrie Ng deserves better than this!]
I have to agree with this sentiment. While Carrie Ng does seem to enjoy herself in this, it's a bit odd to think that they lured her out of "retirement" to play the same kind of role that nearly stereotyped her the first time around. In the Q&A I shot, she mentions that she chose to work with the directors, in part, because they had a deep understanding of "oriental culture" (the translator's words - Ng answered in Cantonese), but outside of the inclusion of an ornate Cantonese opera stage show that mirrors certain aspects of the primary plot, and shooting with an obvious familiarity (and ease) on the streets of Hong Kong, the filmmakers demonstrate little more than an penchant for the "exoticism of the Far East" mentioned in the description, mixed with the kind of explicitly-gory torture-horror that seems to have fallen
out of favour in Hollywood if several of the horror movies on offer this year at TIFF are any indication (Korea's I SAW THE DEVIL was another film that introduced heretofore-unseen levels of near-surgical brutality to its domestic cinema, yet seemed a bit late to the party in that regard). In other words, Carbon and Courtiaud clearly have a fondness for the stereotypical concept of the Asian Dragon Lady (common to both western
and eastern filmmaking), replete with metal-razor fingertip claws used to gore and slice her victims, and give the iconic Ng a character that is little more than a collection of "sensual" physical affectations (nearly every move she makes is some kind of arch, dramatic flourish, usually accompanied by that gorgeous smirk) and a measured, cryptic tone to her speech. I do wonder if it wasn't roles like this -- as well as the abundance of moody, doomed girlfriend-of-a-triad parts -- that made Carrie Ng walk away in the first place. It's nice to see her back, and looking not a year older than she did a decade ago, but I hope she's able to parlay this "comeback" into roles that finally stretch her as an actress. Like so many movies these days, RED NIGHTS is a slick construct of giallo-meets-Category-III homages, with the kind of realistic gore the filmmakers obviously found impressive in films like MARTYRS (which they praised to high heaven in the TIFF Q&A - ugh!).
I will give the directors credit on one big part. Since this is, primarily, a French film, the level of talent in the non-Asian roles was quite good, particularly when compared with the likes of LEGEND OF THE FIST: THE RETURN OF CHEN ZHEN with it's distractingly awful non-pro gwailo support players, and AFTERSHOCK, which rather jarringly introduces two no-name amateur Canadian actors (who try their best) during the Vancouver scenes preceding the climax.
Working on something longer, but most of the legit reviews you could google for this one are on the money. Longer thoughts to follow . . . 
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