The Curious Case of The White Stocking Strangler: He Lives By Night (1982)

He Lives By Night (Ye Jing Hun) (Hong Kong, 1982)
Rating: ***
Starring:  Chi Wing Chan, Eddie Chan, Kwan-Wo Chan

While some slasher fans may point out Dream Home (2010) as Hong Kong's foray into all things red and sticky, hardcore bodycount fanatics would know that our friends from the East have dabbled into this fair sub-genre since the 80s with titles like Corpse Mania (1982), Devil Returns (1982), Phantom Killer (1981) and this, a giallo-inspired horror comedy that have the strange-o-meter tipping its scales.

We open the movie at some bar with a guy wearing what looks like Michael Jackson's red leather suit from the Thriller music video, doing the robot on a smoggy disco floor and pulling down the lever of a giant slot machine that dispenses a blonde that goes "oooh~" in front of the camera. I have no idea what all of this is and I am afraid to find out. Let's just leave it at that.

Some time later, the blonde is walking home alone when she's suddenly and intensely attacked by someone armed with a boxcutter who then proceeds to strangle her with her own stockings. All of this happened below the apartment of our lead, a tomboyish radio DJ named Sissy, who soon tries to snoop around the crime scene in hopes of getting a good story for her show. Arriving there to investigate is Dragon, an overweight police chief who has a big crush on Sissy, and his cohort Wong, a young officer who happens to be friends with Sissy and is helping his boss get a date with her. While the trio engage in a weirdly comedic and romantic tomfoolery, the killer continues to slay women who all appears to be wearing white stockings.

Despite the horror scenes being played straight, He Lives By Night (1982) is a movie that will either invite you to enjoy its true jokey nature and laugh at how absurd it is, or will leave you wondering what exactly is going on.

A good bulk of the film focuses more on Dragon and Sissy's hilarious adventures in dating, including the fat commissioner showing off how he can get away with almost anything illegal (such as drag racing and not paying parking tickets) and that one scene where he puts on some make-up and dances for the lovely DJ. It's all played with a oozy, cheesy 80s charm filled with outrageous get-ups, false scares, subtle yet silly situations, and a cheeky good vibe that almost out of place considering the film is supposed to be a murder mystery, which come to think of it, isn't really the movie's strong point seeing the killer is revealed very early into the film.

It turns out that the killer is a former husband who caught his wife in bed with another man. In a fit of rage, he murdered both, the wife strangled with her own white stockings no less, and was placed in a mental hospital wherein he was treated until deemed sane enough to be released. Unfortunately for them, he is still unwell and the sight of white stockings pushes him to take on a female persona and kill whoever the clothing belongs to, resulting to a series of attacks that are surprisingly intense and have their moments of being really frightening.

What's interesting about He Lives By Night (1982) is that it manages to put these two conflicting tones well together in the final product, as the romantic-comedy tends to dip into the mystery from time to time while the horror scenes also have their own share of funnies. One particular attack has the killer following a pair of girlfriends back to their home where they proceed to prank one another; once the killer got in, one of the girls mistook him as her friend and proceeds to goof around until she recognizes the threat is real. It's a moment that shows how well the two conflicting traits are delivered as it is satirically funny seeing the killer being stalked by his victim, but it builds up to a vehement home invasion that is bound to satisfy horror fans.

It's not high on bodycount nor are the kills that bloody (save, again, the home invasion scene), but the hybrid atmosphere of He Lives By Night (1982) is what makes it a worthwhile addition to any 80s slasher collection. The last third is where the craziness of both genres gets put to the max, with Sissy finding herself trapped and hunted in a near-abandoned radio station while the killer terrorizes her with a boxcutter, a gun, and soda vending machine(!); the humor is intentional and has more hits than misses, and the chase scenes are some of the best I've seen since the hallway attack from Prom Night (1980).

While it may deter horror fans who wanted something more serious out of their timewasters, this film is everything a slasher is with a witty and diverse twist. A real modest entry and one that deserves a try, may you be a hardcore slasher fan or just a curious cat, so see it if you have the chance and warm up to its strangeness! 

Bodycount:
1 female strangled with stockings
1 female strangled with stockings
1 female repeatedly slashed with a boxcutter, strangled with stockings
1 male had his throat cut with a boxcutter (flashback)
1 female strangled with stockings (flashback)
1 male killed, method unknown
1 male bashed on the head with a spiked iron knuckle
1 male falls off a building, lands on a van
Total: 8