Transcription
This is the Hong Kong fantasy film released in 1992, The Wicked City, and it became a childhood shadow for countless people. The film was adapted from the 1987 animation of the same name. Although it is not as explicit as the animation, it is still very exciting.
It is said that in the city where humans live, there is also a hidden dark realm and the creatures living there are demons. Some demons disguise themselves as humans and live in the human world. In order to fight against these demons, humans set up a special police unit, and Taki is one of them.
At night, under Tokyo's dazzling neon lights, Taki took a seductive dancer by elevator up to a hotel room. Seeing his handsome face, the dancer not only throws herself into his arms, she even offers free service. Of course, Taki is busy with his mission. He is not there for pleasure, and he had already seen through her disguise as a demon. So, he lured her in by pretending to be tempted. The demon's true form resembles a spider spirit. and she shouts that tonight she will finish off Taki.
It must be said the spider spirit has some skill. After several rounds, Taki does not gain the upper hand. Just as the spider spirit lunges at Taki, reinforcements arrive in time. It is Ken. Like Taki, he is also a member of the special demon hunting police. Ken smashes through the window and with one throwing knife, he forces the demon to reveal its true form.
Taki has worked at the Tokyo office for 3 years and Ken has come from headquarters this time because something big happened in Hong Kong and the organization needs Taki recalled immediately. Unlike ordinary law enforcement, every demon hunting officer has a human cover identity. Taki is an electronic salesman while Ken is a sales representative of Fuguang Company. And this so-called company is actually the base of the special demon hunting police. Ken is responsible for selling a special type of phone which can be used to efficiently gather intelligence on demons.
As soon as the two return to headquarters, Sergeant Cayama plays a disturbing video. In the video, a boxer suddenly starts smoking during a match and finally turns into a dried corpse. The organization has already found the boxer's body. Even though he had been dead for days, the corpse was still steaming hot. According to investigations before his death, the boxer had taken a toxic potion called happiness, which could push human strength to its peak. But the side effects are terrifying. Once the user stops taking it, all the water in the body evaporates rapidly, and they end up burned alive. Such a sinister creation does not seem to be made by humans. So, they suspect happiness may have come from the demon world.
And Sergeant Kayyama has already locked onto a target, Daishu. On the surface, he is the president of a wealthy Southeast Asian consortium worth over 500 billion, appearing to be about 60 years old. But according to information gathered, he has lived on Earth for 150 years, far beyond normal human lifespan, making him undoubtedly a demon. The reason Taki was urgently recalled from Japan was to capture Daishu.
Looking at Daishu's photo, Taki spots a familiar figure. This woman is named Wendy, and she shares a past with him that few know about. Three years ago, on a stormy night, Taki was capturing a female demon. Wendy was different from other demons. She was good. She fled the scheming demon world, but was then hunted down by other demons. In that moment of crisis, Taki tried to save her, but his strength was not enough. At the brink of death, Wendy struck out, slicing the demon in half. After the danger was over, Wendy gently used her powers to heal Taki's wounds. Having shared life and death together, Taki and Wendy built trust and Taki even made her his informant. A handsome man and a beautiful woman with a bond forged through danger. It was no surprise that love blossomed. But what Taki never expected was that after years apart, Wendy had now become Dau's lover.
Taki also needed a partner. Ken eagerly volunteered, but Cayama firmly rejected him. It turned out that intelligence from within the organization had been leaking recently, and Cayama suspected a traitor. So Ken's complicated background drew suspicion. Ken's father was human. His mother was a demon. So he carries halfhuman blood. Though Ken had risked his life many times and earned great merit, his treatment was worlds apart from Takis. Prejudice is a heavy burden. Ken could not change his birth nor others views of him.
Drowning his sorrows in a bar. Ken meets colleague Orchid. He forces a smile and congratulates her on her upcoming promotion to deputy manager. While he remains stuck selling phones. Just as Orchid comforts him, several liquid demons storm into the bar. Ken, highly alert, immediately investigates. He cautiously stepped into the kitchen where chaos was everywhere, and the chef's head was already boiling in the scalding soup. Ken traps the liquid demon in the sewer, but then a female demon suddenly attacks, wielding knives and forks fiercely against him. Overwhelmed, Ken's hand gets slashed. But at the crucial moment, Taki arrives. Seeing the tide turn, the female demon flees in panic.
At that moment, Taki notices that the blood seeping from Ken's wound is black. Ken can no longer control his anger. He has done nothing wrong. So why is he treated unfairly? Taki urges Ken not to be reckless. His identity must not be revealed. To calm him, Taki shares his own secret that he once loved a demon, but ended it out of fear of ending up like Ken's parents. After opening their hearts, the two brothers decide to join forces against Daishu. Even though the organization forbade Ken's involvement, he could still secretly partner with Taki.
The day of Daishu's birthday celebration would be the day of action. After greeting his guests, Daishu meets with his core members. From their conversation, it becomes clear that demons are divided into two factions. One hidden within human society, controlling the economy and advocating peace with humans, led by Daishu himself. The other faction sees humans as mortal enemies, plotting to wipe them out and dominate the world, represented by Daishu's son, Shudo. Shudo is ruthless, not only plotting to overthrow his father and sees everything, but also lusting after the young and beautiful Wendy.
Opposing peace with humans is not only Shudo, but also the female demon who had escaped from the bar earlier, whose true identity is an assassin from the demon world. Daisu declares that he is now a human businessman, and he wants no more fighting with demons. He hopes to scare them off, but the female demon came prepared, having already poisoned the wine. As she finishes speaking, those who drank explode and die. Only the powerful Daisu manages to force the liquid demon out of his body. Just then, the female demon seized the chance and manipulated the chandelier, cutting off Daishu's left arm. After that, the female demon grabbed Wendy and injected a dose of happiness into her neck. Taki quickly fired his gun, but the demon shot the bullet back out from its body. In order to save Wendy, Daichu unleashed his ultimate power.
As Taki carried the weakened Wendy away, Ken happened to arrive in his car to pick them up. In the car, Taki noticed that Wendy had always kept their token of love, and only then did he realize she had held him in her heart all these years. On the way, they ran into the captain's men. And Wendy, not wanting to drag Taki down, ran away alone.
Learning that the demon world was engaged in internal strife, Cayama believed this was the perfect opportunity to wipe them out in one move. When demons are injured, they use electricity to regenerate. Soon, the special police discovered that the power consumption of a power plant in southern Hong Kong had surged eight times. Sure enough, the one-armed Daishu and Wendy were recuperating there. After some treatment, Daishu grew back his left arm. But Wendy's condition was grim. The electricity could not fully remove the happiness from her body, and the only way to cure her was a complete blood transfusion. So, Daishu began the transfusion for Wendy. But just as it started, the special police stormed in. Seeing Wendy and Daishu unclothed, Taki's teeth nearly shattered with rage. At Dau's signal, Wendy fled into the demon dimension within his shadow. While Daisu himself created a powerful barrier to block the police bullets. The barrier was indeed strong. The bullets could not get close, but Cayama already knew its weakness. Once the human magnetic field was activated, it could be broken. Soon, Daishu was overwhelmed, captured by the special police, and taken back to the lab. Dau tried to escape using his shadow, but the police were ready. They activated a reinforced magnetic field around the lab. And with human concentration, they could force his shadow back into his body. Fore! Foreign! Foreign!
Desau and Wendy pinned their hopes on Shudo, not knowing that he was the true culprit, and the female demon had been acting under his orders. At this moment, Wendy appeared, urging Shudo to rescue Daisu and to find out the mastermind behind happiness. Unexpectedly, Shudo struck while she was vulnerable, demanding Wendy prove her loyalty with her body. To save Dau, Wendy had no choice but to comply.
That night, Wendy disguised herself as a hotel waitress to approach Taki, but her cover was soon blown. Wendy played on emotions, lowering Taki's guard, but what he didn't know was that she had smeared poison on her lips, and he was poisoned, too. At the critical moment, Ken arrived in time. Wendy confessed that she had only done this because Shudo threatened her, but now she regretted it. She then pulled out the antidote Shudo had given her, asking Ken to pass it to Taki. Seeing Ken didn't trust her, Wendy swallowed one pill herself. To her shock, the antidote was actually poison. Now, not only had Ken failed to save Taki, but Wendy herself was also poisoned. Clearly, this was all part of Shudo's scheme. Not only would he avoid rescuing Daishu, but he could also use Wendy to eliminate Taki. Taki was on the verge of death, but Shudo went further, cruy, replaying his intimate video with Wendy in front of everyone. But Taki was not so easily defeated. The anti-demon police had the most advanced medical team and equipment, and Taki soon escaped danger. Wendy was not so lucky. She had two poisons in her body. One could be treated, but the poison of happiness had no cure.
The hotel where Taki stayed was known only to the special police. So, how did Wendy find it? Kayama once again cast suspicion on Ken and even tried to suspend him. After Kayama left, Orchid came to comfort Ken, telling him not to lose heart. And while speaking, she gave him a sweet kiss. Meanwhile, Taki could not bear to see Wendy reveal her true form. So upon waking, the first thing he did was rescue her from the lab. The heavy rain made time feel like it had returned to that stormy night 3 years ago. But this time, instead of drawing closer, they were slowly drifting apart. Because Taki knew in his heart that being with Wendy would never end well.
Ken saw them and hid in the shadows. And after Taki left, he secretly followed Wendy to the harbor. Wendy came there to steal happiness, but she accidentally discovered the truth. What Ken never expected was that the traitor within the special police was Orchid. Orchid had been moving between humans and demons, all for money. Wendy found a vial of potion in Shudo's trunk. And despite Ken's objections, she chose to inject it. Only this way could she regain her combat strength to confront Shudo. Wendy told Ken to find Taki and tell him that Shudo was the real mastermind.
Soon, Wendy and Shudo's battle erupted. Wendy drew her laser blade while Shudo was no less formidable, extending his arm into a mighty weapon of immense strength. After several clashes, Wendy seemed unable to match Shudo. Meanwhile, Ken used his halfdemon body to create a demon dimension and managed to escape. But when he reached headquarters to expose Orchid, she framed him instead. Ken, who was already distrusted, now had no one believing him anymore.
As Ken was left speechless, Taki appeared and together they took Orchid hostage and infiltrated the building. Ken, not wanting to burden Taki, held Orchid captive and plan to shut down the magnetic field first, then rescue Daishu to join forces and perhaps defeat Shudo. On the way, Orchid tried to seduce Ken, but he completely ignored her. The magnetic field was successfully disabled. At the same time, Shudo and his men seized the chance to unleash chaos, creating an unprecedented demon dimension that could reverse time. If not stopped, civilization would regress. Humans would return to a primitive state, and demons would fully rule over them.
After rescuing Daishu, he led Ken and Taki to an underground parking lot. The entrance to the demon dimension was there, but as soon as they arrived, Liquid Raptor attacked and engulfed Daishu. Seeing this, Ken and Taki entered the elevator only to find the walls around them melting. Fortunately, Daishu was not trapped. He waited until Liquid Raptor gathered, then released flames to destroy it completely. Ken and Taki forced open the elevator doors and escaped. Daishu, excited, told the transforming female demon, "The real show is just beginning. Your body is full of machines. I will remake you. I can turn you into anything I want."
Ken and Taki reached the rooftop where they saw Shudo generating power for the demon dimension. Knowing that Wendy was Taki's weakness, Shudo set a trap that caused Taki to fall from the building. Fortunately, Cayama arrived just in time with backup, and everyone used their powerful psychic energy to send Taki back up the same way. Then, Shudo turned his attention to Ken. But in the end, both Ken and Taki survived the danger. This move drove Shudo into a frenzy. He strangled Ken, trying to awaken the demon power inside his body. Although Ken resisted with all his strength, he could not fight his instincts, and he revealed his true form. A surge of energy blasted Taki off the rooftop, and once again, the human's mental force played a crucial role. However, the next moment, Ken also fell. The special police mistook him for Shudo and opened fire until Cayama recognized him. Seeing this, Shudo mocked Cayama. If you hadn't always held prejudice against Ken, would his heart be so unstable? It was you who denied him chances, making everyone look down on him. Shudo's words pierced Ken deeply, and with a single blow, he sent Cayama flying. But Cayama was protected by his mental force and was not injured. Ken did not pursue. Instead, he flew back to the rooftop.
Meanwhile, Daishu also arrived in time. Just as the plane was about to crash in, Shudo remained calm because he could tell at a glance that the plane was only an illusion. After rescuing Taki and Wendy, Dau decided to make the painful choice of standing against his own son. Daishu might truly have grown old, he was forced out of Shudo's body, and much of his energy was absorbed. And while father and son were locked in battle, Ken was also struggling desperately within himself. Taki urged him not to be reckless, warning him never to let the beast overpower his humanity. In his struggle, Ken stretched his claws toward Taki, but at the very last moment, he restrained himself. Wendy refused to take the risk and with one punch pierced through Ken's body. In his final moments, Ken finally regained his rationality. To help Taki, he transfused his own blood into Wendy, detoxifying her. Dauishu pulled Shudo toward the airplane's engine, but Shudo was cunning, dragging Taki as his shield. Daisu was sentimental. He dared not strike rashly. Just as Taki was about to be thrown into the engine, Wendy returned at full strength, reborn and fierce. In the end, Wendy and Dauu joined forces and finally destroyed Shudo.
At the story's end, Ken died. And before his death, he finally heard Cayama's acknowledgement. But Wendy did not end up with Taki either. Humans and demons walk different paths. So Taki told her to return to the demon world with Daishu. What no one expected was that this battle had drained Daishu's very life force. And on the way back, he turned into a frail old man. He told Wendy to live well, then breathed his last. The ending was not perfect, but perhaps it was the best arrangement.
Putting the story aside, just the bizarre ideas of a man fused with a pachinko machine and a woman transformed into a motorcycle are enough to make it a standout in fantasy cinema. The movie is filled with eroticism yet never vulgar with imagination that knows no bounds, full of bizarre and bold elements too many to count. Although the film is saturated with sex and violence, we all know that its true theme is actually love and peace. Limited by the special effects of its time, the visuals may not reach perfection, but even today, they still impress the audience's eyes. All right, that's the end of today's story. See you next time.