He Lives by Night (1982)

the audience applauded

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This is a horror comedy from Hong Kong, where a serial killer stalks women who wears white silk stockings.The main plot is the psychopathic killer, who is obsessed with women who wear white silk stalkings because his adulterous wife wore white silk stalkings. This balances out well with the subplot of radio DJ Sissy (Sylvia Chang) who reports the crimes on her station while police detective Dragon (Kent Chang) tries to woo her. The two make a great team and had great on-screen chemistry. Even the character of Lousy Wong (Simon Yam) made a good addition to the team. All three of them serves up some good old-fashion comedy, Hong Kong cinema-style, while not swaying too much away from the main serial killer plot.When the psychopath stalks up his victims, the scenes were intense and does creep you out and the purpose behind his motive is a great suspense builder. There are some exciting cat and mouse chase scenes and a classic detective-style music score. Great acting and, overall, a fun film.Grade B+

A deranged transvestite killer stalks an murders women wearing white stockings. A couple of detectives are investigating the case.The next potential victim of murderous transvestite will be a Radio DJ Sissy."He Lives By Night" blends silly comedy with slasher sub-genre.The script is obviously influenced by Dario Argento's colorful horror movies and De Palma's "Dressed to Kill".The first killing is an obvious nod to masterful "Suspiria".The killings are stylish and tame.The performances by Simon Yam,Kent Cheng and Sylvia Chang are great.I don't particularly like blending comedy with horror,but I enjoyed "He Lives By Night".7 out of 10.

He Lives by Night is a little known, yet excellent, Hong Kong slasher flick! Unfortunately I don't have a lot to compare it to having seen less than half a dozen of this sort of film; but as a film in its own right; this is an excellent mix of horror, romance and comedy! Director Po-Chih Leong takes a basic idea for a plot and really runs with it; managing to inject a cheesy love story and a boatload of twisted humour into the tale without it seeming forced or out of place. The film takes place in an urban metropolis and focuses on a killer that stalks and kills female victims; the only similarity between the murders being the fact that they were all committed with a similar weapon; that being the victims' own white stockings! Meanwhile, a young 'tomboy' radio DJ known as Sissy is covering the murders while getting attention from the town's fat police chief. It later transpires that the female killer is actually a man in drag and the two central plot lines combine when the radio DJ is stalked by the psychopathic killer.The cinematography in this film is great and despite the plot line, He Lives by Night is very beautiful. Hong Kong's cinema is generally known for being bloody and brutal; but this film isn't. There's a surprising lack of blood and even the murder scenes are tame compared to those seen in later films such as The Untold Story. They are very well done, however, and one that takes place in a bathroom is very well shot. There's not a great deal of sex and sleaze either - and this is mostly made up for by the comedy. That's not a big problem, however. The comedy is very funny and the storyline itself is deliciously sick and twisted enough to account for a lack of visceral horror. The idea of a transvestite killer has been used many times before in horror films; but it's a bit different here as the fact that the killer is a transvestite is never really dwelt on and provides the story with little more than a bizarre twist. Overall, He Lives by Night is a stylishly shot and very interesting slice of Hong Kong horror and comes highly recommended to fans of this stuff.

This is a great fun slasher comedy. Unlike 'Scream' the comedy is not dependent upon knowledge of modern horror films but effectively makes its own humour. The killings remain horrific despite the comedy, although the film is more serious at the start, more comedic at the end and there is a great scene in the middle where we successfully get both because the victim and her girlfriend are trying to scare each other as the killer prowls about.