China Girl

Director - Paul Aratow (Doctor Dracula, Bizarre Devices)
Starring - Pamela Yen, Annette Haven (The Huntress, Body Double), and James Hong (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Spawn)
Release Date - 1975
Genre - Erotic
Tagline - "Pleasure so intense it's almost unbearable"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I watched a few films recently that was made to appeal to horror fans but was actually not horror films.  These movies, After and Union Furnace, had the horror look but was more of a darker drama or thriller than they were horror.  I was afraid of finding another one of those films in my review stack so I decided not to review horror but to venture to somewhere else...somewhere sleazy.  The first film that caught my eye was the Vinegar Syndrome blu release of the 1975 film China Girl.  This is a strange sexploitation flick that actually functioned as an actual crime drama but with unsimulated sex scenes.  It's also strange seeing James Hong in a sexploitation flick.  I want to once again thank Vinegar Syndrome for sending this one my way.

     The film follows a an evil organization that is attempting to steal a secret formula for a potential buyer.  The entire formula is split into two segments with one being with a male scientist and other a female scientist.  The evil company brings the male scientist to their hidden lair where they give him a drug that prevents him from reaching sexual climax.  They then send in gorgeous women to fulfill his sexual desires.  After some time the man finally breaks and gives up his part of the formula.  They then kidnap the female scientist and attempt to do the same but they underestimated her sexual drive.  When they fail to break her they call in Chan (Hong) to break her but his partner, Madame Woo (Yen) has fallen in love with her and helps her escape.
     I was expecting sleaze with China Girl but I didn't expect to enjoy the film as much as I did.  I was even shocked that the film itself had a cast and story as this one did.  China Girl was a film unlike any other I had seen before it.  The acting in this one is great.  I am really surprised to see James Hong in a sexploitation flick.  I've seen him in so many films prior to this and it still blows my mind even as I type this.  His performance was great and he actually came across as menacing.  Annette Haven was great as well.  She has a natural beauty that is unrivaled and does a great job in her role.  I've seen her on other films where she did not deliver a fun performance as she did here.  My favorite of the film is Pamela Yen who portrays Madame Woo.  She was my favorite in the film and absolutely gorgeous.  I wish she would have went on to star in other films.  The story for this one is fairly simple but works so well for the type of film we have.  People being screwed as a torture technique for an evil group of people to steal a top secret formula is so outlandish that it works as a 70s sexploitation flick.  The film does have a few slow moments but picks up as the film progresses.  Finally, this one doesn't have blood and gore.  Instead, it is a sexy and sleek film that is more about story and character development than anything else.  Overall, China Girl is perfect for the sleazy cinema fan.  If you like films raunchy then China Girl is your movie.