Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980) User Reviews (9)

Searing political thriller

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 8 July 2015]

DANGEROUS ENCOUNTERS OF THE FIRST KIND is a searing political thriller and an unforgettable debut from first-time director Tsui Hark. The storyline follows a fan of amateur anarchists who decide to terrorise Hong Kong by setting off home-made bombs in various places such as a cinema. Their fortunes take a turn for the worse when they meet up with a young girl who proves to be even more of a maniac than they are, and when they steal a wad of Japanese cash their adventures turn deadly.

Be warned: I would have given this film a higher rating if it wasn't for the real-life animal cruelty that plagues the production. In order to show us that the protagonist is a psychopath, Hark has her committing real-life cruelty by torturing mice with pins. These are horrible scenes and a bit with a cat, although less realistic, is equally disturbing.

Otherwise, the film itself is fine: a slow start, plenty of tension, building to a breathtaking all-out climax set in a hillside cemetery. The cast give effective performances, particularly seasoned pro Lo Lieh, thankfully not cast as a bad guy for once but instead the cop brother of the main character. Scenes of the main characters going on bombing rampage were censored by nervous distributors but they remain the most interesting part of the production. Watch out for the soundtrack, which borrows heavily from the likes of Jean-Michel Jarre and the music from DAWN OF THE DEAD.

Grimy as hell!

[HaemovoreRex · 6/10 · 6 January 2007]

This is an interesting oddity if ever I saw one. It starts off admittedly lousily with a number of sequences that appear completely unconnected and which make little to no sense – so much so in fact that I initially was under the impression that this was a cut and splice film ala Godfrey Ho!

However, don't turn off just yet for things do pick up admirably as it goes on.

The basic story concerns three nerdy students who during a night of drunken revelry accidentally run over and kill a pedestrian. This act is witnessed by an strange and somewhat sadistic girl who's brother happens to be a cop. Following the incident the girl (who tortures mice in her spare time!) bribes the students to aid her indulge in her criminal fantasies or else she will inform the police of the fateful nights events.

Matters take a dramatic turn for the worse when the group of would be miscreants inadvertently take possession of some Japanese bank orders which are the property of some particularly sadistic American militia sorts. Added to this the Triads get wind of the scheme and want a piece of the action for themselves. The end result is pretty gruesome and riveting stuff, especially the movies climax which is handled with some not inconsiderable flair by the movies director.

Fans of shock and exploitation cinema should certainly give this a go….just don't expect a sequel anytime soon….

Don't try this at home !!!

[fartsohoelle · 8/10 · 23 January 2018]

I never believed in rebirth, but italian freak cinema of the 70ies lived on in a lot of Hong Kong flicks of the 80ies. If you like animals, human life or are a fan of political correctness you should NOT watch this movie. If you like explotation movies, italian cinema and have mental problems like me, GO FOR IT. It really has a good script, lot of twists, overall good acting and is very well made. What I really missed are car chases between Alfa Romeo's and BMW's, Tomas Milian, Henry Silva and a score from let's say Stelvio Cipriani, then it would be perfect, but you can't have it all. Hardcore entertainment par excellence (really).

Most nihilistic movie ever !

[Phroggy · 10/10 · 26 April 1999]

This one is a punk movie made by a young and (very) angry filmmaker, as dark as dark goes ; not one character is redeemable in this story where a bunch of amateurs killers suddenly brushes with the real stuff. The finale in the Hong Kong cemetery (already featured in John Woo's movies) is prominent remains breathtaking. A masterpiece, but be warned : this is strong stuff that grows up on you, the movie equivalent of music by Skinny Puppy, Korn or Nine Inch Nails. One of my favorite ever (It even was theatrically released in France as "L'enfer des armes" - "Hell by weapons", which describes it perfectly

Tsui Hark's masterpiece?

[udar55 · 10/10 · 20 April 2011]

Three friends out for a night of fun in daddy's car accidentally kill a pedestrian. The only witness is young, psychotic girl who decides to blackmail them. She forces the boys to participate in her misanthropic deeds, which eventually bring them into some Japanese bank notes for 800 million yen that belong to some illegal arms dealers. Wow, this is one psychotic movie! DON'T PLAY WITH FIRE (aka DANGEROUS ENCOUNTERS: 1ST KIND) is Tsui Hark's third film and it is one angry movie. Opening with the scene of a mouse having a pin shoved into its head (sadly, for real), Hark makes modern day Hong Kong look like hell on earth with its grimy streets and claustrophobic apartment buildings. I'd like to think he is making a statement on class warfare, but Hark just seems like he wants to destroy everything in a wave of nihilistic fury. A final shootout in an equally crowded cemetery is the film's highlight. The score is stolen from all over the place. Tracks I identified were from Goblin (off the DAWN OF THE DEAD soundtrack), Jean Michel Jarre, and the disco band The Mike Theodore Orchestra. I actually wish Hark made more modern day stuff like this as I got tired of his costume kung fu drama porn rather quickly.

This film leaves you speechless

[ChWasser · 20 April 2001]

I can only agree with the preceding comments; this really is the most nihilistic movie I've ever seen (comparable only to Sergio Corbucci's "Il grande silenzio" in that respect) and the heroine is very likeable indeed, although the name Pearl is VERY inapt. The scene where she completely unmotivatedly throws a cat out of the window was too much even for Hong Kong's censor boards which rarely cut out a scene for being too violent. Another scene that I'll never forget was when she set the car of the 'gwailo' (those sunglasses!) on fire. The definition of recklessness and defiance of death.

Someone please release this film in PAL-format, either on VHS, VCD or DVD. I've seen it only once and I'm desperate to see it again. Please!!!

Deadly games turn into awesome gloomy entertainment

[IamROCKAS · 7/10 · 20 January 2021]

This movie is dark in a way that I really enjoy. It is nihilistic as hell but also well scripted as it's more than just violence for the sake of violence. The movie did lose some charm after mysteriously fascinating yet sadistic Wan-Chu has died. Her death wasn't the cause of the tempo of the movie going downhill but everything following her death simply seemed... pedestrian. I'm not the biggest fan of shoot-out endings and this one didn't fascinate me enough, seeing as the group of mercenary foreigners, that posed a sinister thread in the shadows of the movie got dealt with so easily. Other than that, the disturbing nature was enough for me to enjoy the movie and the experience was enjoyable overall. Call me crazy, but I love movies with a psychopath protagonist(s).

Dangerous spiral

[34low · 9/10 · 12 August 2000]

I love the heroine of this movie. She, a beautiful teen-age sister of a cop, is in fact a fiery, sadistic psychopath who dominates hapless (and spineless) threesome of students and forces them to participate in her reckless criminal scheme.

Even though the heroine is totally amoral, and sadistic etc., we can't but root for her because she is fearless and puts up a lone fight against..., against everything. She is motivated by dark and formless anger, and she controls (or tries to control) three students through fear and greed. This relationship between the girl and the threesome is the most interesting aspect of the film.

Their dangerous game leads to the involvement with organized crime (the triad?) and to the dire conclusion. The last twenty or so minutes of the film is truly gruesome.

The other characters in film are pretty two-dimensional --- the villains are mere killing machines, and the cop, the brother of the heroine, is also rather stereotypical loner cop. But the dangerous and out-of-control spiral of the four main characters is riveting to watch.

Bleak, strange, confronting, compelling, and uneven.

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 7/10 · 6 April 2024]

Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind is wild. I kind of found it engaging and maybe entertaining (not sure if that's the right word) but it also might be easiest to respect/admire than enjoy in the traditional sense. It's about three wannabe terrorists who are also kind of losers, and then a more ruthless girl catches onto the stuff they're doing, and she kind of pushes the entire group to do worse things. Then things get more chaotic, they make a lot of enemies, and the level of violence/death just increases as it goes along.

It's blunt, but it does leave me feeling more than most movies that could be described as simple. There is a quality to it that makes it special, even though I didn't like all the decisions it made creatively or content-wise. It's definitely meant to unravel and feel chaotic, and looking back, that whole structure is easier to appreciate, but it did leave me wanting a bit in the moment.

It's a tricky film to talk about, and a trickier one to recommend, but it was something different and I liked it enough for that alone.