Who Knows About Me (1983)

Directed by: Hsu Yu-Lung
Producers: Chong Ting-Yan & Lin Wen-Xiong
Written by : Yiu Hing-Hong
Starring: Wong Goon-Hung, Juliet Chan, Chan Sing, Mark Long & Chen Hung-Lieh

Ling Sung reveals his boss and employer Lo Hsi Te is smuggling diamonds and a roll of film containing this costs him his life. Taking care of his family but also plotting revenge for his friend is Shih Chung-Yang (Wong Goon-Hung) who is eventually joined by a woman (Juliet Chan) after the head of Lo Hsi Te as well..

Hsu Yu-Ling (King Of Snake. Later re-edited into Thunder Of Gigantic Serpent at IFD) isn't coming off as a filmmaker of note but decent at performing within genre and Who Knows About Me (Final Mission Final when picked up by IFD) signals a steady hand presenting mostly a string of fairly gritty fight scenes with some overdone melodrama in between to tie the story together.

Knowing it's playing with basics is more than fine but for a while Hsu creates a good atmosphere of dread as we have villains present that go to great lengths to preserve their secret. Including hurting entire families. So criminal activities getting close to invading normal lives, the ruthlessness of it all is a thread you can attach to. Especially since early on Hsu's action directors deliver a gritty, violent style rather than balletic choreography. It doesn't call for the former. It's very basic but moves well, even sounds aggressive and because there's little downtime or even pondering over the cycle of revenge, it's neat to be able to quickly get into scenarios of priority. Characters talk of who their next target is and we quickly cut to having found the said target and off we are into action.

There's nothing really refined about Who Knows About Me but it isn't pretending to be either. This is 82 minutes of in an out cinema. Meaning we get what the marquee promises and we're quickly out of there having not been affected by drama but rather enjoyed the intensity on display (that even includes chainsaw violence at one point). The commitment to a rather pitch black vision is also appreciated (although 2-3 instances of comedy right at the end are puzzling, desperate inclusions) so Hsu Yu-Lung proves here fisticuffs can be delivered. Just like King Of Snake proved Taiwan could do a decent monster movie.

reviewed by Kenneth Brorsson