Killers on Wheels [無法無天飛車黨] (1976)
AKA Karate Killers on Wheels, Madboys in Hong Kong
Starring Ling Yun, Terry Lau Wai-Yue, Danny Lee, Kong San, Lin Wen-Wei, Lee Chung-Ling, Mi Lan, Huang Jin-Tian, Yeh Kuang-Hui, Mai Yao-Li, Ou Wei-Ming, Huang Chieh-Shui, Li Shu-Hua, Leung Yeun-Hung, Wei Ming-Yu, Wong Jing-Jing, Ching Si, Wong Ching-Ho
Directed by Kuei Chih-Hung
Expectations: Excited, I love Kuei Chih-Hung movies.
Killers on Wheels begins rather innocuously. A couple of rich, spoiled kids, Johnny (Lee Chung-Ling) and Michael (Lin Wen-Wei), leave home on their motorcycles for a weekend camping trip with their friends on an outlying island of Hong Kong. Their father expresses his displeasure in his sons’ relentless pursuit of fun instead of responsibility, but his wife retorts that it’s fine because their sons’ friends “all come from good families.” Moments later the opening credits roll, and we get a taste of their true nature. They all ride motorcycles as a youthful biker gang, having fun however it makes sense in the moment. They are juvenile delinquents with endless energy and desires, and together on wheels they are a monumental force.
At the ferry dock, we meet Guo Jian-Zhong (Ling Yun) and his wife Chen Mei-Juan (Terry Lau Wai-Yue). They’re traveling to the outlying island with Jian-Zhong’s little sister, Guo Ji-Lia (Kong San), for a weekend getaway to a beach house owned by her boyfriend, Si Wei (Danny Lee). They are about as opposite as characters could get from the reckless youths on motorcycles. Guo Jian-Zhong is a responsible husband and a nice guy. His wife seemed somewhat sheltered from the realities of the outside world by Guo, showing us a hint that his character likes to be a protector. His little sister Ji-Lia is fun-loving and youthful, and equally oblivious to the dangers of the world. Her short leather miniskirt quickly attracts the attention of the biker kids, and it’s all downhill from there.