Hired Guns (1981) Xiong xie | Region-Free (DVD)

Title: Hired Guns (1981)

Alternate Title: Xiong xie

Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller

Plot Synopsis:
A gung-ho detective leads a team of renegade cops to combat Triad criminals. His relentless pursuit proves deadly when the gangsters retaliate by targeting his family.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Chung Gwok-Yan
• Writers: Lau Kwok-Wai, Dik-Hang Tin
• Cast:
  • Phillip Ko
  • Mei-Bo Chiu
  • John Cheung Ng-Long
  • Sherman Chow Shiu-Dung
  • Wong San

IMDb Link:
Hired Guns (1981)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. BrianNaas – ★★★½
   “Here is another obscure Golden Harvest film filled with nearly all unknown actors and a director I have never heard of. I almost passed it up because of that but am glad I didn’t. It is an in your face crime film that is like a grimier glummer 87th Precinct as we bounce back and forth between the cops, the killers and the cop’s family. There is no glamor here – it all takes place in the gritty back streets of Hong Kong and is shot with a rough abruptness. The lower class low level parts of Hong Kong filled with tiny restaurants, outside food stalls selling fish balls and squid, people playing mahjong on the sidewalks, apartment houses that are cramped and claustrophobic. The film is a bit confusing at first as it introduces a number of characters and situations but it slowly comes into focus. The main character is a cop named Goony (Sung Chao Lin) who is in charge of a small squad of undercover cops. They are after a gang of criminals who are into prostitution, gambling and drugs. The gang is led by the Ho brothers – one of whom is played by Phillip Ko – and they are as vicious as they come. They bring in a few Dutch killers to help them out. The film is filled with sudden violence – a beheading, a scalping, a few shootings – and it is all done in a matter of fact manner. The film is also known as Killer Scorpion.”
2. Sam – ★★★½
   “Quite surprised by this relatively forgotten early 80’s Hong Kong cops & robbers gem. Unglamorous in its editing, depictions of quick but hard-hitting violence (including a shocking double whammy of execution-style killings: a beheading and a scalping), and utilizing—for the most part—unknown actors as well as dilapidated locales outside of the downtown area of HK that we are all used to seeing in more stylized action outings of the time.”

Meta Description:
“Hired Guns” (1981), also known as “Xiong xie,” is a Hong Kong action-crime thriller directed by Chung Gwok-Yan. The film follows a determined detective leading a team of rogue officers against Triad criminals, facing dire consequences when the gang targets his family.