Naked Comes the Huntress (1978)

 

(Original Title: Diao nu) It's like a big budget grand technicolor epic from the sixties... but with several insane full frontal nude scenes.  You'll see what I mean.

Three men from "south of the Great Wall" have come in search of mink, ginseng and ula grass.  They clearly are out of their element, nearly starving and frostbitten.

Tu (James Tien), Le Tai-Duen (Sing Chen), and Lo Hao (Ching Wong) are given food and shelter by the constable, but are soon back out in the wild.

But it doesn't go much better the second time around.  They nearly die from falling down hills.  Eventually one of them manages to catch a mink, but it's far from a graceful catch.

Mien Mien Chen (Yeong-ran Seo) the "mink huntress" is also out in the forest.

She unexpectedly disrobes.

Then lays in the snow and goes to sleep stark naked.

Somehow this attracks minks from miles around who flock to her.

The three men stumble upon Mien Mien and can't believe their eyes.

Mien Mien springs into action and ensnares them in a net.

The men convince Mien Mien they mean no harm.  She takes them to her home and introduces them to her father Chen (Hsieh Wang).

Chen agrees to give them lodging if they'll help around the homestead.

Mien Mien does chores, feeding the minks.

She takes a liking to one of the men, Tu.

Mien Mien lathers herself with oil.

Tu cuts wood while Mien Mien goes back to the forest for more mink.

As is her custom, Mien Mien again sleeps naked in the snow.

She doesn't realize Lo has followed her out here.

By the time she wakes up it's too late.

Lo pursues Mien Mien through the snow.

He is carrying her off when Le arrives.

Kung fu fighting.

Mien Mien watches as Lo is about to be killed by Le.  But she asks that he spare his life.

Le rushes to Mien Mien and gives her his coat.

Mien Mien rewards Le's heroism with sex, and agrees to marry him.

Per Le's request, Mien Mien doesn't speak a word about the incident when she returns.

We meet a traveling monk and his ill treated initiates.

Chen takes a liking to Tu.

Mien Mien fancies him as well.

In fact, Chen says he'd like Tu to marry Mien Mien.  Her dowry is two big genseng roots (which apparently go for a lot of money).

Le overhears this and is outraged.  Those gensing roots are rightfully his.

Mien Mien and the three men go into town to trade their minks.

Len begins his scheming.  He convinces Lo and Tu to go out and get drunk with some whores.  But he hangs back feigning illness.

While Lo and Tu are out of commission drunk, Le returns to Chen and demands the gensing.  He also tells him that he's marrying Mien Mien.

Chen can abide this, and they battle.

Chen puts up a valient fight, but is ultimately killed.

Le ransacks the place.  He steals the gensing and then destroys the homestead.

Lo and Tu wake up hungover with their head shaved. Le has paid the head monk to take these two as captives at the temple.

Le and Tu are whipped by the monks.

Le takes his new wife back to the homestead and pretends to be horrified by the sight of the destruction.  He says it must have been an avalanche that destroyed her home and killed her father.  Mien Mien quietly stares in shock.

The abbot finally lets Tu and Lo leave the temple.

They return to the homestead and are shocked to find it destroyed.

They return to town and an Innkeeper (Han-Chen Wang) informs them that Mien Mien is married to Le.

Tu and Lo have dinner with Le and Mien Mien.  Things are not adding up for Tu, and he realizes that Le may have killed Chen and set this whole thing up.

Chen returns, and Mien Mien couldn't be happier.  But how can he be alive? Spoiler, he's not.  This is actually the Abbott (Shan Kwan) in disguise.  It's all a part of Tu's plan to expose Le as the killer.

Le cannot accept that Chin could still be alive.  He beats the shit out of Mien Mien for believing this is her real father.

As "Chen" continues to play with Le's mind, he becomes unhinged.

Le can't take it anymore and digs up where he buried Chen.  Indeed, his rotting corpse is still there.

But he's cold busted.  Everyone is there to confront him.  The Abbott reveals that he was disguised as Chen. Mien Mien smacks him across the face.

Le's guilt is proven, but he manages to get away.

He returns at night dressed as a ninja.  Tu and Le fight it out, busting through walls.

Mien Mien watches as Tu kills Le.  THE END

CHARACTERS

Mien Mien Chen (Yeong-ran Seo) "mink huntress"

Chen (Hsieh Wang) Mien Mien's father

Le Tai-Duen (Sing Chen) 

Lo Hao (Ching Wong) 

Tu (James Tien)  
Abbott (Shan Kwan)

Constable Wan (Kun Li)

Innkeeper (Han-Chen Wang)

RATING: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 5/10

REVIEW: This was wild.  For nearly all its runtime this is a G-rated picture that would fit in with any of those epics of the sixties (Cleopatra, Doctor Zhivago, etc.) But then Yeong-ran Seo gets fully naked and it simply does not compute.  Aside from the smoking hot Yeong-ran Seo, this was a pretty compelling story, but not quite my cup of tea. The kung-fu fights were fair, and the setting was top tier - just not "exploitative" enough if that makes sense.