Before Dawn (1984)

Run Time - 89 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Jonathan Crow

Clarence Fok Yiu-leung who would later make a name for his over-the-top exploitation flick Naked Killer makes his directorial debut with this dour coming-of-age drama about an angry young man. Mok Ka-pao is a poor teenager who is mortified that his middle-aged mother (Deanie Yip) still works as a prostitute. He befriends an emotionally unbalanced gay prostitute named Butterfly who inevitably leads him into trouble and eventually into the flesh-peddling trade. His mother -- who spent her life trying to raise her son as best as she could -- is more than a little upset about her son's new vocation. Meanwhile, Ka-pao has fallen for his beautiful classmate Margaret (Loretta Lee) whose family life is even more horrible than his, since she has to endure abuse from her alcoholic father (Ku Feng) and snipes by her embittered mom. Things come to a head when Butterfly gets killed by a deranged john and Ka-pao gets pinned with the crime.