Pauline Chan plays Hung, a mainlander forced into prostitution in Hong Kong after her husband of a forced marraige is unable to pay his gambling debts. She leaves behind her real love, Sam (Alex Fong), and is to ashamed to tell him of her predicament. Sam, desperate to see Hung again, comes to Hong Kong illegally but is forced into committing a robbery by the gang that provided him passage. Things go horribly wrong when an innocent bystander is killed and Sam becomes a fugitive on the run from both the police and the triad. He manages to track down Hung and the two decide to make their escape back to the mainland.

Although the film addresses some serious issues such as prostitution and the exploitation of illegal immigrants, the manner in which it is handled leaves the viewer in no doubt that the main aims of the director are to titillate and shock. The films many sex scenes are quite pornographic in nature and there are plenty of instances where it just seems unnecessary. A sex scene that takes place on a boat early on in the film adds nothing to the story nor does a steamy shower scene that comes later. The film also contains some rather gratuitous sexual violence and it is hardly surprising that the censors had a field day when 'Escape' was originally submitted for release in the UK.

Offering a brief respite from the nastiness is Billy Chow in a number of kung fu scenes that seem oddly out of place with the subject matter. Further proof that the director had no intention of treating his subject in anything like a serious manner. The choreography of the fights isn't that good either but at least Billy Chow gets to show a few good kicks. One of the scenes that the film is most famous for is where Billy Chow fights a totally naked Cynthia Crawford. Apart from the novelty value of this fight scene there is no reason to recommend it.

I must confess that I'm not a fan at all of this kind of exploitation cinema. I don't mind sex or the kind of sadistic violence in such films but it has to be properly justified and here it isn't. My other complaint is that such films, and 'Escape From Brothel' is no exception, often feature B-movie acting and low production values. Other than the sex scenes I can't see why this would appeal to anybody as the story isn't exactly engaging (it goes quite flat in the middle), the fights are disappointing and the acting is poor.