Brother of Darkness (1994)

A man kills his brother. Was it an act of cold blooded murder or self defense? Based on a controversial murder trial in Hong Kong, this courtroom drama depicts the conflicts and abuse of two brothers leading to the imminent murder. The whole family is afraid of Wah, and with good reason. He threatens to kill his parents if the don’t open the door right now, throws his wife onto the bed (which she doesn’t seem to mind), beats up anyone whenever he feels like it, snorts cocaine, renders his younger brother Toh impotent by a well-aimed punch, sexually assaults Toh’s girlfriend Jenny, and even rapes his ageing mother. And just in case you fail to pick up on this guy being a complete demonic bastard, he rams home the point by yelling almost all the time, laughing manically, and singing about drugs and sex as he indulges. (Subtle it ain’t !) All of which is told in staggered flashbacks during a murder trial. There is some tension early on, but this completely evaporates when it becomes clear that the deceased is the completely-evil Wah. After that, you can be assured that nobody would find guilty the tormented younger brother Toh, who stands accused. Even the prosecutor seems more interested in making eyes at the defence.