I'm guessing that, as with notorious Cat III classics Daughter of Darkness, The Untold Story, and Dr.Lamb, Remains of a Woman is based on a gruesome true crime. Director Clarence Fok's movie follows the same structure as those films, with the apprehension of the criminals, followed by the details of the case, which unfold in a series of flashbacks.
The film opens with a raid on the home of lothario Billy Chan (James Pax) and his lover Judy Yu (Carrie Ng), where the police discover a metal container full of semi-dissolved body parts (literally the 'remains of a woman'). Billy and Judy are found guilty of the murder of air hostess Lisa Wong (Wai-Guen Law), another of Billy's women, and are jailed, during which time Billy turns to Christianity, guided by pretty bible basher Annie Cheung (Loletta Lee), with whom he falls in love. Eventually, Billy and Judy are given a retrial, and it is then that we learn the truth behind the slaying.
Remains of a Woman is stylishly shot, with decent performances, but by focusing on the love triangle between Billy, Judy and Lisa, and the later romance between Annie and Billy, rather than the sex and violence that fans of the genre expect (there is virtually no nudity, while the dismemberment of Lisa occurs mostly off-screen), the film can only be deemed a disappointment.
