For some directors, going too far is only the beginning. Hong Kong's John Woo is one of them. His film "The Killer," a blood-splattered action bash about a hit man to end all hit men, gets its U.S. television premiere tonight at 11:30 on Cinemax, enterprising sister channel to HBO.

Simultaneously appalling and electrifying, the film was made in Hong Kong in 1990 and has been seen in this country only as a midnight-movie item. As with other features in its "Summer of 1,000 Movies" lineup, Cinemax is showing the film before its home video release.