In 1988, the Hong Kong Motion Picture Ratings System
introduced their equivalent of the restrictive NC-17 rating, Category III. In definition, no one under 18 would be
permitted to rent, purchase, or view this film in cinemas. Primarily applying to films only made and
released in Hong Kong, the rating initially applied retroactively to
preexisting films made before the rating came into being. After taking effect, the rating generally
pertained towards films of a perversely violent and sexual nature. In time, however, a new kind of cinema
emerged with the rating, one which sailed so far over the top in terms of
extreme violence, sex, rape, gore, depravity, cannibalism, you name it. All bets are off once you sit to watch a
Category III film. Either deeply
disturbing, sleazier than most pornos, or so completely insane you have to
laugh, these are the kind of films you not only can’t believe you’re seeing
unfold onscreen, but you find yourself curiously wanting more. To give an introduction to some of the
nuttiest, most profane, subversive and strangely hilarious films that only
could have come out of this Hong Kong rating which is still growing strong
today, The Movie Sleuth takes a look at six Category III films that would
define an entire subgenre of Asian exploitation cinema.
 |
| "How about some head?" |
Riki-Oh:
The Story of Ricky is one of the most over-the-top and gory
films that has roundhouse kicked its way out of Hong Kong. Based on a Japanese
manga of the same name, Riki-Oh is an
unusual martial arts flick with some of the craziest fight scenes that have
ever been committed to celluloid. The main character Ricky (Fan Siu-wong) is
basically an invincible demi-god (due to his extensive Kung Fu training) who
gets put into a maximum security prison for a crime he didn’t commit. The
prison is run by a fat, corrupt pig of a warden and his four gang leader
flunkies. Ricky has to constantly fend off attacks from the gang leaders, each
of which have super powers and abilities.
What sets this movie apart from other films in the
genre is how brutal and violent it is. It’s reminiscent of the anime The Fist of the North Star with heads
being crushed and abdomens being punched through. One inmate even slashes his
own stomach open and tries to choke Ricky with his intestines! That’s hardcore. The final fight is a blood
and guts filled slaughterhouse and so completely outlandish that it circles
around from stupid all the way back to awesome again. Everything is wrapped up
with one of the most hilarious and craptastic English dubs that has ever been
recorded. It literally sounds like three guys did all the voices and most of
the dialog is nonsensical and random. This is a fun film that is perfect for a
get-together with copious amounts of beer and open-minded friends.
 |
| "My hands are frozen. Damn you Hoth." |
Category III films are known for their unrelenting and
shocking portrayals of the darkest recesses of the human mind. Men Behind the Sun is especially
haunting because it depicts actual events that happened in Japanese history.
During WWII, Japan had a secret experimentation camp known as Unit 731, where
they committed terrible atrocities on the Chinese prisoners that were being
held there. They purposely infected them with diseases, amputated limbs, did
autopsies on them while they were still alive, exposed them to extreme heat and
cold and other abominable acts—purely evil things that boggle the mind and
destroy the spirit. The fact that these incidents really transpired should be
enough to make anyone sick to their stomach.
Director T. F. Mou said he was trying to make a
historically accurate account of the events during that time period, but the
film ended up being so vile that it was relegated to exploitation status upon
its release. It is indeed a very hard movie to stomach and it’s difficult to
not be moved to tears by the callous treatment given to the prisoners. The
make-up and effects are very well-done and realistic looking which adds a
documentary style feel to the proceedings. It was banned outright in Japan and
Australia when it was released and the director even received some threats to
his life. Men Behind the Sun has the
dubious honor of being the first Chinese film to get the Cat III rating and is
thus the grandfather of all the films that followed. It’s an incredibly difficult film to watch
and should be approached with extreme caution. Some things can’t be unseen.
 |
| "Did you say FREE Taco Bell?" |
The subject of rape is one of the most delicate issues
that can be touched upon in a film. Usually it is handled with great care and
responsibility, but Red to Kill does
not have such lofty goals. This film is perverted, exploitative, disgusting and
has rape scenes that are intended to be arousing or titillating. To be sure,
most people won’t enjoy watching this movie, but it definitely was made to
appeal to a small depraved demographic. The story concerns a man who owns a
home for mentally challenged children—however, he has a dark secret. Whenever
he sees the color red, it turns him in to a maniac and a serial rapist! He
rapes one of the students in the home and her social worker decides to take
justice into her own hands. This concept sounds silly, and it is played for
laughs to a degree--the actor who plays the rapist is absurd and is practically
frothing at the mouth like a cartoon character.
Overall, it’s a tasteless and crass film with no
redeeming qualities whatsoever. Red to Kill scrapes the bottom of the
depravity barrel, and that’s saying a lot with the amount of truly indecent Cat
III flicks that have been produced. Perhaps if the sex scenes hadn’t been so smutty and the production values just a
little bit higher it would have had more of a reason to exist other than for
perverse gratification. The female protagonist could have been fleshed out
more—these types of films work better if the offended woman gets her revenge in
the end. I can’t really recommend it for casual viewing but if for some reason
you are a completest (or a sadist) it might warrant a cursory glance.
 |
| "Why do I look so shocked? Well, let me tell you a story." |
The
Untold Story is one of the most unexpectedly shocking
and difficult Category III films one can possibly sit through. Loosely based on the true story of Macau’s
most notorious serial killer, Herman Yau’s award winning shocker crime drama
stars Anthony Wong as Wong Chi Hang, a murder fugitive from Hong Kong. Hiding from justice by working within a
restaurant in Macau, Wong murders the restaurant owner and his family before
stealing their business. Anyone who
questions or suspects him of foul play turn up dead, with Wong conveniently
disposing of the body parts through a meat grinder which he winds up cooking
and serving to his customers. Meanwhile
police grow suspicious of Wong given the disappearance of the family behind the
restaurant and body parts start turning up.
On the one hand, The
Untold Story accurately retells the Eight Immortals Restaurant incident in
which Wong ruthlessly and brutally murdered an innocent family with multiple
children before his subsequent conviction and prison suicide. Anthony Wong, who took home the Best Actor
Hong Kong Film Award, makes Wong into a completely despicable sociopath with no
remorse or even a soul. Scenes of the
man ruthlessly murdering a family of screaming and crying children are
undoubtedly the hardest, most difficult moments I’ve ever witnessed in a film,
and I have to wonder just how it was pulled off without traumatizing the child
actors. On the other hand, the
polarizing shocks (and there are many) are offset by uncharacteristically goofy
comic relief in the police station, with three horny male officers hitting on a
female officer working within the unit, including but not limited to scenes of
the sheriff parading around a litany of prostitutes. While funny, the scenes are at odds with the
uncompromising portrait of Wong’s crimes, which are so extreme they can’t help
but seep under this reader’s skin.
Overall a strong true crime film that packs one Hell of a punch but
don’t say I didn’t warn you: this can be very upsetting to watch.
 |
| "I have to tell ya. You have incredible balance! |
Bosco Lam’s A
Chinese Torture Chamber Story is one of the funniest Category III movies a
casual viewer can happen upon whose over the top onscreen sex and violence
manages to elicit more laughs than gasps.
An ultraviolent soft porn comedy set during the Ching Dynasty in ancient
China, Chinese Torture Chamber Story concerns
a young female servant nicknamed Little Cabbage who is framed by a jealous
Princess for the murder of a man and tortured for information in the court of
law. Told in present time during the
torturous trial, the film jumps back and forth to tell Cabbage’s story of how
her voyeuristic eavesdropping on her master Prince Yeung’s sexploits and an
affair which would begin between Yeung and his hired hands.
The simplicity of the love triangle plotline is
secondary to Torture Chamber Story’s
real aims, which are to parade over the top torture scenes which range from
traditional Chinese mechanics to some genuinely wild sight gags which take
their violence so far over the Moon they instantly achieve cartoonish lunacy. Best known for its flying kung-fu sex scene,
which plays like a porno parody of Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon, A Chinese
Torture Chamber Story is a Category III film that truly has it all and will
give exploitation fans of the subgenre more than their money’s worth. If that’s not enough, there’s an exploding
penis, a mock horse with a wooden dildo, a “funny” rape scene, skin removal and
a woman angry she doesn’t have bigger breasts.
Fans of The Toxic Avenger will
be in Heaven with Torture Chamber Story’s
litany of tongue-in-cheek chauvinism and shock vistas. Not for the faint hearted or easily offended
but not to be missed for some serious exploitation, one of a kind
hilarity.
 |
| "Don't MAKE ME bring out the big knife." |
To say Herman Yau’s Ebola Syndrome is an insanely tasteless and remorseless shockfest
would be too modest a description. There
aren’t enough adjectives to fit the bill or enough substances to abuse in order
to fully digest the completely outrageous lunacy which ensues. Following the success of Yau’s previous
Category III shocker The Untold Story, Ebola
Syndrome concerns Kai (Anthony Wong), a Hong Kong fugitive who flees into
hiding within South Africa after murdering his boss and boss’ wife. Working at a Chinese restaurant during his
hiding, he and his employer stumble upon a tribe of natives infected with the
Ebola virus. After raping a dying
native, Kai contracts the virus but winds up becoming an immune carrier,
effectively spreading it among all he encounters. From the get go, Ebola Syndrome makes no bones about what it is, an exploitation
horror film with a gleeful desire to offend, titillate and dumbfound. Whatever moral compasses exist in film,
they’re nowhere to be found here.
Considered by fans of the short lived subgenre to be one of the craziest
entries, Ebola Syndrome is chock full
of ridiculously over the top violence as well as sex and nudity.
-Andrew Kotwicki
-Michelle Kisner