HK Category III Films: Exploitation & Gore Fest.

Asian cinema has its own share of mind-rotting, vomit-inducing garbage. During the early 90's, exploitation films were all the rage in Hong Kong. While the violence is not as graphic as "Hostel" or "The Human Centipede", Asians have a knack for artistic, subtle violence that terrifies you psychologically. Acts of disemboweling and chopping up limbs are only hinted, their ghosts are there to spook you, rather than to chase after you with a chainsaw. This, in my opinion, is a finesse that truly separates Asian cinema from Hollywood (who prefers violence to be crude, into-your-face). Asians play on the unknown fears, while Hollywood just wants everything to be blatant.

Enter Hong Kong's Category III Films, a type of torture porn made famous in the 90's. There is no equivalent in the Western world, except for maybe the NC-17 ratings. HK Cat III deals with serial killers, prostitutes, ah longs, imperial courts and bizarre fetishes. Below are my Top 5 "Best Of..."Awards for Cat III films.

BEST SERIAL KILLER

The Untold Story (1993), also known as Human Flesh Buns, is probably the most iconic film that defines the Cat III genre. Anthony Wong's performance as a disturbed, creepy psycho who goes about raping and mincing people into meat buns was brilliant enough to win him a Golden Horse Award for Best Actor. The plot is really simple: a man kills an entire family and masquerades as the new restaurant owner, while dishing up "pork buns" made from human flesh to his greedy customers. This movie tries to be deep. It provides a social commentary on police brutality, criminal law, the mass media and ultimately questions the notion of justice. You'll find the victim-victimizer role gets shifted around as the story proceeds. What a shame this film is so underrated and underappreciated (just because it is Asian). More people from the West should watch this! If you love grindhouse movies, this is definitely the one for you.

BEST STALKER 

 

Red To Kill (1994) is one of the sleaziest, most sordid Cat III films ever made. It is some sort of exploitation extravaganza full of gender violence. Plus it has the most satisfying climax and ending in an HK movie. The story is set in a neighbourhood plagued by a predator who stalks and rapes women wearing red clothes. The rapist gets turned on by the colour red. What is frightening (and educational) about this is the identity of the rapist. He is in fact, a teacher working with the mentally-disabled children in a shelter, and a trusted member of society. In my opinion, this reflects the reality of sex crimes; most people who commit rape are usually in a position of trust and responsibility (eg; family members, priests, etc) and therefore are able to slip under the radar easily. The least suspecting ones are in fact, the most dangerous. This movie rates really high on my list of "perverted filth" due to the amount of disturbing sex and gore floating around. Go watch it now.

BEST SEX 

Don't Stop My Crazy Love For You (1993) portrays obsessive love that turns bad real fast. Veteran actor Simon Yam starred as a fan who spies on his object of affection, Kitty, a pretty anchorwoman, who lives across his house. Problem is she does not realize his existence on the same planet. Besides playing peeping tom, he also sleeps with a life-sized dummy resembling Kitty. Then proceeds to send tapes containing harassing messages to her. If you think that isn't creepy enough, he eventually murders the poor woman's boyfriend in a psychotic rage. Our heroine, desiring revenge, baits her stalker using sex and this results in a very steamy, immensely smutty bedroom scene with some serious full frontal. The raw passion and lust that is captured by the camera lens during the love scene is quite unparalleled in its intensity, IMHO. Actress Yvonne Hung gained fame overnight for her salacious portrayal of the beauty in distress, and I find that fame rather justified. The rest of the movie is not very graphic, but the final climax more than makes up for it.    

BEST HISTORICAL SHIT 

Men Behind the Sun (1988) made controversial headlines the moment it was released. It becomes the first movie to earn the Cat III ratings in China. Directed by Mou Tun Fei, it is a documentary that supposedly depicts the cruelty of Japanese soldiers against Chinese civilians during World War II.  The Unit 731, a top-secret unit, was designed to conduct inhuman experiments on Chinese prisoners in order to create the ultimate biological warfare. Eeeww, those experiments are really pukeworthy. Examples: a man had his intestines explode when tortured by high frequency noise, a woman had her skin peeled off her arms, and a boy is dissected alive while his heart is still pumping. Although the term "documentary" lends an air of respectability to this film, I must say the exploitative elements tend to get played up a lot by the mass media, therefore misleading the public into thinking that this movie is just some cheap shitty gimmick. Personally, I don't find this movie sensational in any way. The media hype can be very damaging to a good film which I find to be more educational than your average history textbook in school. 

BEST S&M

Love To Kill (1993) is a little-known Cat III flick that remains a classic in the art of sado-masochism. Anthony Wong played the role of an abusive husband who forced his gorgeous wife to submit to all manners of S&M lovemaking. Domestic violence, while a heavy issue, has never looked sexier than in this movie. Hubby turns into a beast at home whenever he gets in the mood resulting in lots of hot Master-Slave scenario, ranging from bondage, spanking, insertions, asphyxia, water sports, etc. For those who are curious about genuine S&M techniques, this movie will educate you in graphic details. Despite its rather smutty nature, the wife never takes off her clothes fully and never reveals as much skin as other Cat III actresses. The focus here is not exploitation, but on the acts of violation done on the wife in the name of connubial love. Wifey eventually gets her revenge on hubby in the end, in a predictably gory and messy way. "50 Shades of Grey" can't even begin to compare with the nastiness of this HK original.