The Untold Story
by Herman Yau
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Emily Kwan, Fui-On Shing, Julie Lee (IV), Tony Leung Siu HungDirector: Herman Yau
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Cantonese (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 96 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-10
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Tai Seng
Movie Reviews of The Untold Story
Movie Review: A near perfect serial killer/cannibal flick
Summary: 5 Stars
"Untold Story" (Original Cantonese title (romanized); Baat sin faan dim ji yan yuk cha siu baau) certainly goes to the extremes of serial killer horror. The violent scenes in this movie are some of the worst I can recall ever having seen. And I'm not quite unexperienced on the matter; besides having seen nearly all mainstream horror/slasher/gore-films in existence (which generally has relatively limited amounts of violence) I've also seen the gist of the more notorious cult films of the horror/slasher/gore/exploitation genres (including, but far from limited to; "Cannibal Holocaust","Cannibal Ferox", "Salò", "Bad Taste", "Braindead", "Pink Flamengos","I spit on your corpse, I piss on your grave", The Guinea Pig series, The Virgin trilogy, "Evil Dead Trap", "Bloodsucking Freaks", "House of 1000 corpses", "Ichi the Killer", "Kichiku Dai Enkai", "Men behind the Sun", "The Devil's Rejects", "Murder Set Pieces"). Now, while these movies range from exploitation comedy/trash to slasher/serial killer films they all more or less contain elements of violence to a greater or lesser extent. So, in all humbleness, I should be entitled to comment on the violence "Untold Story" portrays with at least some credibility.
(WARNING; MAYOR SPOILERS)
The story, set in Macau, revolves around a psychopatic cook/restaurant worker, Wong, who has killed his boss including all of his nuclear family over a game of mahjong. Wong "wins" by cheating, making him insist he is entitled to some 183,000$ (Hong Kong dollar). The following dispute thus results in his murder of boss Cheng and his entire family (though this first is shown at the end of the movie, in retrospect). Wong is also involved in a previous murder in Hong Kong, as we see in the opening scene. As will be a familiar method of disposal later in the movie, he grinds the flesh of the bodies and uses them in "human pork buns", serving them to customers. After some limbs wash up at a nearby shore in Macau, the police start investigating the matter. The police investigation makes up about half of the film, in effect adding a definite crime/thriller element. It is also through the investigation crew, led by Officer Lee, that the comic relief is given, with the three clumsy and horny guys (always checking out Officer Lee's newest "girlfriend" and the self-confident Bo who don't seem to be taking their investigation too seriously. Later Wong also kills his two employees before he is caught and incarcerated, facing a harsh prison environment and leading to his confession and later suicide.
The violent and/or gory scenes in the film are;
1. The immolation of a man in the opening scene (the Hong Kong murder)
2. The disembowelment and dismemberment of a pig
3. The killing, disembowelment and dismemberment of a cook/waiter, and the grinding of his meat and offal into pork bun filling.
4. The graphic rape and murder of a female cashier/waiter, killed by insertion of chopsticks into her vagina.
5. The graphic murder of Wong's boss Cheng Lam and his family. Cheng's youngest son (at about 3-4 years old) has his throat slit, Cheng's wife is stabbed in her stomach, two daughters (some 7-10 years old) are slit in the throat, one graphically decapitated on a table.
6. The killing of Chan Lai Chun, Cheng Lam's mother in law, and the following dismemberment of the whole family
(SPOILERS END HERE)
Despite the somewhat inferior acting by the police investigation team as a result of the so called "comic relief" that is supposed to give, both Wong's and his victims' acting is irreproachable. Wong himself is so convincing as a creepy sociopath that he easily could be mistaken for a real one. As for the violence, it's seriously graphic, and will be disturbing for anyone unaccustomed to cult film violence or violence in general. Sure, you will find films that contain much stronger sexual violence ("Murder Set Pieces", "Irreversible", "August Underground Mordum"), more gore ("Bad Taste", "Braindead"), more dismemberment-in-action ("Flower of Flesh and Blood") and far more explicit cannibalism ("Cannibal Holocaust"), but "Untold Story" combines these elements with a totally believable plot, redeeming qualities and great editing. Thus, hadn't it been for the stupid, so called "comedy" that the police investigation team at times provided, this would be a perfect "serial killer/insinuated cannibalism"-movie. Especially if the investigation team would be as interesting as in, say, "Se7en" or "Saw", and the atmosphere had been more sombre. Yet it still ranks high among "Se7en", "American Psycho", "Silence of the Lambs" and "Natural Born Killers" in quality and entertainment value, IMHO, even though it surely is a different experience. Moreover, this isn't simply a gore fest exploitation flick; there's also insinuated cannibalism as both several customers and the investigation crew themselves have a treat to Wong's special "human pork buns", which also adds a dark wit to the story that I found appealing.
If you're a fan of horror in general and/or cannibal serial killer movies with crime/thriller elements in special, you should definitively give this one a try. If you like this one you can try "Dumplings" as well, another Chinese cannibal film, revolving around a beauty expert offering special dumplings containing aborted human foetal meat to alleviate symptoms of aging. All in all, "Untold Story" is an impressing effort of a serial killer movie that in my opinion manages to incorporate the good qualities more often found in mainstream cinema (a proper plot, in part convincing acting, fitting editing etc.) and underground/exploitation cinema (excessive ( i.e. satisfying amounts of) violence, gore and limbs) to a successful end product. Both in-your-face shocking and indirectly disturbing. Thumbs up.
Summary of The Untold Story
Anthony wong stars in this cult classic as the owner/chef of the restaurant where the original owner and his family mysteriously disappear. This is an intelligent character study filled with dark humor touches. Remember it actually happened. Studio: Tai Seng Entertainment Release Date: 08/17/2004 Starring: Anthony Wong Danny Lee Run time: 95 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Heman YauSimilar DVD Movies
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