Goh yeung yee sang

I have had the pleasure of seeing Simon Yam in more than a few films: My Left Eye Sees Ghosts, Election, Triad Election, Exiled, and more. Seeing him as the psycho serial killer in a Chinese true crime adventure was a real pleasure.

I have also seen many film's with Danny Lee: John Woo's The Killer, with Simon Yam and Kent Cheng in Run and Kill, and with Chow Yun-Fat in Code of Honor. As the detective in charge of this case, he puts forth another very good performance.

Lee also produced and directed this film along with "Billy" Tang.

This is a Cat III film, so the violence is extreme. There is a lot of blood and gore as he dismembers his victims. There is also nudity and necrophilia.

Based upon a real story, this taxi driver, who was excited from the rain and thunder, was a real psycho. Yam was perfect in the role.

Acclaimed and charismatic Hong Kong actor Danny Lee made his directorial debut with this influential film from 1992. DR. LAMB is based on the true life murders that took place in Hong Kong in 1982 during several months. A taxi driver Lam Gor-Yu committed grisly murders on females he thought were "bad and filthy" and it was revealed that he thought he got his instructions and orders from God. He was caught after developing some photographs which concerned the workers in that camera shop who actually saw the photos. Lam (or "Lamb") photographed all his victims in various positions while he mutilated them or even raped after the killing. He was sentenced to prison (a life sentence) and at least in the film, everybody turned their backs on him, even his parents and relatives, and that is also one important point and theme in the film.

The film opens showing some kids play. Of course it is a short depiction of Lam's childhood as he grew in seemingly happy and safe family, but still he was very silent and had some abnormal habits like used to peep on his parents who made love at night (it is said in the opening that his real mother had left him or died and that he didn't live with his real parents, and that Lam missed his mother a lot as a child). He also secretly watched her sister taking bath and so on but still no one in their family did anything about it until the horrible photographs were found by accident. The family said to police that they never saw him and he was always alone in his room doing something, and driving the cab at night time. The film is told as a flashback as the film opens (after the kids scene) with the arrest of Lam in the camera store. Soon he starts to tell the police about his past and victims, but what he goes through before that isn't too nice or human.

The film is written by Law Kam Fai, who has written at least Kirk Wong's GUNMEN (1988), and co-directed by Billy Tang Hin Sing, who has made some depressing, nerve-shredding and ultra pessimistic (horror related) thrillers like RED TO KILL (1994) and RUN AND KILL (1993), the latter also starring Simon Yam in a perhaps even more frightening psycho performance than in LAMB. Billy really knows how to shoot atmospheric scenes and how to use light and darkness, and how wonderfully that shows in DR. LAMB! Easily the greatest thing in this impressive film is the cinematography by Kin Fai Miu, who has also photographed Tang's over-the-top dark RUN AND KILL. The scenes in Lamb's apartment shown as a flashback are really haunting and creepy due to the huge talent of the cinematographer, the directors and their visual style. The dark and intrusive blue and strong light coming through the window blind to Lamb's room really starts to live and become one important character to the scenes, adding a menacing and dreadful, but also fascinating feel to them. Also the submissive and very low camera angles make the flashback scenes uniquely powerful. Lee and Tang move their camera restrainedly and every angle and movement is carefully considered. The scenes in Lamb's room are as fantastic and stunning as the storehouse finale in Ringo Lam's crime thriller CITY ON FIRE (1986), and that film uses exactly the same technique by using darkness and blue color to the maximum effect. Of course these films would require the big screen as Cinema in general, too.

Music and soundtrack by Jonathan Wong is the second most effective thing in the film and together with the photography they stand out in this film. The soundtrack consists of different menacing, gently pounding and waving voices and sounds which really can raise the hair of the viewer, because soundtrack can be very mean and sudden towards the viewer because it strikes straightly to the brain and fills the whole room where images are only in the screen and not so "dominant" when compared to music and soundtrack. DR. LAMB is again one movie to prove the power of sonic elements in cinema.

The film is pretty depressing film and almost as much as those of Billy Tang's. Lam is horribly abused by the authorities and also by his own brothers, sisters and parents. Everyone wishes death and revenge for him and they just can't notice when they have become themselves as bad as the one they're attacking. The police brutality is taken even further in Herman Yau's harrowing THE UNTOLD STORY (1993) when the (again real life) murderer is played by Anthony Wong who also won the actor award for this role in Hong Kong Film Awards. Only person who seems to feel little empathy and compassion for Lam is Inspector Lee played by the talented actor and this film's co-director that is, Danny Lee. The final image in DR. LAMB really stays in mind and that is also the first time we see Lam visibly reacting to the care he receives by Lee, so there is really things more human and larger between them than what the other characters managed to do. Lam's crimes are horrible and never justified but that doesn't mean everyone must react the same way towards the criminal.

Only negative things I find in this film are the sometimes irritating and unintentionally comic acts and voices Lam does in his room while playing with the bodies. I don't think the "howling" voice isn't too clever or effective and it should have been left out. The film has also some of the usual Hong Kong cinema comic elements which really are not any problem for these film makers to add to any film. It doesn't matter whether or not it's serious horror or action, there can always be a sudden scene of slapstick or goofiness if the makers wish so, but fortunately this film lacks them almost completely. The "breast in the back" and other of the few pretty tasteless jokes and happenings are not as irritating as they could be, but still they are on the limit. Good point is also that the film is pretty well written and the characters (especially Lam and Inspector Lee) become interesting and human, and none of the characters say unnecessary things and thoughts which is too often the case in many Hong Kong films, and that is just a sign of a more or less bad screenplay and dialogue.

DR. LAMB suffered also pretty badly in the hands of the Hong Kong censors and it couldn't get the highest rating, Category III, until several scenes of extreme nature were removed or trimmed. The current Hong Kong VCD and DVD releases are both naturally cut, and at least the old and nowadays hard to find Spanish videotape is the uncut and original version. I have both the HK version (English subtitles) and the uncut version (no subtitles) and the original version is approximately just 15 seconds longer than the Hong Kong Cat III version but the scenes censored are pretty gruelling and graphic and also add to the effect of the film. Director Lee naturally didn't like at all that their expensive prosthetics body used in the goriest scenes was so badly abused by the censors, but still the current Category III version is very watchable and the film definitely doesn't lose its impact unbearably too much.

DR. LAMB is among the most noteworthy Hong Kong films of the nineties, and despite its graphic and shocking nature and imagery, it is not mere exploitation and has many things which are lacking from so called "better" or accepted films from Hong Kong and elsewhere. The film never becomes gratuitous or laughable explicit which can naturally be expected by the talented makers behind this. 8/10

Dr. Lamb is directed by Danny Lee (co-star of The Killer and the cop in The Untold Story) and Billy Tang (director of Red to Kill and Run & Kill) and this film is one of the earlier Category 3 movies with Sentenced to Hang and Story of Ricky. After these films, brutally violent and sexually explicit horror thrillers began to be made and that highest age limit was invented.

Dr. Lamb is not as superb as The Untold Story or Run & Kill but it is still very chilling and stylish true crime film but I don't know how close this is to truth. Anyway, a disturbed young man drives a taxi in Hong Kong and he has very bad traumas from his childhood. Murdered and mutilated women start to appear and the police investigation begins..The horrific truth is about to be discovered..

Simon Yam is among the greatest psycho actors in Hong Kong (and world!) and only equivalent for him is Anthony Wong. The acting in Lamb is once again very professional and unforgettable, and when he "freaks out" it sure is scary and horrific to watch. At times, it makes me wonder how these gentlemen can act like that, no matter how professionals they are! Yam's motif for these killings is that he is on a mission from God and he has to kill all the bad women. Prostitutes and addicts are for instance "bad" women and due to his traumas and awful childhood he thinks that he has to purify and clean the streets out of this scum. But the main point and theme in Dr. Lamb is exactly the same as in The Untold Story: the power and behaviour of police. How far can police go in order to get info and answers? The police no longer is the "good" guy and they are no better than the victims. The message is not as powerful as in Untold Story which is at times almost unbearably hard to watch due to the acts police commits. But the same problems are discussed in Dr. Lamb and this can be described very important issue and no-nonsense film.

The film is also pretty stylish and professional, as we can expect from these film makers. The use of blue and dark colours and light is gorgeous and the film looks fantastic. The rain is always there and so is depressing atmosphere. This looks as wonderful as the finale in Billy Tang's Red to Kill. Dr. Lamb is almost hypnotic at times, so this is once again unforgettable cinema from the great Hong Kong and has no equivalents in Western cinema. The music is also important element here and I can't point out many technical flaws in the film. There are couple of "funny" scenes which should have been left out, but fortunately they are only very few.

The violence and sex is always the thing which alienates people from this kind of cinema and Dr. Lamb is not easier to watch than any other of its kind. The violence and gore is not as extreme as in Untold Story but it is still too much for mainstream audiences. Dead bodies are abused and body parts are cut off. The imagery is occasionally off-putting, but then we have to remember, what actually led the protagonist to commit these horrific acts. The difference between Western and Orient (horror) cinema is as clear as crystal: subject matters and imagery which is definitely a no-no in West (necrophilia, brutality towards women/children etc.) are by no means taboos in Orient. I am not too familiar with the Chinese culture, but watching Chinese films definitely shows that there are many cultures in the world and our Western is just one of them. And when the Chinese/Orient film makers show in their films such a horrific acts mentioned above, it definitely means NOT that they accept these things and don't think they're bad. They are bad and the Orient films say they're bad, so only thing the viewer has to be able to do is to INTERPRET these difficult films and see though them and analyze them. This is too much and too hard for most of the people and that's why the films are considered just sick, disgusting, pointless and so on. Orient films as seen through Western eyes are difficult and require a lot from the viewer, and I like difficult cinema which require brains.

Dr. Lamb is one of the greatest achievements in this field and absolutely worth seeking out for Hong Kong fanatics. Too bad that the newly released DVD from Hong Kong is cut for violence and reportedly the uncut print doesn't even exist anymore, or at least is not likely to be released anywhere. The Spanish VHS tape is the only uncut version I know but it is dubbed into Spanish. Some old HK versions may be uncut too but I don't know about them. But the new DVD is still OK because the cuts are not as bad as possible and there are no any substitutes, especially for English speaking people.

8/10 and recommended for the lovers of Eastern cinema.

Dr. Lamb is CAT III psychological crime horror film, Shot in 1992 by Danny Lee and Billy Tang is a mixture of true crime procedural and gore movie based on the true life murders that took place in Hong Kong during several months. The film follows cab driver Lam Gor-Yu (Simon Yam), who chops up victims and engages in the odd necrophiliac action. He is a twisted psychopath who spends his spare time killing, mutilating, and raping women. The movie is quite different, most notorious films from the golden age of Hong Kong horror than trying to be a "Taxi Driver"-wannabe/rip-off. For those interested to check out Category III rating, which is equivalent to the old X's or current NC-17's in the U.S, then Dr. Lamb is a good start followed by 2 of my favourites Untold Story (1993) and Ebola Syndrome (1996).

As with many other viewers who commented here, I have to report a little baffled by the film's ungodly reputation as a virulent, nasty shocker. I was likely treated to the cut Hong Kong version but it's easy to spot out the trimmings: various scenes of our titular serial killer dissecting with a scalpel his deceased victims. We see a breast being surgically removed and stored in a jar. Incisions across different body parts. There is repeated strangulation and a tame bout of necrophilia as depraved closure. Presumably these are extended in the uncut version for added effect.

The point remains however: this is nothing like say The Untold Story if that's what you're looking for. Simon Yam exudes a petulant insanity that veers closer to clingy and pathetic than Anthony Wong's brutal monstrousness. And a lot of the film, given Danny Lee's daft involvement, is another awkwardly comedic policier about unorthodox cops matching the killer in senseless violence.

So if you are in it for brutality's sake, you will know where to find it elsewhere. But if you have cinematic stakes in the films you watch and moreover have been developing an aesthetically preoccupied eye, you may be strangely fulfilled.

Our killer is a night shift taxi driver and every night seems to rain hard, which means we get a lot of latenight city blues played on nocturnal asphalt.

The kills are a treat to watch: inside the car parked nowhere and every glass panel drenched with rain and illuminating flashes from faraway neon, hands and bodies convulsing as though a sexual sauna is going on.

And back in the killer's apartment, rays of light piercing through calligraphy painted on a blue wall.

And once the last victim makes a getaway, a frantic chase through pouring rain across a park like straight from a giallo.

Everything that has to do with violence and dying is sensual blues, purely stylized in a way that is erotic to watch. In film terms, this will remind you of the rain-soaked/ neon-bled yakuza films of Takashi Ishii in Japan. A bit of 80's Mann and Wong Kar Wai, minus too much urbane poetry.

So as far as gruesome nastiness goes, this is Category II at best. Watch as a stylized crime flick.