User reviews

Ngai Kai Lam, the director of the first and best "Erotic Ghost Story", captained this magnificent gore- and fight-fest set in an unconventional Hong Kong prison. It is so gleefully over-the-top that it exists in its own ludicrous stratosphere and is one of the most memorable Hong Kong exploitation films ever made. Siu-Wong Fan is terrific as Riki-oh, a meditative lad who is imprisoned for defending his girlfriend's honor. Possessing almost supernatural strength and fighting prowess, he is forced to fight The Gang of Four, a bunch of crazy, imprisoned superhero types who appear to control the prison's inmates with the approval of the corrupt, one-eyed assistant aarden (Mui Sang Fan), keeper of a massive porno mag collection and owner of a screw-on hook he uses to cart human trash away. The blood-soaked scenes of violence are hilarious and grotesque. Guts are ripped from a man's stomach and used to strangle him. Birds peck out an eyeball. Heads are squashed until they explode. Ricki even knocks down a prison wall with one nasty punch. Originally a Japanese manga (and there's an animated version, too), "The Story of Ricky" has a great, bombastic score, ultra-bloody effects, operatic performances, and a fat Japanese boy, too. It all adds up to top notch entertainment for the whole family.

Close second to "Dead Alive" as goriest film ever made. Rivers of ridiculously over-exaggerated red will fill your screen and turn your stomach.

Riki was just an innocent (though super-powered, think Mr. Incredible) youth until the day his girlfriend was killed in a botched rape attempt by gangsters. After dealing out his bloody revenge he is carted off to prison where he wishes to serve his sentence as peacefully and undisturbed as he can. However, this pseudo sci-fi Asian prison is any thing but peaceful. Prison film clichés ensue (ie. corrupt guards, an evil warden, an escape attempt).

Technically speaking, the movie isn't very good. The sets lack believability, the dialogue is pretty horrible, and the acting is way over board. The bad guys seem to be bad because they can be...either that or they are just bored, one or the other. Outside of Riki, there is no background attached to any of the characters and none of them are ever developed properly. Additionally, the plentiful fight scenes aren't choreographed very well. Top it all off with some of the cheesiest kung-fu dubs ever recorded and you have a film suffering from lack of talent.

So why the positive score? This is a damn fun movie, that's why. Each and every fight scene ends with a gory display of gruesome blood letting. Heads crushed, stomachs torn open, eyes popped out, faces cut off, one villain even tries to strangle Riki with his own intestines. Amidst the crimson flow, the dumb-as-a-brick story is awash in unintentional humor; the more serious it takes itself the funnier it is. Even the gore itself makes for a joke, it's so over the top it ceases to offend and becomes a sight gag.

Main stream viewers will not get this movie and will simply not like it. Genre fans, however, will find the holy grail of gore flicks.

8/10

A man jailed for getting his revenge on those who (indirectly) killed his girlfriend gets sent to the prison of the future. While in prison, he discovers an opium greenhouse (not cleverly hidden) and fights plenty of guards, inmates and the warden.

I gave this film a ten, not because it is a cinematic masterpiece... but because this film stands alone as something that can never be equaled. You will not walk away from this film the same person. Its kiss is like jackhammer; when it is through with you, you are changed.

The violence is excessive to the point of being funny -- walls and body parts exploding. It was hard to tell if this film was supposed to be a comedy or action because while the plot is serious, the action is outrageous. And sometimes you can too easily tell that a body part is a model or that walls are being pulled apart by strings.

The dubbing is really funny, and the use of multiple subtitles (in both British English and American English) is amusing. The film probably deserves a decent transfer and better subtitles, but that might take something away from this film's immense cheese factor. The characters are pretty interesting -- a warden who can transform into the Incredible Hulk and his assistant with one eye and a hook for a hand (who has a wall full of pornographic videos).

If you liked the gore of something like "Terror Firmer", you will find this to be in a similar vein (though, in my opinion, far less offensive). If you do not like blood in your movies, you want to run away from this as quickly as possible. But heck, this is seriously something you cannot go through life without seeing. Highest possible recommendation.

STORY OF RICKY (Li Wang)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

After killing the drug-addicted lowlife who murdered his fiancée, an unlucky strongman (Terry Fan Siu-wong) is remanded to a corrupt prison where he's forced to defend himself against inmates and tyrannical officials, spilling gallons of blood and gore along the way...

Notorious for its splattery violence and hyper-stylized melodrama, STORY OF RICKY - derived from the Japanese manga 'Riki-Oh' created by Tetsuya Saruwatari - is directed by former cinematographer Laam Naai-choi, whose earlier efforts (THE SEVENTH CURSE, EROTIC GHOST STORY, etc.) rarely scaled the same dizzy heights of outrage and audacity. Shot on a shoestring budget in Macao, the film combines high octane bloodshed with "Carry On"-style humor (watch out for the incredible moment when a character uses his intestines as a weapon!), mixed with visual references to earlier exploitation fare such as THE STREET FIGHTER (1974) and THE FURY (1978), though the makeup effects are rudimentary at best, in keeping with the film's comic-book tone.

Japanese actress Yukari Oshima takes second billing as one of the *male* villains (she's dubbed with a masculine voice), and fan favorite Gloria Yip (SAVIOUR OF THE SOUL) plays the hero's ill-fated girlfriend in a series of corny 'feel-good' flashbacks. But the film belongs to handsome, hunky Terry Fan, ripping his shirt off at the drop of an intestine and posing impressively for the various combat sequences. Clothed or unclothed, he's never less than magnificent to behold, and director Laam uses the actor's exaggerated studliness to lampoon the homoerotic spectacle which once fuelled 'golden age' kung fu pictures. It ain't Shakespeare, but trash/splatter fans will embrace the movie with gusto. Also known as STORY OF RICKY AKA RIKI-OH.

(Cantonese dialogue)

If you hate blood and guts (literally) stop reading now this movie is in no way for you.

On the popcorn scale of fun brain removed films this is on the top rung for laugh out loud enjoyment.

The plot has Ricky, a kid with super strength being thrown into prison for killing the man responsible for the girl he loved. This is a corrupt privatized prison of the future where the prisoners are nothing more than cheap labor. Ricky instantly gets under the skin of the wardens, the guards and the leaders of the prison population. Cartoon violence with bloody gory consequences ensue. Body parts go flying as Ricky fights to stay alive and help his fellow prisoners.

This is one of the bloodiest movies I've ever seen. Think Python's Salad Days sketch but for 90 minutes. There is blood and limbs everywhere. The effects run from very good to god awful, with most just okay. None of it is really "real".There's no way you could do this film realistic, assuming the plot allowed it, with out having the audience throwing up all over the place. I'm assuming they are done the way they are for effect, we see the effect of the violence and laugh at the silliness of it all while keeping our lunches.

And as the film spins more and more out of control, with plot holes that are more like stellar voids, you find your self staring and laughing at it all, disbelieving that grown people put this together. Its a 12 year-old's action figure dream come true, but some how it all works on an adult level since the film makers seem to be winking and nodding at those watching it.

High camp? Low brow? There is nothing in this film that seems to be serious except for the way that pretty much everyone plays it dead nuts straight to wonderful tongue through cheek effect.

Not a movie you want to see on a first date (or any date) this is a movie to watch with some loud friends with strong stomachs and a great sense of the absurd. Its not a great film as such and I doubt it was ever intended to be, however on the throw your mind out of the car on the way to the video store scale this film rates at the top.

And I can't stress enough this film lives up to its rep for blood and guts. If you don't like to see them flying in every direction stay away stay away stay away.

This film could be seen as the Chinese version of "Braindead" aka "Dead Alive": a Bruce Lee-like guy named Ricky, who´s talented with supernatural powers, fights his way through a corrupt prison and leaves a trail of blood and guts behind him. For sure, "Story of Ricky" is a very violent and gory flick, but everything in it is so exaggerated that no one should take it too serious: there is gut-strangulation, people in a meat grinder and for the showdown the leader of the prison mutates to a giant Kung Fu-fighting monster..! However, this film is so funny that you will laugh your heads off! Larded with typical Asian humor "Story of Ricky" is one of the definite cult movies that were shot in the last decade! If you had fun with it, try also to find director Ngai Kai Lam´s Indiana Jones-fantasy-action-gore-adventure "The Seventh Curse" (Check out the review which I wrote under my former pseudonym "Daywalker"..!) starring Chow Yun Fat, which contains nearly the same plenty of gore and curious ideas as this one has! Two great films that would make a great double-feature!! Check´em out!!!

The only way to experience this is with others. If you feel the need to strengthen your relationship with someone, this is a great film to watch together. Ideally, the presence of "substances" is recommended however since I am not of legal drinking age at the time of me writing this review, that will have to be something to look forward to in the future. Also do not watch the English dub, it removes a mandatory layer of hilarity if you watch it in Mandarin. Even if you are squeamish about gore, it's so laughably fake that I would find it hard to believe someone to get genuinely disturbed by it. Oh yeah, the whole thing is on YouTube so you have no excuse.

STORY OF RICKY is a really fun, gory mix of kung-fu action, horror and comedy all in one. The deal: Ricky is sent to prison after he kills the guys that murder his girlfriend. Ricky gets on the wrong side of the corrupt prison guards and inmates that run the prison when he champions the causes of the weaker inmates...But little do the enemies know that Ricky is a comic-bookesque beast of a fighter - and he proceeds to prove his skills in several gory (and oftentimes hilarious) fight scenes. The acting is ridiculous, the Fx are mostly cheesy, the English language dub is so horrible it's hilarious (and honestly one of the best parts of the film...), and an ending that is completely retarded, STORY OF RICKY is just plain fun. Plenty of the red stuff to keep the goreheads happy, and anyone who enjoys B-movies should really appreciate this one. definitely recommended 8 1/2 out of 10

"Riki Oh" is a frightening piece of work. Some of the bizarrest stuff ever put on celluloid to my knowledge. Every single frame is bursting with insanity and confusion. Don't even try to understand it, you might as well try to divide large numbers in your head for an hour and a half.

Riki is a very hunky prisoner in a future where corporations control everything. I know this information because the producers felt it necessary to put this in TWO different captions at the start of the film. Just so we know.

Young Riki gets into a lot of trouble both with the guards and his fellow inmates. This allows him to rip his shirt off a lot and expose his flexed chest (Seriously, the guy takes his shirt about once every thirty seconds. He puts it back on just so he can take it off again.).

Somehow Riki was given supernatural powers that really help in a prison riot. You see Riki can punch through just about anything, be it animal, mineral or vegetable. He punches through walls, desks, pipes, bars, and lots of human bodies. Yes that's correct, he punches through people. Their arms, legs, stomachs, and sometimes heads.

This excessive violence lends the film to excessive gore. We're talking spilled jugs of Kool-Aid excessive. And you get to see it all; although the worst gore is rarely on screen for more than a split second. Still you get to see a guy eat razors, a person explode like a balloon and one guy get put in a huge meat grinder. Yummy!

The copy I saw was dubbed, and that only added to the fun. I recommend this movie, solely for goofing on it. Otherwise, it is a very bad film. Only for those with a good sense of humor. You have been warned.

If you love goofy, gory, tongue-in-cheek films then you cant go wrong with Riki-Oh. In the same vein as Peter Jackson's Brain Dead (or Dead Alive depending on your country of origin), Riki-Oh seems to exist purely to deliver ridiculously excessive amounts of gore in the campiest, most fun way possible. Everything, from the acting to the sets and fight choreography, is a complete mess; and I couldnt have been more delighted to experience it all. I mean, where else are you going to see a dude literally punch his hand through someone else's hand? Or punch off the top half of someone's head? Or do a barrel-roll through a steel door? Heck, where else can you see someone try to strangle someone else with their own intestines? Nowhere except in Riki-Oh. Its really something I think everyone should experience; if only to say you've seen one of the most bats*** insane pieces of film-making around. Is it a "good" movie? From any kind of traditional stand-point, certainly not. Is it enjoyable? 100%, absolutely, without a doubt.

A righteous first impression after seeing this movie would be: `WHAT THE HELL?!?' Lai Wong most likely is different than all the movies you ever saw before. But all in good fun, that is. The Story of Ricki (the more popular a.k.a title) is an outsider in an already eccentric sub-genre of Asian horror. Exaggerated and ultra-gory splatter films based on Manga comics. Ricki-Oh is a 21-year-old Bruce Lee clone who battles against the corruption in futuristic, privatized prisons and acts like some sort of Kung Fu Robin Hood. His fists and feet cause serious damage to his opponents and every fight results in cheerful bloodshed. We're talking skull crushing, limb amputations and worse! There even is a scene in which a guard is strangled by his own intestines. This all may sound very distasteful (and it kinda is), but above all it's funny! Well, morbid-funny that is. I can imagine not everybody laughs hysterically with the idea of a fat, green-dressed retard feasting over the sight of tortured prisoners. But trust me, if you're sense of humor is as black as hell itself… you'll have a great time. The gore and violence in Lai Wong is never provocative or offensive. The grotesque butchering never really becomes nauseating and – compared to other strong Asian stuff like `The Ebola Syndrome' and `Men Behind the Sun' – you never feel dirty for enjoying the sickness.

If you are reading this, chances are you have heard lots about this film. If you can find it, buy it. It will be worth every penny, I promise you. The gore in this one is so over-the-top awesome it makes "Friday the 13th" look like "Bambi."

Blood and guts abound in this revenge/action film where a dude gets wrongfully imprisoned, then punished for speaking and acting out against atrocities going on inside the walls. Ricky is definitely one of the coolest heroes of all time. With his super human strength, knack for ripping out people's guts, and compassionate nature, he proves unstoppable against an army of corrupt prison guards, mindless gangsters and bosses, and every single person deserving of a broken back inside the prison.

You'll find yourself rooting for Ricky more than you rooted for Tim Robbins' character in "The Shawshank Redemption." Yea, it's that cool. See it as soon as you can. And like I said, don't rent it or borrow it...buy it. You're gonna want to watch this one repeatedly.

9 out of 10, kids.

This movie is so incredible me and my friends have watched this movie at least 50 times one time we were so lazy to get up after the movie and it started all over and we watched it again.This movie is exactly how i pictured prison.Prisoners wandering the courtyards throwing big wooden crosses up when they feel like it and people ripping there own intestines out just to choke their enemy this movie has it all i have read some of everybody's lists of movies they might like if they like this movie i agree with all films but id thought id add some for maybe that one movie i name u have never seen ull rent it and it will change ur life like this movie did to me.(trust me after i saw this i punched someones fist off)Some of these movies are so dumb there hilarious other our just great movies.

Other Enjoyable movies: Gozu, Aragami, Battleground Baseball, Ginger Snaps 1 & 2, The Forsaken, Ju-On:The Grudge (remaking this in America with sarah michelle gellar), Little Matchstick Girl, King of the Ants, Donnie Darko, High Tension(french film also called Haute Tense i believe), The Professional, 2ldk, The Eye, They don't Mow the Lawn there no more, The Beyond

I'm drawing a blank on anymore i've seen most of these movies are Japanese and may be a little bit difficult to find.Please feel free to reply with titles of more movies.

It's strange how a movie can be the best martial arts movie of all time, and conversely, be the worst movie of all time. This film really is something, though, I'll give it that. The movie takes place in a max security prison. Rikki is falsely imprisoned (I think; I wasn't paying real close attention to the subtitles) by a sadistic warden (is there any other kind?). Rikki then spends the rest of the movie getting the Hell beat out of him, only to win every fight in the end with a single punch. And it's usually a pretty good punch. He puts a basketball sized hole in one guy's stomach, and tears the jawbone off another guy. Rikki does escape from prison at the end (the feel good moment of the year), but not until the final fight with the warden, who, for no particular reason, turns into a monster before the fight.

This is a really stupid movie, redeemed only by the insanely bloody and violent fight scenes. I don't think I read the subtitles once, and I don't think I missed a thing. The acting is way below par (even for a karate movie) and the guy who plays Rikki has all the charisma of a dead horse. He gets in about one punch in every fight, and, fortunately for him, it's a Deathblow every time. Fast forward through all of the movie except for the fight scenes and a couple of humorous acts of random violence, and this is a very enjoyable film. Watch the ENTIRE thing at your own risk; viewing is linked to brain tumors in lab animals.

Whilst serving a sentence in a movie-based correctional facility, it is usually advisable to remain alert when in the shower, for it is there that one is most vulnerable (and needless to say, never bend over to pick up the soap). Even Ricky Oh (Fan Siu-wong), who is blessed with superhuman strength, isn't guaranteed safety from attack whilst washing: as soon as he opts for a quick freshen up, Mad Dragon, a huge slobbering beast of a man, arrives with murder on his mind.

And a sudden attack in the shower isn't the only danger that Ricky faces after upsetting the 'powers-that-be' in the corrupt privatised jail where he has been incarcerated for killing a drug-lord: during his first few days in the prison, the poor guy is trapped in cement, temporarily blinded, knifed in the arm, strangled with intestines, buried alive, almost crushed in a cell equipped with a hydraulic ceiling, and forced to eat razor blades. Finally, he must do battle with a warden who can transform himself at will into a huge monster! Talk about doing hard time!

As you have probably surmised, The Story of Ricky is one hell of a crazy movie and one which fully deserves its reputation as an unmissable, wild, gore-drenched slice of Asian excess. It doesn't take very long for the blood to start flowing—a guy has his face planed off before the film hits the eight minute mark—and although the effects might not be all that convincing, they are frequent, very bloody, and delivered with plenty of gusto. On top of the gratuitous, unrelenting splatter, fans of mad movies should also enjoy the frequent scenes of martial arts mayhem and the inclusion of some particularly bizarre characters (my favourites: the hook-handed assistant warden who keeps mints in his glass eye, and the head warden's piggy-faced son).

I heard of this movie being referred to the Dead Alive of Kung Fu movies. Hey! Sounded good to me. I love Dead Alive (aka Peter Jackson's Braindead). It is the ultimate splatterfest.

No movie can surpass it, but Riki OH sure delivers in the gore department. This is another film that doesn't take itself too seriously. it is a fun film, with a lot of laughs.

The gore effects are cheesy, but who really cares. I prefer old school effects to todays CGI anyways.

The Story of Ricky is well, a story about Ricky. He is a crazy Japanese guy sent to jail, and anyone who gets in his way or gets him mad, he will kill.

From the moment we first meet Riki we are hooked. We see Riki being put into the jail system, and the guards discover he has metal on him. They make him go thru the detector a number of times, and find out he has bullets in his chest. They demand to know why they are there and Ricky responds- "I kept them as souvenirs" Now we know this guy is nuts.

There are some gangs in the jail, and there are people almost as crazy as Riki. They are doing illegal things and doing some illegal business operating out of the jail. They basically run the jail. They mess with Riki, and they put up a good fight, but do they have what it takes to defeat him? One of th first fights we see Riki in, is a HUGE sumo type guy is sent into the showers to kill Riki. This guy easily has 200 pounds on Riki if not more. Just by looking at them, Riki doesn't look like he could hold his own, but lets just say, the fat guy experiences A LOT of pain.

Riki gets a nail in his hand but does not even flinch. He is so nuts, he was trained to not feel pain, and channel it as strength.

In this movie, you will see heads being punched off, hands exploding, intestines being used as a strangling device and so much more. You will see crazy characters like Riki, the gangs, and the warden and his nephew.

If you like gore, crazy movies, fun movies not to be taken seriously, check out the Story of Ricky.

A man with the strength of 30 plus men is sent to a corrupt prison. While there he fights the inmates and the warden to right all the wrongs.

I wouldn't be surprised if no one here has ever heard of this film. I myself only heard of it through the word of friend, who hasn't even seen it himself. After much debate I decided to throw caution to the wind and buy it. I'm not disappointed I did, but not thrilled about it either. Does this film have a deep and thought provoking plot, Oscar worthy performances, or amazing special effects? Heck no, far from it. What does it have you ask? Well, plot holes left right and centre, camp and cheese in the performance and the effects and more over-the-top scenes then a MCG flick.

Why would anyone want to watch a film like this? Well, I bought it for one reason...and one reason only. The Violent Gore. For the longest time Peter Jackson's 'Dead Alive' was notorious for being "The Goriest Film Of All Time". Well, after seeing this flick, I don't know if that statement can still hold true. Although the gore in this film, which earned it a category III rating in Hong Kong, the first ever for a film with violence and not sex (think XXX), is above and beyond...it's too cartoony to be taken seriously. As is the case with Dead-Alive as well. In any review of a horror flick that claims to be gory, I compare it to the likes of Dead-Alive, Evil Dead Cannibal Holocaust. I can add this flick to that list as well.

Let's go over what happens in this flick shall we. We first get a glimpse of what we have in store for us when a guy has his nose sliced off from a wooden lathe, block of wood with nails goes through a man's hands to the face, someone gets punched through their stomach, a saw like sword get stuck half way through a man's face, a knife skins a man's face, cane through the eye, punch through the face, a punch to a man's hand explodes it, someone gets a mouth full of razors and then bitch slapped, a man crushes another's head with bare hands....and much much more. I didn't even tell you the goriest part yet.

I mentioned plot holes earlier and they are everywhere here. Such as why are the prisoners able to go in and out of their cells at will? Why is the secret grow-op being done out in plain sight. Also, when the ceiling is crushing you, why aren't you running out the giant hole in the wall right next to you? There are many many more, but the list is too long. These things do not really distract from the film, but add to the whole campy cheese feel that is oozing in this flick.

If you thought that Blade II, Kill Bill or The Matrix were as close to anime as we can get for live-action...look no further then Story Of Ricky. It is without a doubt, the closest thing to anime I have seen today. Which speaks volumes, with all the gory scenes being done to obvious dolls. Look for the inside of someone's hand being made of styrofoam. Here is a movie that is perfect for the internet based game "Things I've Learned From This Movie". You can go on and on with such things as I learned that destroying gravestones is okay when you're learning kung-fu.

See the film if any of this interests you, don't see it if you are seriously disturbed.

Oh..my..god! The bloodiest, stupidest movie I have ever seen and in one word, magnificent. Ricky is sent to prison for manslaughter after killing his girlfriend's drug dealer. Inside he deals with the corruption....extreme style. Ricky spends the entire movie punching through people with extreme prejudice. Nothing can touch Ricky. Well, actually it can, but one camera angle change and he's good as new! A must see if you like plotless gore-fests.

So many folks on here liken this film to the gore classic "Dead Alive" that it's kind of off balance. Sure, there's all sorts of blood and guts, but that's where it ends. Dead Alive is Zombies, Ricky Oh... Well, Ricky Oh is a man... Let's just say he's a man for his time.

Obviously everyone reading the reviews knows what the hell this movie is about, so let's not try to over do it here. I'm just going to say a few choice tidbits about this fantastic film so you can just watch it. Because let's get real, if you're reading this, you obviously have some sort of interest. Well, let me just tell you now, WATCH THIS FRICKEN MOVIE. Hell, don't even watch it, go out and buy it, you won't have buyers remorse. Sure, if you like your movie all shiny and pretty like "Titanic" or "Driving Miss Daisy", then you won't like this (besides, what the hell are you doing reading these reviews anyways). BUT, if you love a good cheesy flick, then of course, you're not just going to like this, YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE IT. Ridiculously over the top, ridiculously violent, ridiculously insane and completely entertaining. Hell, a guy hides breath mints in his fake eye, if that's not enough for you. All this time spent reading reviews could be spent watching this fantastic film and laughing your ass off, so get to it. After you watch it once, grab a few friends and have a good ol' fashioned "Ricky Oh" Party and watch everyone's reaction. Trust me, even the friends you think will hate this one will probably end up loving you for introducing them to such a classic. Cinema just ain't the same without stuff like this.

This really is another one of those films that you really can't praise for being well made but really have to watch for being so funny. However, as many have already stated, if you're not one for gore then this would probably be the worst film you've ever seen, especially with scenes such as a man strangling another with his own intestines.

The story follows Riki in a maximum security prison with various odd characters, many of whom for some strange reasons possess different skills and superpowers. After Riki seemingly becomes deeply attached to every single weak character that he comes into contact to he is distraught when for some reason or another they die. This makes many of the people who are in charge of the jail dislike him, making his struggle for survival an uphill task.. even though he has super-human strength and can break through many of the prison walls.

But that doesn't ACTUALLY matter seeing as throughout the film the other little prisoners wander around and follow all the fight scenes without any supervision. At one point you actually see prisoners slide open their own cells! So much for 'maximum security'. Along with that you get a variety of stupidly pointless rooms such as one that fills up with cement and some terrible attempts at stopping/killing Riki such as chaining him up over and over even though every time he manages to break free. Very little makes sense in this film.

I don't want to drag on for much longer because there's so much to say. All I'll say is something else to look out for is the Warden's son. He's just such a hilariously pointless character. See this film for yourself, you won't regret it.