The Untold Story

I bought this movie out of sheer curiosity. I'd heard about it somewhere, something about it being a cult classic based on a true story. Anthony Wong was in it and I liked him in Hard Boiled and Full Contact, so I said what the hell. I ordered it on DVD and watched it as soon as I got it. Man, this movie is something. It's one of those movies where you watch it wondering if the cast and crew went home and had horrible nightmares every work day. There's stuff in this movie that doesn't quite leave your mind. I've shown this movie to several people, one in particular swearing off Chinese food to this very day. Anthony Wong gives one hell of a performance. It's not necessarily Oscar-caliber (even though I don't really dig the Oscars these days anyway) but it's just... very convincing. A little bit hammy maybe but yeesh, this guy is scary. My friend asked me once while watching it one day if Wong was really nuts. Judging from the look on Wong's face in most scenes I said yes. The murder scenes are better left undescribed because no amount of words can prepare you for when you're actually watching them. The only gripe I have with this movie is the comedy element. I think the best comparison would be to "From Dusk Till Dawn", where it was almost like watching two different movies spliced together. The comedy feels out-of-place and my idea is that they added it to lighten the movie up a little bit for the murder scenes are pretty intense. If you are one of the faint-of-heart, avoid. If you got guts, give this a look. One other thing: after watching this, you will never look at chopsticks the same way again. Rating: ***1/2 out of *****.

The film begins in Hong Kong with a graphic pyro scene and then moves to Macau and the discovery of body parts on a beach by police. Anthony Wong gives a committed, chilling and powerful performance as the lead which won him a Hong Kong film Best Actor award. He plays a man who runs the Eight Immortals restaurant where the previous owner's family mysteriously disappeared, and it turns out the barbecue meat buns he makes contain an unusual ingredient. The police on the demented owner's trail are lead by the captain, Danny Lee, and several others who behave in a frivolous way towards each other. Some of the scenes between them are amusing. But it is Wong's character that stays with us long after the credits. The scene where the Untold Story is told near the end is extremely distressing and definitely not for the squeamish and faint hearted. But this film is a very powerful account of a remorseless killer with a great central acting performance.

'The Untold Story aka Human Meat Roast Pork Buns'

I first had a chance to watch this movie when I was a kid about 13 years of age in my junior high, believe it or not this movie was widely spoken at that time in the place where I live (Medan,Indonesia), of course considering the graphical content and nudity of the movie, I only have the chance to watch it together with several buddies while nobody's attending home. What happened was...one of my mate dispersed halfway the movie, as for me, after watching it, I feel terribly remorse within because it haunted me day after day for long enough than I could remember, especially that Wong figure make me really sick and guts out.

Last Sunday, 24th August 2008, after 15 year I have another chance to watch this movie again. It's much different this time, kinda nostalgic and I found the scenes more bearable compare to watching it in the older day, but still I prepare extra guts and it still portrays a very horrifying and disturbing scenes even compared to modern Hollywood gory/slasher flick like 'Saw' and 'Hostel' alike. So it was fair to say that one should never claim to have watched 'the most' gory or terrifying film in modern cinema before ever taste a chunk of this Hong Kong classic cinematic horror.

I wouldn't go so far to say that this movie is great, but I can point out few points that distinguish 'The Untold Story' from movie alike:

1.The acting of the lead (Anthony Wong) is unbelievable brilliant, as the bun man , only by the evil look of his eyes you could tell how vicious and mean he is. And he really deserved to be the only lead actor from CAT III Hong Kong movie to ever win the best actor category in Hong Kong Film Award history.

2. The dark and merciless scenes contain of extreme graphic violence subject to children, the sadistic method of killing and diabolical suicide attempt, police and cell brutality, etc, all those scenes are somehow cross the line, thank God there's some crunchy humor poured onto the film. Well, some silly humor wouldn't do any harm in such a dark material.

3. The originality of the movie's theme itself has become like a trend-setter at Hong Kong cat III film industry at that time, many of which trailed the very same theme despite of the controversy, and the movie itself later spawned its sequel of The Untold Story II and III respectively, of which none has the quality equal or even close to the original.

4. This is one of the movie despite explaining everything in the title and poster still make you feel like watching it, under the account of curiosity.

As a matter of fact I wouldn't ever recommend such a disturbing movie to anyone, but for those who like to test the limit of tolerance, well this one is surely worth a notice. Strongly not recommended for age below 17, based on what I experienced...

In the early 80s, popular actor Danny Lee (famous for his work in action films) became director and producer of his own films, and by the end of the decade was already a major player in Hong Kong's movie industry. This position allowed him an enormous amount of power during the 90s boom of Hong Kong cinema, and made him the discoverer of famous stars (like Stephen Chow) and producer of a wide array of interesting films by upcoming filmmakers. Among those, Herman Yau's "Baat sin Faan Dim Ji Yan Yuk Cha Siu Baau", or "The Untold Story", is one of the most popular in the Western world, and one of the better known movies of the CAT III rating that was introduced by the Hong Kong government during those years. Suppousedly based on a true crime story, "The Untold Story" is a very powerful film that truly lives to its reputation as one of the most brutal films of Hong Kong cinema.

The plot starts with the discovery of a plastic bag containing the severed hands of a person in a lonely Macao beach. The young and unexperienced police team assigned to the case is clueless as they had never faced something so horrible, but lead by the suave officer Lee (Danny Lee), they find some clues pointing to Wong Chi Hang (Anthony Wong), the owner of the popular Eight Immortals Restaurant. As the cops find out that Wong just bought the place to his former boss, they try to track down the previous owner, but every attempt to find him or his family prove futile. The discovery of Wong's dark past prompts his arrest, but he still refuses to admit having committed the crime. Officer Lee decides to take severe measures, but not even he will be prepared to hear Wong's Untold Story.

Written by Law Kam Fai (author of another famous CAT III film, "Dr. Lamb"), the movie develops as a police procedural movie, detailing the work of the cops to figure out the responsible of the crime; however, two extremely different elements set "The Untold Story" apart from similar stories: the dark and extremely brutal portrayal of the psycho killer, and the odd addition of offbeat comedy thrown in to balance the grittier aspects of the movie. While this strange mixture of genres may sound unappealing (and honestly at first sight looks unappealing too), it surprisingly works within the movie, and gives good balance to the overall darkness of the story. Apropriately, in the end it is the horror element the one that dominates the film in a terrific brutal finale that by now is definitely a classic of 90s CAT III movies.

Famed for being one of the most shocking Asian horror movies, "The Untold Story" is surprisingly not as gory as one would expect with that reputation; however, this is not saying that the film doesn't live to the hype, as it is definitely a shocking experience although for a very different reason. Director Herman Yau cleverly chooses to portray the grotesque details of the crime in a relatively subtle, unseen way; but the way he executes the scenes allow for a far more powerful effect as plays with the imagination making the violence portrayed frighteningly real despite not being too graphic. The raw and gritty style Yau uses for his film (mainly for budgetary reasons) only enhance the realism of the movie, and together with Wong's brilliant performance make a movie very hard to forget.

Definitely one of the elements that really make the difference between "The Untold Story" and similar exploitation movies is the top notch performance of Anthony Wong as the enigmatic Wong Chi Hang. He captures so well the traits of this unbalanced psychotic character that one can't help but believe that the man on screen is truly a demented person. Danny Lee as the Officer in charge of the case offers the balance between the sadistic darkness of Wong and the at times silly comedy of the police team. Lee's smooth and witty character contrasts with the clumsiness and naiveté of the young cops, portrayed effectively although somewhat average by equally young actors. The exception is Emily Kwan, who plays Bo, the only female in the team and therefore the one who has to prove that she is as capable as the guys to do the police work.

"The Untold Story" is often hard to watch, but it's definitely never boring, and while crude, the portrait of sadistic violence it makes of the crime is captivating in a way that few horror movies are. While this is definitely one of the best CAT III movies of its time, it's not without flaws, as the budgetary constrains really took its toll in the movie. Anyways, what most viewers have criticized about "The Untold Story" is the odd mixture of comedy in the movie, as it seems to add an unnecessary source of silliness to an otherwise brutal movie. Personally, I think that, while not exactly subtle, the comedy do adds to the "charm" of the film, and helps to break the tension in a very dark movie. It may not seem appropriate at first sight, but it's not really a terrible flaw as some may have pointed out.

In the realms of the horror genre, Herman Yau's "Baat sin Faan Dim Ji Yan Yuk Cha Siu Baau", is now a classic of Hong Kong cinema, and essential viewing for those interested in the infamous exploitation movies rated as CAT III. It's not a movie for everyone, but if you have an interest for gritty tales of serial killers, "The Untold Story" is a must-see. 8/10

Consensus view: ugly, bleak, grueling slasher film about sick restaurant owner in Macau mincing his victims into pork buns, given really strange comedic pizazz by a group of daft incompetent cops on the trail. Smudge of social commentary near the end, when the cops cannot properly solve the case by gathering clues they turn into torturers themselves.

Digging a little deeper, I believe it works the way it does because of the particular way we are situated inside the story: we only spend time with the killer as he maims and mutilates. Our primary focus is on the incompetent investigation, itself a source of ironic amusement exactly because we are two steps ahead; we know exactly what is going on and have to wait for them as they play catch-up. Every dimwitted joke is someone's limbs hacked off down the road.

Our killer is messy and an amateur, the law enforcers perhaps even more. The police captain is always cavorting with hookers. The result is a chaotic universe without moral value or clear demarcations. How better to exemplify a corrupt, absent law than by increasingly depraved violence recast as the darkest of comedies?