Quite Possibly the Most Disturbing Film in the World

I have never, in all of my obscure-movie watching years, seen a film as powerfully harrowing and stomach-churning as The Untold Story. But that isn't to say that it's not recommended. A 1992 Hong Kong flick that kickstarted a huge wave of "true crime" films over there, The Untold Story has been marketed and distributed for the growing gwailo (that's "white folks") market for Hong Kong films. Tai Seng, the country's largest distributor of HK movies, has released The Untold Story in its complete and uncut version on both tape and laserdisc. An extra added bonus is the addition of re-vamped, large, readable subtitles . . .

Anthony Wong (best known as the bad guy in John Woo's Hard-Boiled) is a compulsive Mah-Jong gambler with a penchant for cheating. When he is caught at this deception, he is compelled to murder his accusers in increasingly violent and disgusting fashions. After fleeing Hong Kong to avoid capture, Wong ends up in Macau and quickly resumes his killing spree. The Macau cops, spurred by the discovery of a sack of rotten body parts, begins to investigate Wong, who has assumed ownership of the "8 Immortals" roasted bun restaurant due to the mysterious disappearance of its original owners. Wong begins to kill any of his workers that he suspects of talking to the cops and finally ends up getting caught. But this is just beginning of the story . Although the cops have enough evidence to arrest Wong, they need his confession in order to charge him with several other murders that they suspect he has committed. So the brutal cops, after saving Wong from a truly repulsive suicide attempt, finally coerce a confession through torture and abuse. They need a confession because there's no physical evidence. Why is there no evidence? Let's just say this: One of the alternate titles of The Untold Story is Human Meat Buns.

Had The Untold Story been made in the United States, it would get a XXX rating for its tone alone (Who am I kidding? A film like this would NEVER get made in the U.S.) - not to mention the constant, extreme and ultra-realistic gore. In Hong Kong, however, the film was a smash hit, spawning countless rip-offs and earning the HK equivalent of a Best Actor Oscar for Wong's portrayal of the human-butchering main character.

More powerful and morose that five Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killers, The Untold Story is brutal, frank, graphic, and horrifying. I would not buy this film nor would I care to watch it again. But having seen it, I can say that the experience was truly unforgettable - not a feeling that many other films can manage to induce.

American films have somehow turned serial killers into suave anti-heroes (see Hannibal Lechter) - this effect is fostered by the "tasteful" execution of murder in film. The audience is shown the artfully arranged "aftermath" of violence rather than the act itself. Most amateur psychologists will argue that this is to stave off the drooling gorehounds - but I find that this tactic has the opposite effect. The Untold Story is unflinching in its portrayal of deviance. The viewer is forced to view and acknowledge every horrible moment of murder. It is a film that refuses to let the audience off the hook, that rubs your face in the true brutality of the crimes committed. Rather than glorify the murder or murderer, it presents the violence in a non-partisan, cinema verite' light that allows the viewer to apply their own sense of outrage and disgust.

Caveat: The Untold Story is a unique and powerful cinematic experience, but definitely not for the passive viewer. It demands your attention while making your attention scream for more pleasant diversion. Simultaneously compelling and repulsive, it can never be forgotten once seen. And that, in my opinion, is the sign of a good movie.