Dr. Lamb

Rating:
Summary: Pap
Review: Here is another entry that many fans of Asian cinema promised me would deliver the goods in the gore department. This title often appears in the same breath with "The Untold Story" and "Ebola Syndrome," good, gory movies sure to induce a burning sensation in the pit of your stomach. "Dr. Lamb" is part of the grand tradition of the notorious Category III Hong Kong stomach churners. Since I have not seen newer entries in this particularly revolting sub genre, I assume that with the Chinese acquisition of Hong Kong from the British a few years ago these sorts of movies have gone the way of the dinosaur. After watching "Dr. Lamb," I am almost relieved to see the end of these types of films. Not because the majority of them are bad, not at all. "The Untold Story" was a wonderful, morally redemptive tale of transcendental spiritual values expressed through the preparation and consumption of human meat patties. No, I applaud the end of Category III because "Dr. Lamb" is such a boring, atrocious mess of a movie. This one is dullsville all the way, folks, and is best left in the nearest trash receptacle. I feel cheated of the nearly two hours I spent watching this piece of crud.

Dr. Lamb is really Lam Gor-Yu, a taxi driver with the most unusual proclivities. The beginning of the film shows us why he has so many problems adjusting to reality. His father spoiled the boy incessantly from the earliest years of the child's life, refusing to scold him for questionable behaviors directed at the other kids in the apartment building or towards family members. It is just a part of growing up, argues the elder Lam, to express a curiosity for girls and the young women dad brings home. That a social worker would probably think otherwise never impresses itself on this father's mind. These seeds of degeneracy blossom fully once Lam Gor-Yu attains manhood. He does not leave the house to seek his own destiny, but maintains a room in his father's home that he shares with one of his brothers. Only when the men in the family leave to earn their daily bread does Lam Gor-Yu express fully his grotesque desires, first with a few female relatives and later with women he meets on the streets of the city. The police step into the picture when a photo development laboratory brings in some pictures of a dismembered body left by a customer. That a calculating killer like Lam Gor-Yu would do such a stupid thing is only the first salvo of idiocy fired in this clunker.

The cops, with Inspector Lee at the helm, begin to search for the man who dropped off the negatives. When they get him, which does not take long, the police proceed to torture the suspect in ways that would cause the entire staff of the ACLU to have a fit. The police officers beat Lam Gor-Yu with a phone book, slap him around, and generally do anything they think will get them that valuable confession. The killer stays mum despite the atrocities, refusing to give the investigators the satisfaction of breaking him. Drastic situations call for drastic solutions, so Lee brings in the man's family and tells them what Lam Gor-Yu did to his niece. Then the family proceeds to beat the killer senseless while the cops watch closely for any signs of a willingness to confess. Well, Lam does confess to the heinous crimes, all of which we see in flashback. What did the killer do? Abduct woman and murder them in his apartment. That is all, with a few sick scenes of the cops searching the apartment for "evidence" and other crime scene reenactments thrown in for balance. "Dr. Lamb" is a tasteless film, but it is also an incredibly boring one with much less sauce than "The Untold Story" or similar Hong Kong masterpieces.

"Dr. Lamb" initially promises great things. It has Simon Yam as the psycho and Danny Lee sleepwalking through yet another role as a police investigator. I keep telling myself that the DVD version I watched underwent some massive cuts because the gore just isn't there. You do get to see Lam Gor-Yu perform homemade surgery on his victims, a little blood spatter here and there, but this does not compare to the gross out effects seen in other genre entries. The other elements you would expect from a film from this genre are here: the usual bad taste humor, experienced full force when the cops search Lam Gor-Yu's apartment and engage in some gluey slapstick sequences, is as upsetting as it was in "Untold Story." The emphasis on police procedures--meaning no access to a lawyer and unending interrogations filled with brutality--dominates a portion of the film, something that probably won't improve now that communist Chinese cops walk the streets.

The only positives in "Dr. Lamb" are the soundtrack and the cinematography, but even then some of the scenes inside the taxicab on the rain slicked streets of Hong Kong run on. The DVD's picture quality was atrocious, full of haze and color bleeding during the scenes when clarity mattered the most. I have seen a few reviews from people who label this film as one of the ghastliest pieces of cinema ever to emerge from the Orient, but I did not see it. Maybe I watched some obscure DVD version of the film that left out all the grue, but the movie I saw and the one other people describe is as wide as the gulf separating the earth and the moon. Give this one a shot if you like Asian cinema; perhaps you will have a better experience than I had with it.

Rating:
Summary: Pap
Review: Here is another entry that many fans of Asian cinema promised me would deliver the goods in the gore department. This title often appears in the same breath with "The Untold Story" and "Ebola Syndrome," good, gory movies sure to induce a burning sensation in the pit of your stomach. "Dr. Lamb" is part of the grand tradition of the notorious Category III Hong Kong stomach churners. Since I have not seen newer entries in this particularly revolting sub genre, I assume that with the Chinese acquisition of Hong Kong from the British a few years ago these sorts of movies have gone the way of the dinosaur. After watching "Dr. Lamb," I am almost relieved to see the end of these types of films. Not because the majority of them are bad, not at all. "The Untold Story" was a wonderful, morally redemptive tale of transcendental spiritual values expressed through the preparation and consumption of human meat patties. No, I applaud the end of Category III because "Dr. Lamb" is such a boring, atrocious mess of a movie. This one is dullsville all the way, folks, and is best left in the nearest trash receptacle. I feel cheated of the nearly two hours I spent watching this piece of crud.

Dr. Lamb is really Lam Gor-Yu, a taxi driver with the most unusual proclivities. The beginning of the film shows us why he has so many problems adjusting to reality. His father spoiled the boy incessantly from the earliest years of the child's life, refusing to scold him for questionable behaviors directed at the other kids in the apartment building or towards family members. It is just a part of growing up, argues the elder Lam, to express a curiosity for girls and the young women dad brings home. That a social worker would probably think otherwise never impresses itself on this father's mind. These seeds of degeneracy blossom fully once Lam Gor-Yu attains manhood. He does not leave the house to seek his own destiny, but maintains a room in his father's home that he shares with one of his brothers. Only when the men in the family leave to earn their daily bread does Lam Gor-Yu express fully his grotesque desires, first with a few female relatives and later with women he meets on the streets of the city. The police step into the picture when a photo development laboratory brings in some pictures of a dismembered body left by a customer. That a calculating killer like Lam Gor-Yu would do such a stupid thing is only the first salvo of idiocy fired in this clunker.

The cops, with Inspector Lee at the helm, begin to search for the man who dropped off the negatives. When they get him, which does not take long, the police proceed to torture the suspect in ways that would cause the entire staff of the ACLU to have a fit. The police officers beat Lam Gor-Yu with a phone book, slap him around, and generally do anything they think will get them that valuable confession. The killer stays mum despite the atrocities, refusing to give the investigators the satisfaction of breaking him. Drastic situations call for drastic solutions, so Lee brings in the man's family and tells them what Lam Gor-Yu did to his niece. Then the family proceeds to beat the killer senseless while the cops watch closely for any signs of a willingness to confess. Well, Lam does confess to the heinous crimes, all of which we see in flashback. What did the killer do? Abduct woman and murder them in his apartment. That is all, with a few sick scenes of the cops searching the apartment for "evidence" and other crime scene reenactments thrown in for balance. "Dr. Lamb" is a tasteless film, but it is also an incredibly boring one with much less sauce than "The Untold Story" or similar Hong Kong masterpieces.

"Dr. Lamb" initially promises great things. It has Simon Yam as the psycho and Danny Lee sleepwalking through yet another role as a police investigator. I keep telling myself that the DVD version I watched underwent some massive cuts because the gore just isn't there. You do get to see Lam Gor-Yu perform homemade surgery on his victims, a little blood spatter here and there, but this does not compare to the gross out effects seen in other genre entries. The other elements you would expect from a film from this genre are here: the usual bad taste humor, experienced full force when the cops search Lam Gor-Yu's apartment and engage in some gluey slapstick sequences, is as upsetting as it was in "Untold Story." The emphasis on police procedures--meaning no access to a lawyer and unending interrogations filled with brutality--dominates a portion of the film, something that probably won't improve now that communist Chinese cops walk the streets.

The only positives in "Dr. Lamb" are the soundtrack and the cinematography, but even then some of the scenes inside the taxicab on the rain slicked streets of Hong Kong run on. The DVD's picture quality was atrocious, full of haze and color bleeding during the scenes when clarity mattered the most. I have seen a few reviews from people who label this film as one of the ghastliest pieces of cinema ever to emerge from the Orient, but I did not see it. Maybe I watched some obscure DVD version of the film that left out all the grue, but the movie I saw and the one other people describe is as wide as the gulf separating the earth and the moon. Give this one a shot if you like Asian cinema; perhaps you will have a better experience than I had with it.

Rating:
Summary: Not Quite The Lamb Chops I Expected
Review: I'm not sure whether the version I saw is the full uncut version but it's Cat III and purchased on DVD in Hong Kong itself. Being a gorehound, and using other Hong Kong fare such as "The Ebola Syndrome", "Prostitute Killer" and "The Untold Story" (amongst others) as benchmarks, "Dr Lamb" is rather mild. Typical of the HK formula at the time, where the film is really about flashbacks as the killer confesses to his crimes, "Dr Lamb" is only marginally violent considering the modus operandi of the killer (dismemberment). Very few (and brief) close ups of the sordid violence, only the sprayed blood gives any indication of what actually went on. Story has a good premise (that weirdos are the result of what happened to them during childhood) but that's about it. In short, the film could have upped its ante but it didn't.

Rating:
Summary: Not Quite The Lamb Chops I Expected
Review: I'm not sure whether the version I saw is the full uncut version but it's Cat III and purchased on DVD in Hong Kong itself. Being a gorehound, and using other Hong Kong fare such as "The Ebola Syndrome", "Prostitute Killer" and "The Untold Story" (amongst others) as benchmarks, "Dr Lamb" is rather mild. Typical of the HK formula at the time, where the film is really about flashbacks as the killer confesses to his crimes, "Dr Lamb" is only marginally violent considering the modus operandi of the killer (dismemberment). Very few (and brief) close ups of the sordid violence, only the sprayed blood gives any indication of what actually went on. Story has a good premise (that weirdos are the result of what happened to them during childhood) but that's about it. In short, the film could have upped its ante but it didn't.

Rating:
Summary: The Infamous Dr. Lamb (Caution Before Viewing)
Review: Simon Yam Tat-Wah portrays the title character (not a doctor), an insane maniac who does things to women (living and dead) that are better left undescribed. This early 1990s movie is an "infamous" Category III title from Hong Kong. Danny Lee (the prototypical "cop" from tons of HK cop and triad flicks) plays the inspector in charge of solving the case and getting a confession (i.e., beating the suspect up until he confesses).

I don't like the idea of labeling anything as "sick" or "twisted," but if I were to, this would be the movie about which to use those terms (and I've seen and can easily stomach a lot of these Category III flicks).

What can one say about this movie? I'd put this one in the "has to be seen to be believed" category, but then that might be seen as a recommendation, and I can't recommend this one.

If you dislike violence and nudity thrown together, avoid this at all costs. If you think jokes about severed bodily parts are in poor taste, feel free to pass. However, if you are a fan of HK Category III movies, don't mind gore, extreme violence toward women, have enjoyed HK police procedurals/confession beating stories, and like Simon Yam and/or Danny Lee, well, how can I stop you? Up there with "The Untold Story" for least-likely HK movie that I would re-visit.

Rating:
Summary: The Infamous Dr. Lamb (Caution Before Viewing)
Review: Simon Yam Tat-Wah portrays the title character (not a doctor), an insane maniac who does things to women (living and dead) that are better left undescribed. This early 1990s movie is an "infamous" Category III title from Hong Kong. Danny Lee (the prototypical "cop" from tons of HK cop and triad flicks) plays the inspector in charge of solving the case and getting a confession (i.e., beating the suspect up until he confesses).

I don't like the idea of labeling anything as "sick" or "twisted," but if I were to, this would be the movie about which to use those terms (and I've seen and can easily stomach a lot of these Category III flicks).

What can one say about this movie? I'd put this one in the "has to be seen to be believed" category, but then that might be seen as a recommendation, and I can't recommend this one.

If you dislike violence and nudity thrown together, avoid this at all costs. If you think jokes about severed bodily parts are in poor taste, feel free to pass. However, if you are a fan of HK Category III movies, don't mind gore, extreme violence toward women, have enjoyed HK police procedurals/confession beating stories, and like Simon Yam and/or Danny Lee, well, how can I stop you? Up there with "The Untold Story" for least-likely HK movie that I would re-visit.