Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing and Unpredictable
Review: I saw this back in 1997 at the Fant-Asia film festival in Calgary and I was just stunned. From what I've heard, they just don't make slasher/horror films that often in Asia, so when they set out to shock and horrify, they go to the extreme, in true Asian style. This story concerns a serial killer posing as a restaurant prorietor who goes into violent rages and indulges in sadistic acts. For those of you used to Anime and other far-out Asian arts, you may be already jaded and unaffected, but for those of you looking for something to disturb you, seek this out. It's not an atypical story by any means, but the murder scenes are pretty grisly. It's not quite all out gore, but it's pretty disturbing in that you're just not used to this kind of stuff. One guy gets chopped up into dim sum. In another sequence, a family gets hacked to pieces...you ever notice in Hollywood where murdered children get killed offscreen? Not here. There's also a graphic rape scene involving chopsticks that ain't exactly feminist-friendly. Needless to say, with every succesive murder during the screening. more and more people walked out. It's rare you see a horror film provoking anything more than laughter nowadays. This one is all out, gung-ho savagery. What's even weirder is the moments of slapstick that pop-up whenever the cops are in a scene. A strange way to lighten the darker scenes, but, that's Asian cinema for you...unpredictable, daring, extreme and the polar opposite of Western filmmaking. The guy who plays the killer won some prestigious awards in awards for his portrayal, and he deserves them. He's convincingly creepy. Go to your local Chinese videostore and try and get this gem and play it at your next sleepover party.
Rating: 
Summary: Tepid and over-praised.
Review: "The Untold Story" runs on the false assumption that a movie with lots of graphic violence is brilliant by virtue of it's ability to shock the viewer. Truth be told, if you look past the violence, you are left with a very amateur-night production with terrible acting and even worse writing.Anthony Wong plays "Bunman", the owner of the "Eight Immortals Restaraunt" in Macau who claimed ownership after the previous owners mysteriously disappeared. When body parts wash up on the beach, a police investigation ensures and eventually leads to Bunman's door. Then the bloodbath begins. "The Untold Story" is based on the true story of "Bunman", apparently only of Macau's most notorious serial killers (think of the inspiration for his name--he killed people and fed them to his customers). It was a sensational story at the time, the Chinese version of Ed Gein, so to speak. But the fiction is easy to spot in the movie. The police are a bunch of sexist animals who seem content to pick on their only female officer than to solve crimes. Had the police been so stupid in real life, Bunman would have never been caught and would now have a franchise. In theory, this could have been a great movie. In production, however, it is hardly watchable. The writing is where this movie really breaks down, unless unfunny sexist humor and frequent 4-letter words are your cup of tea. Contrary to what many people will say, this is not a psychological thriller. In "Silence of the Lambs", we got a glimpse into the mind of a brutal serial killer. In "The Untold Story", we get Bunman killing people in brutal fashions without any insight into his mind, his madness, and the surface is barely scratched on his motives. There is plenty of violence, including some particularly nasty murders, but nothing else of substance. The movie might have benefited from the title "Friday the 13th- Macau Style". People who praise this movie as "Brilliant" and "Thought provoking", I can only assume, were so numbed by the violence that they failed to spot the flaws. Perhaps that is the one area "The Untold Story" succeeds, it's tricks viewers into thinking it's a real movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Better left untold
Review: Although Anthony Wong gives a memorably chilling performance as a brutal killer, this ultra-gory Hong Kong film is as ungainly aesthetically as its literal Chinese title ("Eight Immortals Restaurant's Human Flesh Roast Pork Bun"). It is shocking only on a superficial level, and lacks the slightest profundity on anything; it leaves you wondering, "What's the point and why should I care?" Wong is presented simply as a generic psychotic, who regularly kills the people who catch him cheating in Mahjong games. We have no inkling of his personal life, his thoughts, his world views. The film's depiction of his demented psyche is about as masterful as showing him drinking his own urine and chewing off the veins under his wrist. The film's emphasis is on the excruciating details of his murderous itinerary, which, I suppose, director Herman Yau captures with great technical competence in terms of realism and horror. I'm a jaded, blase movie viewer, and still, the violence of this film is genuinely unnerving to me. The plot is an incoherent combination of Wong's exploits, an awkwardly comical subplot about inept and sexist cops, a melodramatic concoction about how the police sics a vengeful prisoner on Wong. See the film if you want to get an idea on the astounding level of violence and gore a Hong Kong can reach. This Tai Seng DVD contains 2 commentary tracks (from Yau and Wong). Comments are spoken sparingly; long intervals of silence are frequent. Their comments brought up the interesting point that the killer ironically becomes a victim later in the film. The DVD contains Cantonese and Mandarin soundtracks and optional yellow English subtitles (which include a few Portugese swear words as spoken in the film). All the trailers have permanent, hard-to-read subtitles, however. The picture quality is passable, perhaps due to the low-budgetness of the film; but then again many Tai Seng DVDs I have seen have less than satisfactory picture quality.
Rating: 
Summary: PORK BUNS ANYONE?
Review: Anthony Wong gives an unforgettable performance as a phycophatic killer in "The Untold Story". I am pleased to say that for once a film has lived up to the hype it recieved. There are some distrubing scenes, but only the last one is as nasty as anything I've ever seen. I can handle seeing Wong set fire to some guy, chop up another and make an appetizer out of him, rape and kill a woman who works at his resturant, amung other things. But the final scene, where he kills the resturants previous owner and his entire family is a little unsettling. Just to see five children get butchered the way they did, even seeing one little girl have her head chopped off with a meat cleaver, is pretty bad. Maybe it's just because American films never let you see a child getting killed, that this is such a shock to us. But even though all of these acts are brutally displayed in this film, it was still an excellent achievement. Wong is unbelievably believable in his role. Also, Lee does a good job as the chief of police, and is always arm and arm with several different prostitutes. Since this is based on a true story, it makes it all the more interesting. The DVD is nice, with full motion chapters, trailers, and more. The transfer is quite good also, and the sub-titles are super clear. No complaints at all with this film. If you are overly sensative, maybe you should stay away from this one. But if you can stomach some strong stuff, then definately pick this movie up. You will be pleasantly surprised. NEVER FORGET 9/11/01!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: PORK BUNS ANYONE?
Review: Anthony Wong gives an unforgettable performance as a phycophatic killer in "The Untold Story". I am pleased to say that for once a film has lived up to the hype it recieved. There are some distrubing scenes, but only the last one is as nasty as anything I've ever seen. I can handle seeing Wong set fire to some guy, chop up another and make an appetizer out of him, rape and kill a woman who works at his resturant, amung other things. But the final scene, where he kills the resturants previous owner and his entire family is a little unsettling. Just to see five children get butchered the way they did, even seeing one little girl have her head chopped off with a meat cleaver, is pretty bad. Maybe it's just because American films never let you see a child getting killed, that this is such a shock to us. But even though all of these acts are brutally displayed in this film, it was still an excellent achievement. Wong is unbelievably believable in his role. Also, Lee does a good job as the chief of police, and is always arm and arm with several different prostitutes. Since this is based on a true story, it makes it all the more interesting. The DVD is nice, with full motion chapters, trailers, and more. The transfer is quite good also, and the sub-titles are super clear. No complaints at all with this film. If you are overly sensative, maybe you should stay away from this one. But if you can stomach some strong stuff, then definately pick this movie up. You will be pleasantly surprised. NEVER FORGET 9/11/01!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Gory but not fun
Review: Being a big fan of HK cinema and an even bigger fan of gore films, I highly anticipated watching the untold story. The box promises cannibalism in a humorous vein and comes with a standard warning of graphic violence, so I figured it would probably be a lot of fun. The first scene has Anthony Wong, the big time bad guy, setting fire to a man after a gambling dispute, very realistic. Then, after some plot developement which more less establishes Wong as being a despicable man, he kills again and chops up his victim into pieces in a scene which is gut wrenching and very convincing. So far, I think it's pretty cool. then the film suddenly slaps you with this awful rape scene, certainly the most disturbing, graphic, and frighteningly realistic of such depictions I have ever seen. I won't repeat what all Wong does to this woman but I can assure you watching it is far from what anyone should be considering enjoyable. After that we're treated to about 40 minutes of moronic cops torturing Wong into confessing. These scenes are not any fun either, they're drawn out and pointless and lead the film nowhere. Eventually, after much police brutality and sleep deprivation the film goes into a flashback where we see Wong slaughter 8 more people, including 5 young children whose participation in the film must have been traumatizing for them considering their age. This is another very gory scene, and a rather long one, but not quite as disturbing as the one I mentioned earlier. Like I said, I was looking for a movie a little bit more laughable in it's use of blood and guts, but this film is no laughing matter! It's main purpose seems to be the intention of shocking and upsetting the veiwer, and to it's credit it acheives these goals. Wong received the Hong Kong film awards best actor for his role here and I guess he deserved it considering all the awful things he did for this movie. A true study in method acting but other than that he just sneers and screams alot. The cops, as I said, are depicted as sexist and incompetant morons who turn surprisingly cruel once they have their suspect in custody. HK movies often depict cops as idiots for comic relief (see Dr. Lamb or Naked Killer among others) but here it's just really out of place and unnecesary. That's the main fault of the film, but mainly I want to warn others who might consider renting or buying this movie in the hopes of getting some laughs out of it- you won't. This is some hard core stuff. As a side note, the extras and additional trailers are really neat, and the transfer looks great.
Rating:
Summary: A NO HOLDS BARRED,SERIAL KILLING NUTCASE!!
Review: can i just say that this movie should be viewed,not by people looking for an oscar winning storyline,norany whys,wheres maybes or anything really indepth about anthony wongs chracter,but to simply realise that the movie was ,made to shock AND entertain,andthat the central character is a no holds barredserial killing nutcase.this it succeeds in doing.wongs performance may be seen by some as over thetop,but,until you have actually come across thistype of guy in real life...which i dont wish on anyone,you'll never know if it was...i think he researched his character,and played it to perfection,but,like i said,We'll never know.all i can say is GREAT MOVIE,and it is,after all ,only a movie,and i look forward to viewing TAXI HUNTER,also starring the great anthony wong,available probably now as i write these very words.BUY THE UNTOLD STORY...IF YOU DONT LIkE IT...I'LL EAT MY OWN BUNS!
Rating:
Summary: Dark but overall very tame and dull
Review: comedy scenes that drag on and on, with very little going on for them, given that they are NOT FUNNY AT ALL, just plain stupid. The gore looks very fake and you don't get to see much. The 2 stars are for Anthony Wong who displays some talent as the baddy, the dark atmosphere during the jail scenes & the final murder, which are nasty enough to be compelling. Not worth the trouble, Daughter Of Darkness is way better.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD LORD!!!!!
Review: I have always thought that I was somewhat impervious to violence and gore, having breezed through the worst Hollywood has to offer. That is, until I watched The Untold Story last night. I had always read that this was just about the most depraved thing ever put on film. This is an understatement for sure. Only Dead Alive can top it, but Dead Alive is so cartoonish that nobody could ever take it seriously. The brutal scenes in this movie would never pass the censors in this country, especially with the new crusade against violence. Scenes of dismemberment, children being hacked up, cannibalism, and graphic rape are prevalent, yet crucial to the story. Anthony Wong, one of my favorite Hong Kong actors is magnificent in the lead role, giving one the most chilling performances I have ever seen. Danny Lee in his usual role of a hard-nosed detective is great as always. The bumbling, arguing group of cops that he leads provide ample humor which helps counter the violence. The DVD itself is a testimony to the quality of Tai Seng's domestic releases. Sharp picture, for a Hong Kong movie, and excellent dolby sound, coupled with a neat interactive menu and cool previews for other Anthony wong flicks, not to mention 2 commentaries. I highly reccomend this magnificant film to anyone who can handle it.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Slasher/Gore Flick!
Review: I never thought a film could be made like the 1992
Chinese presentation of "The Untold Story". Let me
start by saying that this is the only film in all my
years of moviegoing that actually nauseated me. Give
me credit. I have a very strong stomach. Maybe what
makes it so horrific is that it is based on true
events. I thought I had seen it all...now (maybe) I
have. I love horror, gore, frightening tales of
terror, but this one crosses the line. It is
shocking...to say the least...and it doesn't start out
that way.
The crew of police officers and detectives in this
film are a bunch of comedians. They are constantly
ribbing one another...find excuses not to work...and I
thought I was in store for a Chinese rendition of Mel
Gibson and Danny Glover in "Lethal Weapon". In
afterthought, their comedic relief is to take pressure
off the gruesome antics of a psychotic killer Anthony
Wong, who won Honk Kong's Film Award for Best Actor in
1993. Best actor? This guy is so convincing he
scared the hell out of me.
While I find it just as hard to understand how such a
film could be made, I was more perplexed over the fact
that I WATCHED IT! Wong is a true psycho-maniac.
There are moments that are simply
disgusting...overboard...unthinkable. And, of course,
I had to buy the ORIGINAL UNCUT VERSION! Guess what?
There's nothing "uncut" about it...if you get my
drift. Words of wisdom:
Stay away from the barbecued pork buns and beware of
the chopsticks.
If you're brave enough to watch this, you may want to
be selective as to who (if anyone) joins you. I've
seen "Silence of the Lambs", "Dahmer", "Portrait of a
Serial Killer", "Bundy", "Helter Skelter"...and a host
of deranged serial killer flicks, but this one takes
the cake...or, better yet, "cuts" it.
In the gruesome serial killer genre', this one is a
"10". If you can't handle this type of flick, I
recommend "Shrek 2"...your side will split from
laughter...not via a meat cleaver.
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