Released in our cinemas on July 6, “Sadness” is especially inspired by Category III movies, a classification reserved in Hong Kong for especially extreme feature films.
The director is Canadian. Taiwanese movie. And it is inspired by works created in Hong Kong. Released in our cinemas on July 6, after a passage noted by various festivals (Locarno, Gérardmer…), Sorrow is considered one of the most violent feature films that have recently appeared on the big screen, with scenes that go too far. Many fell into complacency that they grazed several times.
It must be said that director Robert Jabazi was not looking for realism: “I deliberately went beyond the limits and entered a kind of hyperreality”, – he says in the press kit. And he was particularly inspired by Category III films, a classification created in 1988 in Hong Kong that provides: “No one under the age of 18 may rent, purchase, or view this film in theaters.” The first two categories define works for all audiences and then those prohibited for children. And in France, feature films are generally prohibited for people under the age of 16.
A restriction that applies to films produced in and outside Hong Kong. A little sex, a lot of violence, a political statement against the communist regime and/or questionable morals are necessary to be a part of what has become a genre in its own right and participate in the renaissance of local cinema. Category III is not reserved for horror, as filmmakers such as Johnnie To (The Election and Its Sequel) or Wong Kar-Wai (Happy Together) had the right to do so.
In the case of The Sadness, Robert Jabazz was clearly influenced by gore and crime: “In many films of the III category, there is some strange tone, some almost childish comedy (…) I thought it would be interesting to make such a film, but without humor. Only a small touch of irony. “
While the result can still be seen in our cinemas, here are some grim examples from Hong Kong, where films of this genre enjoyed a golden age between 1988 and 1997, before becoming increasingly rare. But we find them at the heart of the 2018 documentary Category III: The Untold Story of Hong Kong Exploitation Cinema.
Tun Fei Mou Camp 731 (1988)
A scene of shock – Camp 731 doesn’t go over the back of a spoon to show all the abuse suffered by the prisoners depicted on it. But two sequences particularly celebrate the spirits: when the cat is devoured by rats before the latter is set on fire, a passage whose complacency has drawn comparisons to a cannibalistic holocaust.
And especially this vivisection of the child (who was seen a few minutes earlier in the process of sympathizing with his future executioners), was carried out thanks to the pictures of the actual autopsy, whose family of the deceased agreed to give up the pictures. Even without these unbearable images, the feature film deserves a place in category III. These scenes only support that.
The Untold Story of Herman Yau (1993)
A scene of shock – Urophilia, rape, infanticide… The untold story does not give up anything, if its inclusion among category III films would not be ensured immediately. The Hong Kong director stops at nothing when it comes to human flesh and, above all, murder. And especially this, very graphic, beheading of a family, including children. Bidders, be on your way.
Herman Yau’s Ebola Syndrome (1996)
A scene of shock – A quasi-remake of Untold Story by the same director, Ebola Syndrome shows a bit more second rate without sacrificing its intensity. Or his desire to follow through on things. Infanticide, racism, dissection, pollution, rape, sex, scatology, vulgarity… all good enough to shock without trying to deliver a message, and its ultra-violence makes it one of the flagships of Category III. Especially when he adds an ounce of cannibalism to the already loaded cocktail via the burgers that Kai serves up to his customers.
Daughter of Darkness by Ivan Lai (1993)
A scene of shock – The starting point of the saga in which we find a sequel and a male version (Brother of Darkness), Daughter of Darkness is not the most difficult to watch of the films of category III. But the mix of violence, rape and incest makes its key scene particularly shocking, and it’s also driven by a libidinous cop sequence meant to criticize China’s communist system of abuse of power.
Devil’s Fruit (1983) Hung-Chuen Lau
A scene of shock – Black magic and ghosts are in this Devil Fruit program, which is not the Hong Kong parody of The Exorcist that the synopsis might suggest. And it’s hard to name a more terrifying sequence between a fetus that swells, explodes, and releases a monster from its mother’s body. Or that moment when a man peels the skin off his face to reveal the pockmarked streets beneath.
Scary High Heels Wei-An Chen, Cheng Chow & Tsiang-Pang Mao (1996)
A scene of shock – We saw burgers made of human meat. Make way for shoes made of their skin. So it won’t take you long to figure out what hideous high heels are the scariest: those home-made scalpel or nail nails that, if not as extreme as we might fear, will knock a few teeth off and remind you. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Also note the little ole ole scene with the goose.
The Striker of Tsang Kan-cheung (1997)
A scene of shock – Sex and violence are the aspects that could cause the film to be placed in category III. But morality does play a role, especially in the case it produces Johnny To. If the director is entitled to this classification elections and his thenThat wasn’t necessarily the goal, unlike Intruder where the heroes are the villains.
According to several analyses, the schizophrenic side of the heroine can be seen as a metaphor for the loss of identity that Hong Kong felt at the dawn of the handover to China. And as often, when it goes to extremes, it impresses the film. When it attacks the elderly and/or children, like here with little Yin Yin, who was unlucky to be harmed.
Fruit Chan’s New Kitchen (2004)
A scene of shock – One of the third-rate horror feature films that hit our cinemas. First as the dirtiest segment in the 2005 sketch film 3 Extremes. Then in this extended version that hit our screens on February 1, 2006. Let’s talk about abortion, social pressure or the bourgeoisie, which is ready to do anything. Keeping their desires intact, Nouvelle cuisine combines dark humor and cannibalism.
In order to maintain sexual activity, they eat embryos there. There, four-month-old fruits are cut with a grinder. And we eat funny ravioli with bones that crunch under the teeth. Fans of Top Chef-type cooking shows will likely turn pale in the face of this senseless, violent and disturbing opus, but not senseless.
Source: allocine
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
