DR. LAMB
(1992)
Dir - Danny Lee
Overall: MEH
There is very little if anything at all to recommend concerning Danny Lee's serial killer exploitation film Dr. Lamb. Inspired by the escapades of Lam Kor-wan, (one of Hong Kong's two known serial killers who was a taxi driver that murdered a number of sex workers before being caught in the early 80s), the movie pretty much just lets us witness such heinous acts while people scream in a police station. It is full of unwholesome set pieces, (several of which are played for laughs, like a severed breast saved in a jar that ends up getting tossed around a crime scene), and it pretty much ends after we have witnessed enough of them. The killer initially remains quiet, an awful lot of cops yell at him and hit him, then he confesses so the sleaziness can take center stage as we see him murder, rape, and mutilate women in flashback. It is utterly void of suspense, has no character development, and is tediously plotted, furthermore offering no insight into the killer's deranged behavior aside from, "he was always creepy, even as a kid". Dr. Lamb remains somewhat noteworthy and is one of several commercially successful true crime films produced in the country at the time, so there does seem to be an audience for such shamelessly tasteless fare.
(1996)
Dir - Hisayasu Satō
Overall: MEH
As a piece of squeamish body horror, exploitation pinku eiga filmmaker Hisayasu Satō's Splatter: Naked Blood, (Megyaku Naked Blood), at least delivers its disturbing set pieces most memorably. The film is infamous for how a series of victims of an experimental drug euphorically begin to mutilate themselves. Watching them do this is enough to make most people bury their eyes and tell whoever they are watching it with to let them know when it is all over. Though the budget appears to be rather meager and the digital effects are poor, Satō makes the most out of such disgusting moments. Aside from just the practical effects which are adequate, the very deliberate and tranquil pacing of the most alarming scenes goes a long way. This ends up being a double-edged sword though since the movie is ultimately way too slow, especially during the first half. The film loses most interest in what is happening long before the grotesque and shocking stuff actually erupts. Much of it does become quite hypnotically bizarre though so depending on the viewer, it may be adequately surreal to keep one engaged. Still, the moments that are difficult to stomach are unflinching and frequent, so coupled with the slagging beginning, it does not quite overcome its flaws.
(1998)
Dir - Park Ki-hyung
Overall: MEH
The first in the Whispering Corridors franchise, (each entry of which was unrelated to each other), was one of the most successful horror movies to emerge in South Korea after the end of the military dictatorship that hugely censored their film industry. On that note, it uses the very severe, authoritarian educational system of the country as a backdrop for a tragic, high school girl spectre that routinely seeks revenge on the teachers who uphold such cripplingly strict discipline. The political themes are unmistakable and make for the most interesting parts, but overall the movie is mediocre and rather by the books. The plot seems convoluted until it is very meticulously spelled out in the last ten or so minutes where the sentimentality might seem a bit too corny for some tastes. The spooky moments are deliberately cliche which is not necessarily a bad thing, but from a logic angle, it is typical supernatural horror movie nonsense where the ghosts appear and do stuff only when it is creepy to do so, never when it is plausible. Since the entire movie takes place in an all girls high school, we never see any students return home or interact with their parents and the fact that so many of them including the teachers routinely hang out there at night, (when everyone seems to nonchalantly believe that the place is certainly haunted no less), the number of horror tropes blindly checked off is probably too many.
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