The Untold Story

1995 "Based, unfortunately, on real events…"
6.8| 1h35m| R| en
Details

Macau cops begin to suspect a man running a pork buns restaurant of murder, after tracing the origin of a case full of chopped up human remains that washed ashore, which leads them to him.

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Reviews

Steineded How sad is this?
Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Ramuna 'The Untold Story aka Human Meat Roast Pork Buns' I first had a chance to watch this movie when I was a kid about 13 years of age in my junior high, believe it or not this movie was widely spoken at that time in the place where I live (Medan,Indonesia), of course considering the graphical content and nudity of the movie, I only have the chance to watch it together with several buddies while nobody's attending home. What happened was...one of my mate dispersed halfway the movie, as for me, after watching it, I feel terribly remorse within because it haunted me day after day for long enough than I could remember, especially that Wong figure make me really sick and guts out.Last Sunday, 24th August 2008, after 15 year I have another chance to watch this movie again. It's much different this time, kinda nostalgic and I found the scenes more bearable compare to watching it in the older day, but still I prepare extra guts and it still portrays a very horrifying and disturbing scenes even compared to modern Hollywood gory/slasher flick like 'Saw' and 'Hostel' alike. So it was fair to say that one should never claim to have watched 'the most' gory or terrifying film in modern cinema before ever taste a chunk of this Hong Kong classic cinematic horror.I wouldn't go so far to say that this movie is great, but I can point out few points that distinguish 'The Untold Story' from movie alike:1.The acting of the lead (Anthony Wong) is unbelievable brilliant, as the bun man , only by the evil look of his eyes you could tell how vicious and mean he is. And he really deserved to be the only lead actor from CAT III Hong Kong movie to ever win the best actor category in Hong Kong Film Award history.2. The dark and merciless scenes contain of extreme graphic violence subject to children, the sadistic method of killing and diabolical suicide attempt, police and cell brutality, etc, all those scenes are somehow cross the line, thank God there's some crunchy humor poured onto the film. Well, some silly humor wouldn't do any harm in such a dark material.3. The originality of the movie's theme itself has become like a trend-setter at Hong Kong cat III film industry at that time, many of which trailed the very same theme despite of the controversy, and the movie itself later spawned its sequel of The Untold Story II and III respectively, of which none has the quality equal or even close to the original.4. This is one of the movie despite explaining everything in the title and poster still make you feel like watching it, under the account of curiosity.As a matter of fact I wouldn't ever recommend such a disturbing movie to anyone, but for those who like to test the limit of tolerance, well this one is surely worth a notice. Strongly not recommended for age below 17, based on what I experienced...
chuck-219 This one starts with an argument over money. It ends with the loser's face being smashed against a wall, his body doused with gasoline and then set on fire on the floor. I guess we need no further character development for our villain here.Anyhow, our main story takes place some years later with our "friend" running a restaurant in Macau. One can easily guess the reason for continuous "Help Wanted" postings here. As it stands, the police are investigating our friend after some body parts wash up on the shore (with the finger prints belonging to a relative of the original restaurant owners). He is taken into custody, and much mayhem ensues.First off, let me say that the cops in this are the most comically inept I've seen since Abbott and Costello met the Keystone Cops. They are the humorous relief here in what is a very brutal tale (not the least of which are their interrogation techniques). These cops make Abu Ghraib look like a visit to Candy Land. Beatings, Amphetamine sleep deprivation, straight jackets, injected sores. Remind me to never commit a crime in Macau. Of course, we could care less about this since our recipient is well deserved of his treatment. The end has one of the most ghastly flashbacks I've ever seen.This film has dismemberment, rape (both with and without chopsticks), torture, urine ingestion (though voluntary for medicinal purposes), cannibalism (Dim Sum, anyone?), etc. The makeup effects were very realistic. I'd read that this was very good and it did not disappoint. Worth noting is that Anthony Wong won Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1993 for this movie. That's their equivalent of the Oscars and as such, is quite an honor.Highly recommended viewing.Charlie.
Matthew Jaworski 'The Untold Story' is purportedly based on a true story. If that is indeed the case, this film is one of the more horrifying endeavors I have had the pleasure to witness in all my years. Even if it is not, this still quite a film...Herman Yau directed this HK horror masterpiece masterfully. Anthony Wong (as Kai) gives one of the most convincing psycho performances I have ever encountered (at that's saying a lot)...The story is a relatively simple one (albeit very effective). At the outset, Kai and his boss have some sort of monetary dispute involving gambling and cheating. An argument ensues, at which point Kai than proceeds to go sickhouse, and kill the man... Fast forward 8 years...Kai is running a restaurant. Mysteriously, the previous owner and his family are nowhere to be found. As the police and various people begin to inquire about how Kai came into ownership of the restaurant, the questions begin to pile up (as do the missing bodies)...Kai, being witty as well as psychotic devises a clever and creative way to dispose of the various bodies that he has created. By the way, don't eat the 'pork buns'... Eventually the local police (who are portrayed as silly, Police Academy-esquire buffoons) become suspicious, leading to the arrest and eventual imprisonment of Kai. Torture and brutality ensue, culminating in a coerced confession presented beautifully and horrifically by Yau...Much has been made of the violent and wicked nature of this film. Perhaps I am jaded, but I did not find this film to be gratuitously violent. All of the violent and wicked acts depicted were in context, and served the purpose of showing what a monster Kai is..This may sound like a rather simple film. Plotwise it is. However, the story was well-constructed, and Yau's capable direction keep things moving forward engagingly so. This is a captivating and enthralling story, all the more incredible because it allegedly happened. If you love a good true crime/horror story (and are not of the squeamish variety), you will most likely find this to be a fascinating and well-done film...
The_Void This is my first 'Cat III' flick, so while I'm not qualified to compare this to other genre entries; I've heard this is the pick of the bunch, and I wouldn't be surprised to find that is indeed the case. I guess this is the sort of film that people mean when they talk about completely sick Asian cinema, as The Untold Story doesn't exactly hold back and while the plotting is largely uneven and sometimes doesn't flow well; there's buckets of blood on display, and the film always at least has that to fall back on. The film plays out something like a cross between a psycho killer flick and a police drama, as we follow Wong Chi Hang; a man who brutally murdered a family after a card game, and took control of the Eight Immortals Restaurant. Various members of the restaurant staff are going missing, and it's no coincidence that the restaurant happens to serve 'pork bao'. The story really starts when some kids discover a hand on the beach, and following an investigation into the hand's former owner; it comes to light that it once belonged to the mother of the restaurant family...The film starts off slowly, and I can't say that I was enjoying it too much by the end of the first half. However, things really pick up in the second half and by the end we are treated to what is surely one of the most brutal murder sequences ever committed to screen! There's a distinct element of pitch black humour to the film, and this is shown through the bumbling police officers and even some of the murder scenes themselves. The way that the film is shot is fairly stylish and certain sequences; such as the one that sees the main character welding a huge butcher's knife, are very memorable. The Untold Story does a good job of drawing the audience into the central character's story, and this is why the second half of the film works better than the first. The title of the film comes from the fact that our murderer tries his best not to divulge the story surrounding the murders to the police, and the torturous sequences that see the fuzz trying to get it out of him add nicely to the brutal atmosphere of the film. Overall, this is a great slice of nasty cinema. Since it's one of the better known 'Cat III' films, I guess all the experienced viewers will already have seen it; but if you've never seen a Cat III film, this looks like as good a place as any to start!