Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 09/19/2003 A servant (Hung) and her master (Ng) are framed by Ng's wife (who is jealous of the attention he is giving Hung) for the murder of Hung's husband and must go to court to prove their innocence through enduring a series of tortures. Despite its' title, A Chinese Torture Chamber Story's emphasis is not on torture (though there are several gruesome sequences, inculding the severing of a penis and the old "bamboo under the fingernails" bit), but rather on sex. Like its' spiritual forefather (also known as "the movie Wong Jing swiped the idea from") Sex and Zen, most of this movie's running time is dominated by people in period costumes boffing each other -- and like Sex and Zen, it gets old real quick, especially in this case, since none of the actors are terribly attractive. In fact, a few of them are downright ugly. Wong Jing is normally dead-on in picking the starlets for his movies (Chingmy Yau anyone?), but he must have lost a lot at the horse track before making this movie, because honestly, these are some of the most plain-looking people I've ever seen in this type of movie. When A Chinese Torture Chamber Story isn't boring, it's often disgusting. For instance, there are several "gags" involving male ejaculate -- one subsituting blood for semen -- that are just plain gross. There's a line between shocking an audience and just alienating them, and Bosco Lam crosses it here. That's a bit suprising, since both Lam and Wong have been involved in some of the true Cat III classics, films that pushed the boundaries of good taste without becoming overly nauseating. In the movie's defense, there is one pretty good scene (that often gets brought up in the newsgroups) involving Elvis Tsui and his wife doing some weird wire-fu sex. I wouldn't go so far as to call it "sexy" or "erotic," but at least it's interesting without being sleazy, something which the rest of the movie really fails to do. If you want to see a shocking movie, try Lam's The Untold Story. If you want to see a sexy movie, try something like Clarence Fok/Wong Jing's Naked Killer. A Chinese Torture Chamber Story tries to be both and fails, going too far in some areas and stopping too short in others. Unless you're really desperate to see some naked Asian people, you're best off avoiding this.

Reviewed by: STSH Date: 07/26/2000 Summary: Wild and varied horror/farce/sex comedy. Sound pretty grim ? There's plenty of light relief. The nanny spends much time try to increase the size of her tiny boobs. The scholar has a few wild gadgets to get his wife horny. The scholar encounters a couple who fly around in the forest, having sex in the air (played by HK's top sexual athletes, Tsui Kam Kong and Julie Lee Wah Yuet). This scene would be worth the price of admission/hire alone, and is the sort of thing which is only possible in HK cinema. And the two scenes which rip off the main romantic theme in Ghost have to be seen to be believed. The best comparison I can think of is with Sex And The Emperor. Love it or hate it, I can guarantee this is one film you'll find hard to forget. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/21/1999 Methods of Chinese torture date back to the Yu and Sung Dynasties One of the most renowned cases found in history was the trial of "Young Nam" and Little Cabbage". Falsely accused of murder the two victims were forced to endure torturous punishments. [Reviewed by Tai Seng Catalog]

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/08/1999 Innocence carries no weight in the corrupt halls of justice, andno one knows better than the peasant girl who is sold and subjected to a barrage of depraved punishments. [Reviewed by Rim Films Catalog]

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/08/1999 This is another flick from sleazemaster Wong Jing who proves to us again that he is capable of the best and the worst. When I am saying the best, I am refering to the fact that when you are watching a movie which such a title as this one, you expect a cavalcade of excess in bad taste which you do get indeed! But when I am saying the worst, then I am refering to the comedy aspect of the film which is, most of the time, very embarrasing, the kind of humour that makes a movie like "PORKY'S" look like a Woody Allen film! Anyway, all I can say is that if you are tired of that "politicily correct" shit, then this film is for you! By the way, watch out for a (unintentionally) funny rendering of the love theme from "GHOST". [Reviewed by Martin Sauvageau]

Reviewed by: spinali Date: 12/08/1999 Summary: NULL Following in the path of Sex and Zen, this goes back to the Ching Dynasty as a pretext to demonstrate a variety of antique torture devices -- many in vented by the filmmakers for this film. A corrupt judge (in a parody of the Judge Pao television series) protects his lecherous son from charges of murder, but instead pins the rap on virginal beauty Little Cabbage (Yvonne Yung Hung...and yes, she's all three) and a handsome scholar -- on the theory that the couple fed Little Cabbage's well-endowed husband some herbs that made his penis explode. There's a cross-examination, and that's where the torture devices come in. The film gets in spired midway, when the unfortunate couple falls in love (to a hilarious Chinese version of the love theme from Ghost); and next, when we visit the forest to see a kung fu couple having vigorous flying-people sex, bouncing from tree to tree ("I will defeat you in three positions!"); I especially liked the "Circular Wheel Position" (the kung fu master whirls on top of his lover like a top) and the "Wonder Screw," after which he discharges out about twenty quarts of his, er, precious bodily fluids. Other delights await the HK film fan here: and I guarantee that, after this, you'll never think of hand-jobs in quite the same way. (2.5/4) [Reviewed by Steve Spinali] Reviewer Score: 6