« Review : Deadful Melody on DVD | Main | Review : Dragon Inn DVD »
Review : Riki-Oh The Story of Ricky on DVD
There are screwed up movies and then there is The Story of Ricky. Hong Kong films are known for their wanton amount of surreal amounts of violence but Riko-Oh takes home the grand prize. Words fail to describe this movie but I am going to try.
This is the movie that Comedy Central's The Daily Show got the exploding head clip from. There was an author on the show who wrote a book about the best movie to watch when stoned. This was the creme de la creme.
It is a 1991 Hong Kong movie that is based on a Japanese comic by the creator of Fist of the North Star.
It is full of horror movie special effects to show surreal amounts of bloody violence but what sets it apart is how petty and non-stop the violent acts are. Hardly a minute goes buy that some one is not horribly mutilated or has their head popped like a zit. Loads of cheesy surreal ultra violence with a lot of blood and almost no justification. I am not sure if they were trying to be serious but this is one of the funniest movies ever made. The acting is so over done and bad that it is classic. They probably only shot one take and it over exaggerated. There is nothing subtle in this movie. The voice over is so damn bad it is really good. The actors either have lispy high pitched whiny voices or grunting tough guy voices. About five guys probably dubbed the entire movie. There is a Cantonese language track on the DVD but the English mix is so choice I would never pass it up.
Riki-Oh is set in the future where there is mass privatization of prisons and it was shot in a real Chinese Prison but that is where the similarities to reality end.
Our hero Ricky killed a drug dealer who was responsible for the death of his girlfriend. He has five bullets in his chest that he keeps as a reminder. The guy who plays Ricky if really buffed and has "6-pack abs" like StrongBad. There are these strange flashback sequences to memories of Ricky's dead girlfriend and to his uncle. My favorite is the one where his uncle talks about his super human strength but the reasons why are not explained. Ricky then shows him his strength by destroying tomb stone that his uncle threw at him. Ricky is Mr-T strong and is not afraid to kick ass and splatter blood in the name of good. Ricky heals really really quick and he gets stabbed and impaled a lot but once he washes it off he recovers quicker than a cartoon character. His eyes get cut by glass but he is ok if he can just wash it out and he can repair a cut tendon in his arm by tyeing it into a knot. Ricky can punch out eyes and can punch through bad guys. Ricky can play a leaf like a flute and can pull items out of his shirt like Felix the Cat's magic bag. In short Ricky is one bad sucka.
Early on in the movie a tough guy cuts up the face of a poor old guy with a razor blade for no real reason and Ricky shows up and and knocks him on to a pile of up turned nails on a board. A fake bloody body was used in the gag. This has no real reason but it lets the audience know what to expect from this totally ultra violent cheesy fantasy of a Kung Fu movie.
The prison is run like a slum where there is almost no one in their cells and they prisoners just walk around. This prison divided in four wings and each is ruled by a super human Kung Fu leader known as "The Gang of 4". The Gang of 4 is the tough guy, the heavy metal big guy with a beard, the effeminate guy who is played by a woman in male drag and the old man who is played by a young guy in bad make up.
The assistant warden lives in the lap of luxury with a huge porn collection. He has a hook for a hand and a fake eye that he keeps mint candies in. He is a combination of a bad James Bond villain and the ruler of North Korea.
I loved the part when Oscar of "The Gang of 4" cuts open his gut and takes out an intestine to choke Ricky with it. That is just something that you do not see everyday at the movies.
There are real elements of homoeroticism in this movie. Group peeing and some sexual admiration glances from fans of Ricky make you go "Hum?". Bathrooms and naked half naked men are important themes to this flick.
At the final fight the warden hulks out and becomes a monster in a big nasty looking rubber suit. I love the fact that the final fight took place in a kitchen with an industrial meat grinder. I mean that is totally convent when you want a blood way to kill a super monster bad guy.
BBQ and I actually got to see this in the theater it kicked so much ass. The violence is so far over the top that I guess it would be OK for most teenagers because it crosses over into fantasy violence. It is more slapstick than real applicable violence.
I love this movie. It would be good late at night with a beer a friend who likes horror movies. This would be the ultimate movie to watch stoned. Hong Kong makes better action movies all the time but they have never made a movie as over the top as Story of Ricky.
Jake at July 10, 2003 
Reviews
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.8bitjoystick.com/cgi-bin/mtype/mt-tb.cgi/251
Comments
just from the pics i know i would NOT be able to watch this movie...it's gonna take me a while to get the one where the guy's head goes splat out of my brain...ugh! :P
Posted by: Lilly at July 10, 2003 7:03 AM
Ewww... I think I'll pass on that movie...
Posted by: Judy at July 10, 2003 7:45 AM
I know this is off topic, but www.tampatantrum.com - robyn has stopped her blog. It says too be continued someday. I give her a week to two weeks before she is back at it.
Posted by: allgone at July 10, 2003 7:57 AM
"He is a combination of a bad James Bond villain and the ruler of North Korea." Excellent turn of phrase, there, Jake. :)
Posted by: Beth at July 10, 2003 8:05 AM
Dammit Jake, put the bong down!
Wait, is that my...dammit jake give me my bong back and stay out of my movie collection!
j/k
Seriously I must see this movie now, I've often wondered where the exploding head scene came from now I know. Who says 8bit isn't educational.
Posted by: j. kinyeta at July 10, 2003 12:15 PM
Where can i buy this cheesy classic? Please tell me Jake I need this movie in my collection.
Posted by: pete at July 11, 2003 10:45 AM
You can get it at Suncoast at the Kitsap Mall
Posted by: Jake at July 11, 2003 12:13 PM
That movie is the greatest!! Anyone who says they cant watch it because its "too gory", then they are really babies. I saw and I was fine, and I was only 13!!! Grow up ya pansies!!
Posted by: Joe Rond at March 1, 2004 8:40 PM
I saw this flick, and it kicks unholy ass. I bet Ricki could destroy Batman, Spidey, Wolverine.... Hulk might take him. Maybe. Ricki rules. I loved the scene where the uncle trains Ricki in a graveyard by throwing head stones at him, and Ricki smashes them to dust in mid-air with punches. I laughed my ass off all the way through.
Posted by: Supernaut at May 14, 2007 6:37 PM
The ultra-ugly faces of the small needle throwing guy. That little man is wicked. He can cut off an airshaft suspension and pry open steam pipes with a needle tied to a rope. But the best of the best is that piece of wood full of nails lying on the bathroom floor for no reason just so that the guy gets his eye gouged. Highly recommended.
Posted by: Li Wong at June 24, 2008 9:27 PM
