Dr. Lamb (1992) by Danny Lee and Billy Hin-Shing Tang

Director: Danny Lee, Billy Hin-Shing Tang

Year: 1992

Country: Hong Kong

Alternate Titles: Goh yeung yee sang

Genre: Exploitation

Plot:

After receiving a call about a strange case, a group of police detectives are alerted to a strange case involving a deranged taxi driver running around the streets of Hong Kong brutally killing and dismembering prostitutes which forces them to make him reenact his brutal crime spree.

Review:

Frankly, this one was quite the dark and brutal genre effort. Much of that comes from the story that allows for such an atmosphere to exist. The fact that we get to see who he really is with the series of exploits into his personality shines a light on how he became a killer. The psychological insight gained from a small kid who openly enjoyed pulling up young girls' skirts, spying on his parents having sex, and watching his younger sister bathe herself sets him up as a sexually-repressed deviant capable of the various acts he commits throughout here. This continues later on as we see how they treat him as an adult with a series of utter disdain and outright cruelty that is a part of the dysfunctional family relationship at the core of the film setting his stage of depravity to come. Being able to engage in the cruelty and sexual deviance that gets brought to bear on the bodies here with the type of uncomfortable setpieces that wallow in grime and sleaze. Given the amount of influence and highly effective detective work that goes on with how the investigation goes along showing the police officers beating and attempting to brutalize him for a confession with all of the evidence they have against him, all give this setup a great touch into his psyche.

On top of that, the excess provided here during the death scenes provides the film with its most notable and overwhelming aspects. The unhinged nature displayed here during the various scenes of him abducting women off the streets unsuspectingly and taking them back to his room offers up a slew of brutal and generally graphic content. The full-bore nudity featured while he strips the bodies naked, sexually assaults and molests his victims before discarding them into smaller chunks for disposal creates a perverse environment that is ripe for this kind of sexual-based violence. Since these actions are built incredibly well off the psychological profile established earlier which paints him as the kind of figure to engage in such actions, we get to see several of these instances recreated and played out as they are in lengthy sequences creating a sleazy series of scenes. Moreover, that they're as detailed and lengthy as they all allow for that kind of gruesome and graphic energy to emerge as we watch the systematic carnage unfold and how he goes about getting away with it for as long as he does, and when added alongside an atmospheric stalking scene of him chasing down a victim in a driving rainstorm to add a little variety into the mix all combine together for an enjoyable experience.

There are several issues here with this one that brings it down. The biggest factor holding it back is the rather uneven tone that emerges from how the film mixes together the sleaze with the high-end thriller features here. That the film's in-depth psychological examination of his urge to kill and the resultant police investigation to find the truth about how he pulled everything off comes at the expense of really delivering the sleaze the way it could've. While the actions themselves are generally brutal and gruesome enough in concept, that there's little in the way of overtly over-the-top bloodshed here makes it feel somewhat restrained in comparison to what it could've been. The sole splatter scenes here are reserved for bloodshed sprayed onto the surrounding walls and fishtank of his room while skipping the angles of him chopping and dismembering the bodies that are nowhere near as graphic and intense as the action depicted in the reports. It ends up far too classy with these recreations that try to delve deep into the ability to understand who he is that there's a rather jarring feeling that comes along with these sleazy aspects integrated into the story. As well, that also includes the utterly out-of-place comedy that comes about here from the police officers, often coming across far too slapstick to make an impression. The goofy jokes and physical gags that involve dismembered body parts being flung about are just quite odd and don't have any real purpose for being here. Beyond that, there's not a lot to hold this one down.

Overview: ****/5

With a brutal, grimy atmosphere and a great psychological story that has a lot to like about it, this one has quite a lot to enjoy here which helps it remain one of the finest examples in the genre. Fans of hardcore exploitation cinema or curious about this one due to its reputation are well-advised to check it out while those that don't go for these kinds of fare will want to heed caution.

This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.