Fulci_Kills Watching this film it really did seem like Russ Meyer hopped in a time machine and traveled to the future to 1995 Japan and forced a young Takashi Miike to travel to Hong Kong to make one of the most bizarre and more importantly schizophrenic films I've seen since I watched Eternal Evil of Asia for the first time, which also happened to have been released that same year. Man 1995 was a great year for screwed up " Drama / Horror / Adventure / Fantasy / Comedic...all in one films", that the Chinese audience are so fond of. The Chinese audience really does want to get their moneys worth when they go to see a movie and want to experience as many genres of film in one trip to the cinema as they can. So let it be known, Chinese Torture Chamber Story switches from a horror film, to Love Story, to martial arts mayhem, to raunchy sexual antics, to slapstick comedy, back to toe cringing horror all in a flick of an eye so be prepared. The title of the film suggests plenty of Torture and trust me you do get that but mainly only at the beginning and end of the film. In between you should be prepared to expect a lot of drama, which can be quite boring when you want to watch a gore film but at least all the love story soap opera zaniness that goes on between Yvonne Yung Hung (Little Cabbage), Lawrence Ng (Scholar),Ching Mai (his wife) and Julie Lee always leads up to some soft-core sex. Which is lustful at times;Scholar and his sexual apparatus enjoying wife or flat out laugh out loud gut busting hilarity; famous Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sex scene anyone? That's what probably makes this movie so good. The hilarious, freaky sex always going on.For a good idea of what I'm talking about, think about the scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon where they're running along the tops of tree branches fighting as they defy gravity, only the two characters in Chinese Torture Chamber Story *beep* each other as they fight on top of the tree branches. Very pee your pants funny moment. Maybe not as funny as when it happened in Eternal Evil of Asia. That's why I mentioned that film earlier.If you're looking for another hilarious martial arts sex movie, pick up Eternal Evil of Asia (1995), directed by Man Kei Chin. Even cooler, the same martial arts sex master from Chinese Torture Chamber Story, Elvis Tsui, is also the same martial arts sex master in Eternal Evil. The movie also stars Julie Lee who also happens to be in CTCS. So be sure to pick that DVD up if you liked this one.So while the main story is basically a love story between Little Cabbage and The Scholar, it eventually leads to the murder of Little Cabbage's husband whose cause of death was, "death by penile explosion." Little Cabbage and the Scholar are then accused of adultery and murder of Little Cabbage's husband and put on trial. They are then tortured by the court as a way to gain a confession, while the entire time, the two love birds claim innocence, screaming "I am framed". So the film begins with Little Cabbage being tortured and through flash backs the main story is told. Then as a framing device for the movie, snippets of Little Cabbage's torture and court hearing is thrown in.In the end, i really liked Chinese Torture Chamber Story. Although I now come to think of this movie as more of a sleazy sex comedy then a gore movie. I was definitely laughing more of the time then I was disgusted. The gore is very few and far between, with the best of it occurring during the first five minutes. For the most part as well, the gore and violence was very tame and held back compared to something like Oxen Split Torturing or Miike's Imprint. That's why I mention him before. After watching Chinese Torture Chamber Story, it becomes fairly obvious where Miike got his inspiration for the "to hardcore for TV" Master's of Horror episode Imprint, although I think in terms of violence, Miike's film is far more effective. So if you liked Imprint, Eternal Evil of Asia, Russ Meyer or Kazuo 'Gaira' Komizu's work, I highly recommend this movie. I'd score this movie higher if the gore was more satisfying so if that's what you're looking for I'd rate the gore and violence in this movie a 6/10. It's not that bad. Just not enough and held back to much at times. The exploding member is definitely a gore classic moment though on par with dare I say the bloody end of Nekromantik.The sexual craziness and plain sheer bizarreness of this movie is enough for me to give it the score of 8/10.Find this movie at all costs, you won't be disappointed.

KGB-Greece-Patras Not being the typical hong-hong film fan (actually I have seen very few HK films) but having seen many of the world's most extraordinary films, I have to say that I loved "Chinese torture chamber story" in a very special way.Most reviews here, although not losing the point, are representative of the western exploitation-type-of-viewing, with which I cant't really identify with, at least in regard with this film. I actually thought this blending of comedy, horror & erotica resulted in a most magnificent, poetic, weirdly funny, wildly violent result. This is quite unlike everything I have ever seen - I always had a tension to love any original and extraordinary film.Okay, I admit, I have seen the majority of violent & strange films, so it's quite understandable that I am not offended or shocked by the bold erotic element or the horrific tortures, and so I could dive in deeper in the films story and concept which is by no means shallow. I have the feeling that it's for the most part the filmmakers craft and smart use of humour and the way the story was presented make the violence & erotica a means to a higher end. Yet, extreme violence is not hidden or implied - on the contrary, it's on display every once in a while.Go after this film, if you can tolerate some violence, this is one of those one-of-a-kind films which can make the difference....

Snead-2 My favorite part of this bizarre movie, aside from the graphic violence and sex, was the poorly translated and wholly inappropriate sub-titling. The entire film already had me precariously balanced between disgust and hilarity, but the way they presented some of the dialogue pushed me over the edge into falling-out-of-my-chair laughter. What sticks in my mind the most (apart from the exploding phallus and aerodynamic coitus) was a scene where a woman in the midst of seriously pounding and fairly graphic sex moans something that was translated as "So comfortable... so comfortable..."

tritisan I saw this singular film double-billed with The Naked Killer (one of my all time favorite movies). Chinese Torture Chamber is weird through and through.It takes place sometime ago in China's glorious past, when the courts utilized Spanish Inquisition-like techniques to get the truth out of defendants. The opening scenes are a fairly graphic, though oddly funny, demonstration of ghastly tortures.Then, we are taken to the estate of a rich prince, married to an insatiable princess. He tries to please her by employing exotic "marital aids", but to no avail. She seeks fulfillment through another man. Sexually curious housemaids secretly watch their trysts through holes in the rice paper walls. One is caught, and becomes the subject of the wrathful princess' ire.Throughout the rest of the movie, as told in flashbacks, this poor maid must prove her innocence of murder (by exploding penis!). The court systematically tortures her and the prince (a suspected accomplice) first by spanking, then through more excruciatingly depicted techniques.What's odd about all these precedings is that they are simultaneously horrifying, erotic and funny. Kind of like the Japanese film Tokyo Decadence.Oh yes, there is one sequence that totally blew my mind: The prince spies two heroes flying through the trees, fighting each other kung fu-style, ripping each others' clothes off (ends up being a man and a woman), and then f***ing while still mid-air!Only Hong Kong could come up with a "porno/horror/fantasy/comedy".