Yi boh lai beng duk (1996)

Director:

Herman Yau

Writer:

Ting Chau (writer)

Release Date:

15 June 1996 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Plot:

A restaurant employee wanted for murder contracts Ebola by raping a woman in South Africa and starts an outbreak there and in Hong Kong when he returns home.

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | Virus | Ebola Virus | Murder | Africa

Cast

Anthony Wong Chau-Sang	...	Kai San
Yeung Ming Wan	...	Yeung
Fui-On Shing	...	Annoyed Husband
Wong Tsui-ling
Miu-Ying Chan	...	Har
Meng Lo	...	The Boss
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edward Corbett
Lori Shannon
Michael Tam
Bobby Yip	...	Short Ugly Triad

Also Known As:

Ebola Syndrome (Hong Kong: English title)
Yibola bing du (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:MA | France:-16 (DVD) | New Zealand:R18 | Singapore:(Banned) | South Korea:18 | Hong Kong:III | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Jing's Production

Trivia:

During the DVD commentary, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang made it clear that it was not his him killing the frog in the first kitchen scene. He said that not only does it take a special skill to prepare a frog like that, but he also found it to be cruel.

Quotes:

Yeung: [addressing to Kai, who has a child hostage] Your virus has killed lots of people. Let the child go.
Kai San: How dare you blame me for it? l didn't invent the Ebola virus. God created Ebola, not me. And his virus will kill all you bastards.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Outbreak (1995)

Legendary Hongkong shocker with unforgettable sicko performance by Wong. Only for twisted minds!

What can I say about a film which is directed by the director of the most brutal and undescribable Hongkong horror of all time, The Untold Story, and starred by Anthony Wong, who also starred in The Untold Story. These two films are very different, and this, Ebola Syndrome is the funnier/trashier of these two. In other words, a kind of sicko gore film that will never be equalled in Western cinema.

Story tells us the journeys of Kai (Wong) who rapes, kills and f*cks people (and beefs!) and owns a restaurant, too! What a nice cook we got here! He lives in Africa and is hiding from police, who is on his tail for a multi murder he committed in Hong Kong. At one point, he becomes infected with the notorious and deadly Ebola virus and then the "fun" begins..and thus the title.

The whole film is as twisted as possible as we are shown acts of murder, masturbation, rape and cannibalism in safe Hongkong style! There is no point in trying to review this as some kind of a "serious" film because this is pure trash and b-level horror/gore film. The violence is brutal and scenes involving ebola virus are disgusting as our hero infects other people with the disease. At some points the film is so vile and over-the-top that I couldn't do nothing but laugh in amazement. It is also shocking in non-laughing manner but for most of the time, this cannot be taken seriously, although this kind of film is banned in about every country. It is too bad that all versions available (Euro DVD and HK VCD) are censored pretty badly and I've heard that the director has stated that the uncut version doesn't even exist anymore. It would be more than interesting to see the full director's vision of this film!

So this is great experience for trash and sicko cinema lovers, but others stay away! You'll feel nothing but sick if you try to watch this! I think that most of the people who like this (and make these!) are considered seriously ill, but that doesn't worry me, because those people who consider lovers of this kind of cinema sick, understand nothing about marginal and alternative cinema.

If someone expects this to be some over-the-top violence show, a disappointment will follow, because it's not THAT bad. It is pretty sick but not too gory/violent. And keep in mind that the versions out there are censored and are not the director's final cut. Hongkong Laserdisc may be uncut but I really don't know for sure because I haven't ever bought/collected LDs. As I mentioned, HK VCD is cut for sure so it may be the case with that LD, too..

Excellent HK nasty/sicko/comedy(yeah!) but only for the right audience! 8/10 and without a doubt one of its kind.