DVD Artwork
When a rattled photo development employee contacts local police about some suspicious pictures, Inspector Lee and his police force are horrified to discover pictures of what they believe to be dead women. The paper trail leads back to one Lam Gor-Yu, an odd introvert working as a night shift taxi driver. Believing the snapshots to be genuine, the cops raid his home and place him and his family under arrest.
Tortured by the detectives working the case and beaten by his outraged family members, Lam cracks under the pressure and agrees to confess to the crimes of murder. A further thorough search of the premises turns up not only VHS video tapes he made of his crimes but several jars containing the pickled breasts of his victims!
Needing a full confession detailing his murderous acts and the disposal of bodies, Lee coaxes Lam into describing for them his first, second and third murder. The cabbie explains the he would transform into a bloodthirsty fiend, set off by the rhythmic beating of the rain and the flash of lightning. Unleashed upon the brightly lit Hong Kong nightlife, he would use his cab to pick up fare and then trap the unsuspecting women he deemed “evil.” From there he would strangle them to death, smuggle their bodies into his family’s home, wait till he was alone and begin a disturbing ritual of howling, growling, groping and eventually dismembering.
Why did Lam commit the heinous crimes, where did he dispose of the bodies and why did he murder his last victim, a girl that by all accounts was “innocent” and undeserving of any punishment? The horrifying truth may be more than Inspector Lee and his hardened department can handle.
Those that count themselves as fans of Hong Kong’s CAT III cinema have more than likely seen Dr. Lamb as its become almost required viewing but those of you that have not seen this film should be aware that it’s simply not what one might consider normal “entertainment.” The film features all kinds of twisted perversions and shocking sequences of depravity and by most it would be considered bereft of any value to cinema. Then again, this is Wildside Cinema and around these parts the sleazier the better!
Actor Simon Yam plays the deeply disturbed Lam and his performance was positively chilling and wildly over-the-top as he mugs, sweats, contorts and cajoles. He never ceases to amaze me from one film to the next with his incredible range, going from slapstick comedy to hard-edge crime in the blink of an eye. Unlike Sir Anthony Hopkins’s cool-as-a-cucumber Dr. Lecter in 1991′s Silence of the Lambs, a film with which this film’s title was obviously meant to exploit, Yam’s Lam is a twitchy, unpredictable character that howls like a dog and uses the act of strangulation as a substitution for copulation, something the impotent beast is incapable of performing satisfactorily.
On the technical side, Dr. Lamb is brilliant, you simply cannot watch this film without admiring the art direction or cinematography. It’s absolutely gorgeous for exploitation, director’s Danny Lee and Billy Tang have created a low budget police procedural horror/crime sleazefest with the look and sound of big budget noir. Jonathan Wong’s dark, moody jazz score compliments Lee and Tang’s serious direction and adds an extra layer of professional excellence to this production that many CAT III films lack. All of the positives aside, what would CAT III be without gore and nudity, am I right? Never fear, it’s all front and center and disturbing as hell.
Dr. Lamb will never be considered a great film but it’s a ‘respectable’ production featuring competent direction and solid acting and truth be told I’m at a loss to find anything wrong with the film. I suppose if I were pressed I would perhaps mention that it did contain a bit o’ comedy and lacked a little focus but that’s nothing new to seasoned HK cinema and CAT III junkies.This, in my opinion, is worth owning.
By the way, Usang Yeong Fang has killer breasts! Somebody thank her plastic surgeon for me!
