Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (Lik Wong) (1991)

Runtime: 91 minutes 

Directed by: Ngai Choi Lam

Starring: Siu-Wong Fan, Mei Shang Fan, Ka-Kui Ho, Yukari Oshima, Kan-Wing Tsang

From: Diagonal Pictures/Paragon Films Ltd.

About time I discussed this cult classic here: 

This is a film I had seen more than once before but after being reminded of this from looking at the page of a Letterboxd user who had just reviewed it, I realized it had been far too long since the last viewing and it was about damn time I saw this, which was a cult classic even before a clip that was used on the Craig Kilborn version of The Daily Show became popular.

The plot: in the far-flung future of 2001, the titular Ricky ends up in prison for getting revenge on the dude responsible for killing his girlfriend, and the prison is corrupt as by then all of those institutions are privatized and The Gang of Four hold order there. Ricky says “to hell with that” and that is when the ultraviolence begins. I mean, 15 minutes in and two dudes die after Ricky literally punches a hole through their stomachs... and it only escalates from there in being absurdly over the top. The final act turns into something science fiction, and the camp value is high as at times the effects look pretty phony.

For many that will be the charm of this movie, how absurd it all is and all the ways that different people are maimed, crippled, and outright obliterated. That is much more important than the threadbare story, characterization, and all those fancy-pantsy traditional qualities you expect in a good movie. This Category III movie can easily be found online (and subtitled, to boot) so if you've never experienced this lunacy before, which OF COURSE is based on a manga...