Bat sin fan dim ji yan yuk cha siu bau (1993)

Directors:

Danny Lee
Herman Yau

Writer:

Law Kam Fai (writer)

Release Date:

13 May 1993 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Cops investigate a criminal running an unsuspecting restaurant, while trying to trace the steps back to how he ended up running it suddenly.

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | Beach | Police | Torture | Murder

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Emily Kwan	...	Bo
Danny Lee	...	Officer Lee
Julie Lee	...	Pearl
Tony Leung Siu Hung
Fui-On Shing	...	Cheng Poon
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang	...	Wong Chi Hang
Parkman Wong	...	Bull

Also Known As:

Ba xian fan dian zhi ren rou cha shao bao (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Bunman: The Untold Story
Human Meat Pies: The Untold Story
Human Pork Chop (USA)
The Eight Immortals Restaurant: The Untold Story (USA)
The Untold Story (Hong Kong: English title)
The Untold Story: Human Meat Roast Pork Buns

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

English | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | Singapore:(Banned) (uncut version) | Australia:R | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) (cut version) | Hong Kong:III | Singapore:PG (heavily cut) | South Korea:18 (heavily cut) | USA:Unrated | Norway:(Banned) (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Cinema City Film Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the family massacre scene, one of the children is decapitated, but the "head" is clearly fake. First when it drops down from the table it looks a lot bigger and doesn't have colored eyes (they have the same skin-coloring effect). And secondly when we see the whole room, the head on the floor looks almost pale-white. It's really white actually, and that's weird because the family was "slightly dark" skinned.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Prison Guard #1: Inform the head! Wong Chi Hang is dead!
Prison Guard #2: Don't move! Don't move!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Ji jun sam sap lok gai ji Tau tin wun yat (1993)

Finally - A Film That Lives Up To It's Reputation

THE UNTOLD STORY, like many reviewers have already noted, will stay with you for a long time. The basic storyline: Anthony Wong (in a masterful performance) portrays a sociopathic/psychopathic restaurant "owner" with a penchant for rape and murder. Wong takes over and claims ownership of the 8 Immortals Restaurant after he murders the real owner and his family (in one of the most brutal scenes ever put to film...) following a card game. From there Wong tries to legitimately take ownership of the restaurant but is unable, since the true owner is nowhere to be found to sign-off on the legal documents. Suspicions arise as the local police are sent letters from family members inquiring to the whereabouts of the missing owner. The police go to the restaurant and question Wong and his cashier, and notice that something seems "off". Upon further investigation, the police begin to put the story together, and THE UNTOLD STORY is finally revealed in all its horrific glory... First off, this is a well written, well acted, interesting film. I know that almost every other reviewer had a serious problem with the "comedic" elements in the film, but personally I feel that they really don't overshadow the film itself at all and are not as prevalent or annoying as other reviewers have noted. I think it is used to lighten the tone of the film a little, but to also show the dynamic between people who are constantly together, day and night, due to the nature of their profession. I don't think the good-natured (though admittedly sexist) ribbing of the female cop from her male counterparts is truly "harassing" in nature (though here in the States she'd definitely have cause for a lawsuit...) - I think it's more of a way to make her feel like "one of the guys" while still acknowledging her sexual differences. I think any female who has taken a profession in what might have once been considered a "man's field" can probably relate. THE UNTOLD STORY also delivers on the brutal and gory level. There are several scenes that are really rough, including: chopstick rape, rusty bucket wrist slicing, soda can tab wrist slicing, limb dismemberment, human meat grinding, and the infamous family slaugther scene. This scene in particular will have most casual horror-goers gouging their own eyes out, and even the more jaded of us sickos out there will have a hard time not being repulsed by the graphic, on-screen murder of an entire family, including several very young children. I have to say, I really, really like this film. THE UNTOLD STORY is a lot better made than many of the Cat III HK sickies, and works on more than just an exploit film level. It is definitely not for anyone who can't truly handle the above-mentioned types of images, but may prove to be a real treat for the more "discerning" (that is to say "depraved") viewers out there. There have been several inferior copy-cats of this film out there, this one is the real-deal. Highly recommended 9/10