Hong Kong's extreme Category III rating allows producers and directors to cater to the sickest desires of their audiences by focusing on violence, sex, sexual violence and scenes of depravity normally not found in mainstream cinema. During the 1990s, there was a boom in such productions, with the most popular inevitably starring Anthony Wong as some kind of crazed killer or pervert.
THE EBOLA SYNDROME is one of the best-known of its kind and that's no surprise; this is one hell of a ride of a film, chock-full of bad taste scenes in which the writer tries to go out of his way to offend everybody watching. The protagonist, played by Wong, is a guy who goes around raping women and eventually contracting and spreading the Ebola virus, which leads to much unpleasantness.
From the opening set-piece you know what you're in for with this one: tons of bad language, naked women and gross gore effects. The directors throws in animal dissection, autopsies and all kinds of sickening stuff involving food production that's guaranteed to turn your stomach. Rape and murder are commonplace, and yet at the same time there's daft comedy to offset the darkness. It's all portrayed so over the top and ridiculously that none of it is disturbing.
What surprised me most about THE EBOLA SYNDROME is that it's a well made movie comparable with other Hong Kong films of the 1990s. The technical values are strong and the acting isn't too shabby either; Wong is a commanding actor and you can see why he's enjoyed mainstream as well as cult success. Yes, this is an unpleasant and sometimes childish film in the way it seeks out one depravity after another, but at the same time it's undeniably entertaining and it goes down avenues that Hollywood wouldn't dare. The ending rampage is by far my favourite part of the movie and has to be seen to be believed.
