Riki Oh is the most outrageous and over-the-top karate and gore movie of all time! It is so ridiculously violent and bloody that you just have to see it, to believe it. It simply doesn’t get any better than this. It’s based on the Japanese manga Riki Oh by Masahiko Takajo and Saruwatari Tetsuya. Apparently, they stayed really close to the source material, although I really cannot confirm that since I haven’t read it.
However, I can feel that ultra-violent vibe that only comic books can have. The visceral nature of the scenes reflects that. The brutal scenes in Lik Wong AKA Riki Oh: The Story of Ricky start almost right away. I mean, not ten minutes have passed and we already have two guys heavily disfigured. One of them fell on a board full of nails face first and the other one got off lightly only losing his eye. So, strap in and get ready for one hell of a ride.
You should also know that this movie is professionally shot and edited. This lulls you into a false sense of security as you simply cannot predict the sheer level of insanity they’re willing to go to. And the story of Ricky just keeps on going one-upping itself on every turn. The finale was so gloriously bloody that Siu-Wong Fan playing Ricky, could not wash the red off his skin for three days. Now that’s something to wait for.
Now, dazzled by all the action and gore, you could miss just how good our young cast was. And when I say young, I mean really young. Siu-Wong Fan was only eighteen years old when they saw him on the airport and immediately offered him the lead role. Yukari Oshima playing Huang was not that young but incredibly professional standing still while her neck was smoking and blistering because she was so close to the fire.
Meet Ricky, he’s a martial arts expert with special powers. He can withstand any pain or injury, and quickly heal himself by tying his veins together. The man revolutionized medicine in this movie. It would seem that the characters and the story of this movie were actually just a nuisance between those juicy and violent scenes. They most likely had a rough draft, wrote all those hilarious and gory scenes and then wrote the story that’s supposed to support it.
After ending up in prison he will have to fight for his life and take out for leaders of four prison wings eventually fighting the evil warden. I just love how even in prison there’s a clear structure of authority and a path that man must take if he wants to be free is clear from the get-go.
If you liked Bad Taste and similar movies you will enjoy this one too. I will not reveal the methods that Ricky is going to use to kill his opponents. They are so funny that you will have to see them for yourself. This is already a cult movie, and I am sure that this status is going to last a long time. You can surprise your friends with Riki Oh, especially the ones who like this sort of thing. Prison settings, violence and martial arts, but with a twist.
Director: Ngai Kai Lam
Writers: Tetsuya Saruwatari, Masahiko Takajo, Ngai Choi Lam
Cast: Siu-Wong Fan, Mei Sheng Fan, Ka-Kui Ho, Yukari Ôshima, Frankie Chin
Fun Fact: This was the first Hong Kong movie ever to receive a “Category III” rating for violence rather than sex.
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102293/
