MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM: THE UNTOLD STORY (1993) (Unearthed Classics Blu-ray Review)

THE UNTOLD STORY (1993)

Label: Unearthed Classics
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 96 Minutes
Audio: Cantonese & Mandarin LPCM 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Herman Yau
Cast: Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Danny Lee, Emily Kwan, Siu-Ming Lau, Fui-On Shing, Eric Kei, King-Kong Lam, Parkman Wong

The notorious Category III-rated filmbThe Untold Story (1993) out of Hong Kong is based on a grisly true-crime that took place in1978. Opening with an unhinged Wong Chi Hang (Anthony Wong) murdering a man after a game of mahjong does not go his way. He beats the man to a bloody pulp and sets his apartment on fire before fleeing the scene. Man, this guy is a sore loser! Some time later we see Wong now managing the Eight Immortals Restaurant, the former owners have mysteriously disappeared and Wong is having trouble providing the proper documentation needed to change the title of ownership over to himself.

At a nearby beach a mother playing with her kids discover rotting human limbs washed up on beach. A band of wise-cracking cops arrive at the scene and begin to investigate the gruesome case. The case has them circling the Eight Immortals Restaurant and as the noose tightens the hot-headed and ultra-violent Wong begins to eliminate any of his employees who might tip the cops off. The victims include a waitress who is brutally rapes and murdered, and a cook who gets a ticket stabber to the eye before getting the meat cleaver, before being ground up and put into the restaurants very popular pork buns!

The Untold Story (1993) is slice of a lunatic Hong Kong production, the tone is violent but strangely off-kilter. Anthony Wong is the glue that holds it all together, he is fantastic as the delightfully over-the-top Wong, he's both cunning enough to get away with a lot but also completely out of his gourd unhinged. His bulging eyes peering out through his oversized thick-rimmed glasses not-even masking his boiling homicidal urges, and when he cannot hold back his fury any longer he unleashes his fury and the blood begins to flow in torrents. The style of the violence seen in the film is potent and unflinching, but the way it's infused with a dark vein of humor brought a smile to my face. More broadly comic are the antics of the local cops on the case, every scene they're in is juvenile and offbeat, at times it felt like I was watching two completely different movies, the offbeat humor slightly disarming you, making the in-your-face violence that much more horrifying, but I can see it not sitting well with everyone, but I dug it.

If you're a fan of ultra-violence and red humor The Untold Story delivers both in equal measure, I totally love the blend of quirky offbeat humor and stomach churning violence. Even if you're a jaded horror fan I think some of brutality seen in this is hard to endure, that aforementioned rape scene, which introduces a handful of chopsticks into the fray, is tough stuff, as is the butchering of the family that formerly ran the Eight Immortals Restaurant, particularly that of their children. The Untold Story is a gruesome and black-hearted celebration of violence that I might not recommend to the faint of heart or easily offended, but if you're in the right frame of mind this true crime tale of butchery and mutilation is a bloody treat.

Audio/Video: The Untold Story (1993) arrives on Blu-ray from Unearthed Films as part of the Unearthed Classics line-up. The flick is presented in 1080p HD framed in 1.78:1, not sure what the source for this is but it looks filmic with a natural layer of film grain, it's in great shape with only some white speckling and a few faint scratches popping-up. Audio comes by way of both Cantonese and Mandarin LPCM 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. The track sounds clean and well-balanced, at times you can tell that most of the actors voices were over-dubbed in post-production, but it sounds just fine. A nice bonus is an isolated music score highlighting the music of star and composer Anthony Wong in LPCM 2.0 audio.

This might be the best release we have seen yet from Unearthed Films in regard to extras, it is dripping with cool special features. We begin with three audio commentaries, the first two are separate tracks with both actor Anthony Wong and director Herman Yau, plus we get a brand new commentary with Ultra Violent Magazine's Art Ettinger and Bruce Holecheck of Cinema Arcana. Thus far I have only taken in the Ettinger

Holecheck track and it's fantastic, jam-packed from beginning to end with info about the film, the cast and crew, the Cat. III films, and so much more, they have a great rapport, they know their stuff, and it does it hurt that they have a great sense of humor.

The best extra on this set is the feature length documentary 'Category III: The Untold Story of Hong Kong Exploitation Cinema' directed by Dr. Calum Waddell of High Rising Productions. A fantastic doc that is loaded with plenty of Cat. III film clips and artwork, plus we get knowledgeable talking heads from the likes of directors Daniel Chan and Godfrey Ho, actors Anthony Wong, Josie Ho and Gwon Kwok-Leung, critics Sean Tierney, James Mudge and Bey Logan, Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival Deputy Director Mike Hostench and from director/journalist Calum Waddell. It paints and exciting picture of the wild, violent and erotic Cat. III films, highlighting the notable influence of the Shaw Brothers, the notorious Chinese propaganda films Men Behind the Sun, and shining plenty of light on The Untold Story director Herman Yau, including the films he made afterward like The Untold Story 2 (1998), The Untold Story III (1989), Taxi Hunter (1993) and The Ebola Syndrome (1996). If you're a fan of stuff like Not Quite Hollywood (2008), Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010) and Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014), or just a fan of wild Hong Kong cinema this is a must-watch, I was watching with a notepad in hand the whole time writing down the names of Cat. III films I now HAVE to see!

Other extras include a seven-minute Q&A with director director Herman Yau whom discusses the differences in films coming from Hong Kong versus mainland China, and a fourteen-minute interview with Rick Baker (not the American Werewolf In London make-up FX guy) who discusses the popularity and censorship of the Cat. III films in the UK. The last of the extras include a pair of trailers for the film adding up to about five-minutes, plus nine-minutes of Unearthed trailers including Famine, House of Flesh Mannequins, Nightwish, The Song of Solomon, The Unnamable.

The single-diss release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork, plus we get a limited slipcover on the first pressing of the release, as well as a limited edition four-page booklet with writing of the film from Art Ellinger of Ultra Violent Magazine.

Special Features:
- Limited Edition Slipcover (First Pressing Only)
- Booklet with Liner Notes by Art Ettinger (First Pressing Only)
- Audio Commentary with Actor Anthony Wong (in English)
- Audio Commentary with Director Herman Yau (in English)
- Isolated Film Score (2.0 PCM)
- Q&A with Herman Yau (7 min) HD
- Commentary with Art Ettinger (Ultra Violent) and Bruce Holecheck (Cinema Arcana)
- Category III: The Untold Story of Hong Kong Exploitation Cinema (83 min) HD
- Cantonese Carnage: An Interview with Rick Baker (14 min) HD
- The Untold Story Trailer 1 (3 min) HD
- The Untold Story Trailer 2 (2 min) HD
- Unearthed Films Trailers: Famine (2 min), House of Flesh Mannequins (2 min), Nightwish (2 min), The Song of Solomon (1 min), The Unnamable (2 min)

If you are a fan of ultra-violence cinema with a wicked streak of dark humor The Untold Story (1993) is gonna tickle your splatter-bone for sure, this was a delightfully demented watch. I am a bit ashamed to admit that I had never even heard of the film before Unearthed announced it's release, so hopefully this release from Unearthed opens more eyes to the existence of it, and the excellent A/V and extras should certainly please those already familiar with it, a top-notch release from Unearthed Films!