Halloween is not the only time of year when it is kind of nice to see a gross-out movie. In fact there are far too many violent and gory movies in the world to only devote one day a year to them.
Some would say there is no reason at all to spend any valuable time and money on movies that make the viewer want to vomit. I say pooh-pooh on that. If you can’t remember that it’s “just a movie,” don’t blame the filmmaker.
Sometimes a movie comes along that reminds all of us what it feels like to be a man with superhuman strength who must defend fellow prisoners in need. 1989s “Riki-Oh: The Story of Riki” starring Japan’s Siu-Wong Fan is one of the most hilariously violent films ever made.
The protagonist, Riki, is a man “serving 10 years for manslaughter” in a futuristic prison inhabited by an incredible array of violent sociopaths. The “future” in this case is 2001, so you will have to use what those in the drama world call “suspension of disbelief” in order to get past the glaring inaccuracies.
In this futuristic world prisons are owned by a corporation, which causes an incredible amount of corruption. This includes the growth and sale of opium plants in the prison yard, overseen by the warden, of course. In addition to the general malfeasance within the prison walls one must also come to terms with the fact that in this allegedly strict environment the prisoners very clearly have no rules.
In a society like this there can only be one man to bring order and justice, and that man is Riki-Oh. He of brute strength and tender heart must fight his way out of this terrible place. In the process the viewer gets to see death in all forms. At one point Riki pulls out one of the larger inmates’ intestines and strangles him with them. A little while later another lad is smacked on the back of the head so hard that his eyeball pops out. Believe me – it’s just plain fun.
Now let’s head off to Australia and see what kind of trouble we can find.
Although the rest of the world is probably not familiar with him, Mark “Chopper” Read is one of the most notorious criminals in the history of the land down under. In the film “Chopper,” Australian comedian Eric Bana (who also starred in this year’s “Black Hawk Down”) plays the criminal to a psychotic tee. Bana, who was previously only thought of as a comedic performer, does an incredible job in this film.
Read was notorious as a prisoner who stabbed and killed other prisoners in order to make his life on the inside easier. However, when the tables were turned and his life was in jeopardy he enlisted the help of another inmate to cut his ears off so that he could be transferred out of the regular prison community.
This kind of behavior was common for a man who spent the better part of his youth in correctional facilities.
Incidentally, after you watch this movie bear in mind that not only is “Chopper” still alive and well but he made enough money off of a book entitled “From the Inside” to be living comfortably on a farm in the Australian countryside.
Lastly in our quest for the ultimate gross-out, let’s come back to the good old U S of A and reach into our bag of tricks. What have we here? “Evil Dead 2” is still one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, but it also rates high on the gross-out scale. I know, everyone has seen this movie, but there is a reason.
The film was directed by Sam Raimi, who has recently taken up the ardent task of creating the film version of the coolest superhero around. Yes, that’s right, “Spiderman.” This in itself makes Raimi a maniac and obviously makes his films well worth watching. The film stars Bruce Campbell, the self-professed B-movie actor with a penchant for his own special brand of exaggerated performing.
It doesn’t really matter what this film is about, suffice it to say it has something to do with an ancient book. So, enjoy these fine features and sleep well.