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 iven the success and influence of "The
Untold Story", a sequel was inevitable; the only surprise being
that it actually took five years for it to appear. Although "The Untold
Story 2" has no real connections with the classic original shocker
beyond its title and a vaguely similar plot, the two films do both star
Anthony Wong. Except here Wong plays the comedic policeman character instead
of reprising his award-winning role as the psychopath. This fact didn't
appear to matter to the company releasing the film, who put Wong on the
poster alongside the killer, dressed in aprons and helping with the human
barbeque in an amusing, though cheap and shameless, case of misdirection.
Sadly, "cheap and
shameless" pretty much sums up "The Untold Story 2", which is
little more than a heavily diluted knock off of the first film without any
of its impact or verve. And worst of all, there isn't any of the original's
taboo breaking gore. In fact, this sorry sequel is merely an inferior,
stupefyingly generic category III film in every sense, filled with the
gratuitous sex, weak characters and lame plotting that the original managed
to avoid.
Gone too are the intelligence and satirical moments
which justified the odd mix of screwball humor and extreme brutality in
the first film, leaving a sequel whose tone is wildly uncertain and which
has a sense of lazy incoherence. In fact, even by the standards of the
genre, "The Untold Story 2" is a weak effort, and is not only an
insult to the achievements of "The Untold Story", but is worthy
only of passing disinterest to all but the most hardened category III fan.
As the film starts, we are introduced to Cheung
(Emotion Cheung, "Bio-Zombie"),
a man who owns a restaurant and seems to have a problem pleasing his
sex-obsessed wife (Yeung Fan, "Raped
by an Angel 2"). As a result of Cheung's impotency, the scarlet
woman takes a number of lovers, a fact which is known both by the wretched
Cheung and his employees. Into this unhappy situation comes the wife's
cousin Fung (Pauline Suen, whom genre fans will recognize from "Ichi
the Killer"), an attractive mainland woman who arrives in Hong
Kong to help out in the restaurant.
At first Fung seems sweet and kind, and there is an
obvious attraction between her and the downtrodden Cheung. However, it
quickly becomes clear that Fung is a homicidal and calculating obsessive,
who seduces Cheung and promptly kills his wife, chopping her up and adding
her to the restaurant's menu. The only fly in her ointment comes in the
form of Officer Lazyboots (Anthony Wong, who recently starred with Yeung
Fan in "Fu
Bo"), a slovenly policeman whose name tells you pretty much all
you need to know about his investigative techniques. As Fung tightens her
hold over Cheung and takes over the role of his wife, the poor man begins
to crack up under the stress, and it appears that he himself may be
destined for the cooking pot.
The main problem with "The Untold Story 2"
is that it is simply too restrained and falls prey to far too many of the
usual pitfalls of the genre. The original film stood out, at a base level
at least, due to a number of truly shocking sequences that eschewed tacky
titillation in favor of launching a visceral assault on the viewer. The
sequel, however, is filled with gratuitous sex and shower scenes and
various other pointless inserts of nudity which, fetching though Yeung Fan
and Pauline Suen undoubtedly are, serve only to slow down the plot and to
drag the film into the realm of soft porn.
There is surprisingly little actual gore, with only
one or two memorable bloody moments, and the film is anemic not only by
comparison to its predecessor, but to the vast majority of similar efforts
which it is competing with. This is a damning criticism for a Category III
film whose pedigree and rating promises far more than it delivers, a fact
which is certain to disappoint and frustrate the target audience.
As with "The Untold Story", there is an
injection of humor, this time at the expense of the Hong Kong police
force. However, unlike the original, which made an amusing yet nihilistic
point about police incompetence and brutality, there is no satirical edge
to the laughs in this sequel and the comedy is lowbrow slapstick. Since
the film lacks the viciousness of the original, the comedy takes centre
stage alongside the sex, which further decreases any impact which the
proceedings may have had.
Matters are not helped by Yiu-Kuen Ng's weak
direction, which lacks Herman Yau's more decisive approach. Ng seems
confused as to what type of film he is making, pandering far too much to
the worst aspects of the genre without any genuine attempt to shock or
entertain. This is also apparent in the film's visuals, which are
characterized by the usual obsession with neon lighting and extreme close
ups on character's faces during sex and murder scenes. Both types of
sequence are clumsily handled and lack any kind of impact, especially some
of the laughable attempts at eroticism. And while the film is not actually
boring, it is so lazily made as to be vaguely offensive, and seems almost
determined to thwart viewer demands and expectations at every turn.
The only good things about the film are the
performances of Pauline Suen and the very reliable Anthony Wong. Suen is
convincing as the psychotic, and builds nicely from mild mannered
submissive to cold murderess. Her acting is far better than the film
deserves, and actually manages to drum up a little tension during some of
the scant moments of nastiness. Wong, though saddled with a badly written
and superfluous character, is as charismatic as ever, and provides some
effective, though generally unnecessary, comic relief. However, his
presence only serves to remind viewers of the far superior original, and
is therefore somewhat counterproductive.
Simply put, "The Untold Story 2" is a waste
of time for genre fans, and especially for anyone expecting a film which
lives up to the legacy of its predecessor. Lazily made, lacking in shocks
and disappointingly tame, this is one for viewers of all persuasions to
avoid.
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