Non-Horror Explotation: Lik Wong (A.K.A. Story of Ricky) (1991)

Lik Wong is an awesome mix between Kung Fu films and Horror films filled with witless dialogs, over the top gore and hilarious humor. 

A young man with superhuman strength is incarcerated at a prison run by corrupt officials and seeks to use his martial arts to clean up the system.

Rarely will you see a film with a higher or even equal entertainment level as Lik Wong. Not even 10 minutes into the film already 3 ultra gory shots have passed by. The gore is extremely over the top and has its charm. Guts are used to strangle somebody, jaws get ripped from their head and bodies get skinned alive. These are the kind of things you'll see in Lik Wong. 

The first time I saw Lik Wong it was the English dub which led to a whole lot of funny one-liners (You've got a lot of guts Oscar!). This time though I bought the dvd with the original track and Dutch subtitles (As I'm Dutch) and while this time the one-liners might not be there, the original track might even be more fun than the English dub. Everything just sounds so more epic in the original language. Another thing you'll notice even more with the original track is the cast doing

an amazing job. They are all far from great actors but the better they fit in an over the top film like Lik Wong. The guards are all hilariously clumsy and submissive which continually puted a smile on my face. The absolute best thing about the cast is actor ''Mei Sheng Fan'' though. He's absolutely genious as the bad tempered, but at the sime time scared little, sub-principal of the prison.

The makers of Lik Wong knew exactly where the power of this film lies. It lies on showing the gore and creating the most ridiculous and over the top characters. And that is exactly what they do. Every hint towards a possible sub-plot gets cut off immediately in order to show some more bad-guys getting brutaly killed. Another good thing is that the tempo of Lik Wong is great and the film really flies by. 

Grab a bag of chips, get relaxed and enjoy the full 90 minutes of Lik Wong filled with cheesy gore, hilarious characters and cardboard walls collapsing when Ricky gets a fist on it.

FUN FACT (source: IMDB)

One scene required Siu-Wong Fan and Yukari Ôshima to exchange lines while standing close to a raging fire. Siu-Wong, doused with water for protection, was horrified when he noticed Ôshima's exposed neck literally smoking and blistering from the heat. When he asked her why she didn't move, she reportedly replied, "You weren't done with your lines, so I had to wait for the cut." Amazed by her professionalism, he referred to her in future interviews as "amazing Yukari."