Dr. Lamb (1992)

Sick Product of a Sick System

best movie i've ever seen.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

I had this flick on my shelves for years, bought full uncut on some Hong Kong label but I never took the time to give it a go. But an interview in Darkside magazine with Simon Yam did me decide to give it a go. But what a mistake it was, it is a perfect example of a much over-hyped flick. Don't get me wrong, the acting is okay but where was all that gore that people were talking about. Flicks that are based on true events concerning serial killers that's what I like to watch. Dr. Lamb is based on the true life murders that took place in Hong Kong in 1982 during several months. A taxi driver named "Lam Gor-Yu" committed murders on females that were sluts in his eyes, hookers as we know them. He killed them because God told him so. Taking pictures of the naked girls in all kind of positions and mutilations he had to develop his pictures. He was caught in the shop he was working by his colleagues. He was sentenced to prison for life. All those things were actually in this flick.But Dr. Lamb fails due the long scene's with the cops. One is trying to give some English sentences but it doesn't work at all. The problem is that it even becomes a bit funny while seeing those coppers at work, especially the female one. I guess that that wasn't supposed to happen. The only moments that are worth watching is once Lam is talking to the police how and why he did all his atrocities. We see him perform his killings but it never becomes gory even as it is a CAT III flick. Even the necrophilia looks a bit dull. In fact this flick had nothing to offer when the killer isn't on-screen. A joke here and there with the stupid coppers like the throwing of a breast but for me it just wasn't funny.I can't understand why this is so much hyped. I found it overall boring with a few scene's that are worth watching. But for me not a CAT III worthy. A bit of nudity here and there but the blood was left out. Luckily the acting by Simon Yam was okay.Gore 1/5 Nudity 2/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0,5/5

And why do I think it doesn't ? Well , here's the explanation : This movie is described as infamously sick , twisted , depraved , gory and whatnot . You will find a lot of websites that review " Dr Lamb " as if it was one of the meanest movies ever made . But it's not , or at least - it depends on who you ask .A " Scream " fan might see it as the nastiest possible piece of carnage since WWII , but then again, a person that finds this Craven's nonsense anywhere near scary , shocking or gory is -in my opinion - somewhat confused . " Dr Lamb " is not very gory either. There are only few murders and very little blood . You have a couple of dismemberment and mutilation scenes , but they are not too elaborate or long ( and the SFX are nothing to write home about ). Most of the movie consists of boring , almost comical dialogs , interrogations , unconvincing attempts at making some parts of the movie look like drama , cheesy humor , grimacing , yelling , beating up and so on . In other words - it's not very interesting .The acting sucks . That is , most of it . The main actor is decent , it's just that his character is underdeveloped , vague , almost two - dimensional . There is one part of the movie where the killer establishes some sort of connection ( at least that's what he thinks ) with one of his victims that he , for some unknown reason , sees as " pure and innocent " - but kills her anyway and has sex with her corpse . I suppose this part of the movie is meant to show us the sensitive side of a ruthless psychopath , but miserably fails at it . It's too unconvincing and melodramatic, not because of the actor ( well ... )but because of the lousy screenplay , poor dialog , shallow characters . OK , you might say , but this movie is just a low budget exploitation , no one should expect too much here .That's right , but the truth is it's not too exploitative and might leave jaded gore hounds unsatisfied .I have to mention that certain moments are dubbed in English in a manner of Bruce Lee movies , which makes the whole experience even more ridiculous .So my verdict is : unimaginative , somewhat boring ,lousy acting , not enough gore , not enough murders , cheap looking SFX , unconvincing characters , lame story ... 3/10 . If you want a strong dose of movie violence and depravity , check out " August underground's mordum " or " Guinea pig " movies . They are far better than " Dr Lamb " .

Dr Lamb is only my second Cat III flick, and while it's not as good as the first (the generally well regarded The Untold Story), it's still a decent example of Asian sickness. Directors Danny Lee and Hin Sing 'Billy' Tang do an excellent job of presenting a bleak and depressing atmosphere, which bodes excellently with the style and content of the film. Dr Lamb certainly isn't for the feint hearted, as we get treated to scenes of mutilation and necrophilia, along with various other atrocities. The plot is paper thin, and simply follows a manhunt which results in the arrest of a taxi driver. After his capture, he reveals his crimes and the rest of the film is made up of flashbacks where we get to see what he has done. There's plenty of blood and guts on display (which, let's face it, is the reason we're watching), and the film doesn't hold back at any point - which is pretty much what you'd expect from this sort of film. Simon Yam does well in the lead role as the psychopathic taxi driver, and receives good support from Danny Lee and Kent Chang; a fat actor whom I recognised instantly from a Jet Li film called 'The Bodyguard', which I saw on TV late one night; while drunk. Overall, I can't comment on how this film stands up to other genre entries; but it's not bad in its own right, and comes recommended to my fellow sickos.

DOCTOR LAMB is another HK freak-show - this one is about a sick freak who kills chicks and videotapes and photographs the after-product. That's really all there is to this one. Not as memorable or as sick as THE EBOLA SYNDROME or THE UNTOLD STORY -in fact, DOCTOR LAMB plays out very much like THE UNTOLD STORY as it is told in flash-back sequences, where Yam tells the cops of his "misdeeds" after being caught, interrogated and tortured. Some decent scenes of necrophilia, dismemberment, etc...not a bad film if ya dig this sort of thing, just not as memorable as the aforementioned films. Simon Yam puts on a great performance as a psycho whack-job, but this one left me a little cold, so-to-speak...Worth a look as far as HK Cat III stuff is concerned, but don't expect too much. 7/10 P.S. - thanks to "extreme" film guru EMBALMER for alerting me to my Simon Yam/Anthony Wong mix-up that has since been corrected in this review - I've been watching too much of this stuff lately ;)