Human Pork Chop (2001) User Reviews

Unexceptional Cat III nastiness.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 25 June 2008]

A drug-addled ho stupidly decides to steal money from a local criminal, but ends up regretting her decision when she is taken prisoner by his lackeys and subjected to three weeks of torture and degradation. Finally, after having been beaten, burnt, and forced to eat turds from a toilet bowl, the silly cow overdoses on some dodgy drugs, leaving her abusers the nasty task of dismembering and disposing of her body.

Based on a true life crime known as the Hello Kitty Murder, Human Pork Chop is a relentlessly bleak, mean-spirited tale that features non-stop scenes of torture and violence, and yet somehow manages to be extremely tedious and not at all deserving of its reputation as a gruelling shocker.

The problem is that, although the subject matter is perfect for exploitation, it is treated in a very dreary and lifeless fashion: there is next to no gore (bar a few dodgy prosthetic limbs at the end); no nudity (what's a Cat III film without the nudity?); and the scenes of suffering are so long, drawn out, and monotonous that they completely negate the film's ability to shock.

Very occasionally, director Benny Chan throws in something capable of raising an eyebrow (or a smile)—the severed head stored alongside the beers in the fridge is quite chilling, and the dog-bashing scene is fairly amusing—but for the most part, the film is nowhere near as hard-to-handle as I had heard.

For a genuinely unsettling Category III experience, check out The Untold Story; it is everything that Human Pork Chop would dearly love to be.

Mixed (body)bag

[Viva_Chiba · 6/10 · 29 September 2010]

I love Category III (CAT III) movies, this one was based on a real murder case, so i couldn't miss it, but unfortunately this is not the instant classic that i was expecting. The actual "real murder case" is known as "The Hello Kitty Murder", the most gruesome murder case ever happened in Hong Kong.

With some confusion, Human Pork Chop came up the same period of time as "There is a secret in my soup" (another CAT III movie, based on the SAME murder case, but with sex scenes, according to some reviews).

From the cast i recognize Emily Kwan (she plays "Bo" in The Untold story, a REAL CAT III classic), she plays the part of the victim.

As the film begins, we get some police detectives raiding an apartment, to find a human skull hidden in a "Hello Kitty" doll (i read somewhere that the manufacturer of the Hello kitty's doll got angry and was threatening the film-makers with a law suit). As the police investigates they interrogate some suspects, until one of the murderers decides to confess everything.....revealing a story of degradation and torture, the poor Grace (Emily Kwan) is caught after stealing the money of her pimp and she is gonna pay for that....with her life !

This is probably the "worst" (i write "worst" with quotations because i have never seen a "really bad" CAT III movie) CAT III that i ever saw, not in the true sense of the word. I was hyped after i read the plot and the fact that it was based on a real murder case. There is no nudity and sex and the only "violence" elements are in the last 30 or 20 minutes.

Recommended only for CAT III completists.

Chunkblower Alert! This One Will Send Vomit Spewing!

[rustyangel13 · 2 March 2002]

Well now, I'm just not too sure what to make of this movie. It's another Oriental "Body Horror" flick and it's aim is to inflict as much harm pain as possible to the victim of the movie, as well as the viewer. I must say that I do really love the name of it but watching it is a totally different animal altogether. I suppose if you're into seeing a group of some really unlikable people (let's do this in degrees) mistreat, humiliate, degrade, torment, hurt, torture, and mutilate another human being for a hour and a half, then this just might be your cup of tea. It wasn't mine. And the toilet scene was almost enough to send me spewing chunks my damn self. That was super nasty! It's something I can NEVER "un-see" and really made me wonder why I ever wanted to watch this filthy mess to begin with. Those horrid scenes of feces eating lingered in my mind long after the film had actually ended. They say that this film is based on a true crime event in Asian history so that makes it even worse and just goes to show you how wickedly perverse and evil some people can really be. And that, my friends, might be the greatest horror of them all.

Someone please rescue Emily Kwan from this movie

[peternepstad · 1/10 · 28 August 2010]

Based on the "Hello Kitty" murder, just like THERE IS A SECRET IN MY SOUP, and in fact in addition to sharing details about the crime in question, even share the same plot device of opening the film with the police investigation, then telling the story of the woman who steals money and cannot repay her loan in flashback. Eventually her skull gets stuck in an Hello Kitty doll, but to get there we first have to sit through a lot of sitting around in a dingy apartment taking drugs, eating instant noodle, and brutal beating until death and dismemberment. Although it seemed to have a better cast (no Michael Wong, for one thing), it isn't nearly as good as its competition.

Nasty Little Bit of Cat III Sleaze

[EVOL666 · 7/10 · 26 September 2005]

HUMAN PORK CHOP isn't as graphically "shocking" as it is just plain dirty. The whole production has a grimy feel to it that actually adds to the atmosphere of the film. HUMAN PORK CHOP isn't a bad film by any means, the acting is decent, the storyline is relatively coherent, and I feel that the film does what it was intended to do to the viewer psychologically. The film tells the story of a prostitute who is severely punished for stealing from her pimp. The story is told in flash-back fashion, after the pimp and his crew are arrested for her murder. The next 90 minutes is spent showing the systematic beating, degradation, and humiliation of the hooker. The sex and violence in HUMAN PORK CHOP is decidedly understated compared to many other Cat III shockers. There is very little gore until the end (and even the "hooker-dismemberment" scene to which I refer is nothing to write home about)and no nudity to speak of. Why does this film work at all then? I think it has to do with the fact that #1 - the film is played very straight-faced, without the usual humor that you see in a lot of Cat III films that is typically used to lighten the tension of otherwise harsh subject matter and visuals. #2 - The constant barrage of violence, mean-spirited "teasing", and downright abuse - although not particularly "gory" - eventually start to wear on the viewer, allowing you to actually sympathize with the plight and desperation of the hooker, and make for a very bleak, hopeless experience. All this considered, obviously this is not the "feel-good movie of the week". It is a dark, depressing look at the last weeks of a human who had no real life to speak of anyway. There are a few scenes that are relatively cringe worthy (dog bashing, forced feces eating, and the final displacement of the hooker come to mind...) but none of these scenes on their own will cause any of the more jaded viewers any loss of sleep. Casual film-goers might as well leave this one alone...you are not ready for it. All-in-all, a decent film that will stay with you for a while. If you can handle this, see also THE UNTOLD STORY, RED TO KILL, EBOLA SYNDROME and some of the other more popular CAT III titles...you'll be pleasantly surprised. 7/10 for HUMAN PORK CHOP

Grim and sometimes barely watchable

[rundbauchdodo · 7/10 · 8 January 2002]

This grim crime thriller is one of the better Category-3-shockers from Hong Kong in recent years - but it's also extremely hard to watch sometimes. The film tells the story of a young woman whose body is found dismembered. After that opening, it tells the story how the poor woman ended up that way. And it's really not easy to get through the pain she has to suffer. Reminding that it's not really her fault to be in a never ending nightmare makes the whole thing even harder to endure for the audience. The woman gets humiliated by thugs in the most despicable ways, and nobody is around to help her out of her misery.

Even though the torture of the girl is shown in a graphic, barely watchable manner, it never really exploits the maltreatments, which saves the film from being just misogynist piece of junk. Because the film manages to make the viewer care for the woman, it even becomes a tragic story. All in all, the movie is an extremely unpleasant experience - people who are easily offended should not watch this film - but it surely is a startling, catching and in a subvert way even touching experience. Rating: 7 out of 10.

Truly grim Cat III shocker based on an actual crime case.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 4 January 2006]

"Human Pork Chop" is based on infamous HK crime case called 'Hello Kitty Murder'.In 1999 three triad gangsters kidnapped,brutally tortured and beat a 23-year old woman named Fan Man-yee for one month until she died.Then they dismembered and cooked the body,threw most of it out with the trash,fed legs and arms to stray dogs and hid the skull inside the head of a giant-sized Hello Kitty doll."Human Pork Chop" tells the story of a young woman,who steals money and can't repay her loan.She is captured,tortured and degraded by her pimp and his crew,then killed and dismembered.Anyway,this HK sickie is among the nastiest,most sadistic and repugnant examples of the Category III genre.This filthy film is downright unpleasant and deeply nihilistic,so be prepared.Pretty much everything here is ugly and rotten.Still "Human Pork Chop" is a rather successful portrayal of that infamous HK crime case.8 out of 10.Not for the easily offended.

Not a gore film, it's a grim portrait of drug addiction and the human capacity for rationalization

[Barbecue · 7/10 · 18 December 2010]

If you think Category III means close-up vivisection of young naked women, then you'll probably be disappointed, because that's not what this movie is about.

Based on a true story, this film effectively captures the banality of criminal evil. Emily Kwan plays the role of Grace, a drug addict and prostitute who steals money from a pimp, is pursued, beaten, held captive, and tortured and humiliated for weeks, before finally being killed in a manner that's as stupid and pointless as her life.

Some reviewers complain that this movie is tedious, and the characters aren't interesting. Personally, I find it refreshing to see a film that accurately shows the stupidity and shallowness of human cruelty, rather than glamorizing it as some form of creative art. No, the characters aren't deep and subtle, with little background to explain their situations, but that's what makes the story believable. The characters are pretty much all unlikeable, dishonest, and shallow, which is as it should be, since they're a bunch of thugs.

I found them to be remarkably realistic portrayals of sociopathic criminals. Casually sadistic, mundanely cruel. Not twisted maniacs with hidden laboratories full of elaborate torture technology, just a bunch of druggies incapable of compassion looking to alleviate their boredom. Their lives are dismal, and the chance to exert power over someone weaker than themselves serves as entertainment.

Emily Kwan does a wonderful job of portraying Grace, the sly, manipulative prostitute and heroin addict who is willing to put up with terrible abuse in return for an opportunity to get high one more time. She is selfish but thoughtless, always trying to avoid responsibility, but never considering the long term consequences of her actions. She lives in a constant state of denial. Even after being tortured, she still looks for acceptance from her abusers, forgetting everything they do to her in the pathetic hope that they will accept her enough to give her another ride on the dragon.

Grace isn't too dumb to understand her plight, she's too addicted to care. Her shrill voice grates and annoys, and her behavior will probably seem inexplicable to those who have never been exposed to the real effects of serious addiction. She captures the emotional poverty and desperation of addiction far more realistically than Hollywood's glamorized depictions. She's hopeless almost from the beginning, and while the specific incidents that led to her death could perhaps have gone differently, her ultimate fate seems inevitable.

Most of the acting is not spectacular, though Yiu-Cheung Lai is effective as the husband/father/sociopathic pimp. But overall it's worthwhile if you're interested in the darker side of the human experience.

Niether Fish nor Foul...

[PeteStud · 18 January 2004]

I found the movie way over hyped. It tried to play both sides of the fence and thus , makes it own downfall. In one minute the film sets itself up for gratious sleaze and then has the audacity to imply rather than exploit, resulting in dissapointed for both viewers who want a gore fest and the others who want a non gratious story. No where near in the same league as THE UNTOLD STORY. This is not a bad waste of time but don't expect anything in the shape of a classic.