La camera delle torture cinesi

My favorite part of this bizarre movie, aside from the graphic violence and sex, was the poorly translated and wholly inappropriate sub-titling. The entire film already had me precariously balanced between disgust and hilarity, but the way they presented some of the dialogue pushed me over the edge into falling-out-of-my-chair laughter. What sticks in my mind the most (apart from the exploding phallus and aerodynamic coitus) was a scene where a woman in the midst of seriously pounding and fairly graphic sex moans something that was translated as "So comfortable... so comfortable..."

The title says it all.

A woman is accused of the murder of her husband. In order to extract a confession the court subjects her to a series of violent methods of torture. Most of the story is told in flash backs, recounting how the story leads to the ultimate gory death of her poor husband (his penis explodes). Along the way we found out about sexual martial artists, lesbian frolicking, adultery, lost love, back stabbing and a very potent aphrodisiac.

The torture scenes are appropriately brutal, but generally short. There is nudity aplenty and some sex, but it never gets excessively graphic. Also there is an odd unbalance of dead serious scenes and goof-ball humor; half the film is comedy. Genre fans familiar with exploitive flicks will likely find this a tad prodding and slow, all others will sit slack jawed muttering "what the hell..."

It may be a little too violent for some viewers and not sexed-up enough for others, but those willing to take a shot might enjoy it. Maybe...

5/10

Not being the typical hong-hong film fan (actually I have seen very few HK films) but having seen many of the world's most extraordinary films, I have to say that I loved "Chinese torture chamber story" in a very special way.

Most reviews here, although not losing the point, are representative of the western exploitation-type-of-viewing, with which I cant't really identify with, at least in regard with this film. I actually thought this blending of comedy, horror & erotica resulted in a most magnificent, poetic, weirdly funny, wildly violent result. This is quite unlike everything I have ever seen - I always had a tension to love any original and extraordinary film.

Okay, I admit, I have seen the majority of violent & strange films, so it's quite understandable that I am not offended or shocked by the bold erotic element or the horrific tortures, and so I could dive in deeper in the films story and concept which is by no means shallow. I have the feeling that it's for the most part the filmmakers craft and smart use of humour and the way the story was presented make the violence & erotica a means to a higher end. Yet, extreme violence is not hidden or implied - on the contrary, it's on display every once in a while.

Go after this film, if you can tolerate some violence, this is one of those one-of-a-kind films which can make the difference....

A Chinese TORTURE CHAMBER STORY isn't a great film by any stretch, but it sure has some fun stuff going on... Long and short: a woman goes to work for a rich guy, the rich guy's wife gets jealous that her man is constantly eye-ballin' the hired help, and the wife decides to murder the servants husband and pin it on her husband and the servant-girl. The servant-girl's husband is known around town for having a big donkey-cock, and decides to slip an aphrodesiac in this poor cats medicine, causing his penis to explode (believe me, I couldn't make this sh!!t up if I tried...). Anyway, all goes according to plan until some of the other hired help rat the rich-guy's wife and her lover out.

The torture scenes are relatively tame if your used to this sort of thing, and the sex scenes aren't explicit compared to porn - but there are some truly funny and original things going on in A Chinese TORTURE CHAMBER STORY. The aerial-acrobatic-kung-fu-sex-submission and the invisible-stalker-man-in-the-middle-blow-job scenes were worth the price of admission on this one (not to mention the exploding-penis-hand-job...). The whole film is handled pretty tongue-in-cheek, so the f'ed up subject matter is a little easier to "swallow"...Definitely worth a look - 8/10

I saw this singular film double-billed with The Naked Killer (one of my all time favorite movies). Chinese Torture Chamber is weird through and through.

It takes place sometime ago in China's glorious past, when the courts utilized Spanish Inquisition-like techniques to get the truth out of defendants. The opening scenes are a fairly graphic, though oddly funny, demonstration of ghastly tortures.

Then, we are taken to the estate of a rich prince, married to an insatiable princess. He tries to please her by employing exotic "marital aids", but to no avail. She seeks fulfillment through another man. Sexually curious housemaids secretly watch their trysts through holes in the rice paper walls. One is caught, and becomes the subject of the wrathful princess' ire.

Throughout the rest of the movie, as told in flashbacks, this poor maid must prove her innocence of murder (by exploding penis!). The court systematically tortures her and the prince (a suspected accomplice) first by spanking, then through more excruciatingly depicted techniques.

What's odd about all these precedings is that they are simultaneously horrifying, erotic and funny. Kind of like the Japanese film Tokyo Decadence.

Oh yes, there is one sequence that totally blew my mind: The prince spies two heroes flying through the trees, fighting each other kung fu-style, ripping each others' clothes off (ends up being a man and a woman), and then f***ing while still mid-air!

Only Hong Kong could come up with a "porno/horror/fantasy/comedy".