In Hong Kong cinema, the “Category III” label is the rough equivalent of an “X” rating in the United States – no one under 18 admitted. More than identifying extreme content, however, the classification denotes a certain sensibility in HK cinema since the late 1980s – an impulse to not only repulse but also to do so in the most confounding, counter-logical manner possible (usually in quivering acres of latex and gallons of profuse goop). While Category III classics like Riki-Oh and Three Extremes are better known to American audiences, Spectacle is proud to plumb the depths of dubious morals and devil feti to present a selection of lesser-known features from the genre.
Devil Fetus
dir. Hung-Chuen Lau, 1983.
Hong Kong. 84 min.
In Cantonese with English subtitles.
CONTENT WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT
FRIDAY, APRIL 1 – 11:59PM
FRIDAY, APRIL 8 – 11:59PM
SUNDAY, APRIL 10 – 7:30PM
SATURDAY, APRIL 23 – 11:59PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 28 – 10PM
Devil Fetus does not lend itself to pithy summary – the film refuses the motion of a generic genre plot in order to trace the diffuse and increasingly bizarre manifestations of a vaguely defined family curse, commencing with the shattering of an evil vase and ending with wormy cakes, flying cats, and portmortem parturition. Filmgoers are not advised to grow attached to any character or narrative thread as director Hung-Chuen Lau ravages both with equal abandon – imagine the last ten minutes of Hereditary on repeat for ninety minutes and you’re close to the bugfuck energy of Devil Fetus.
Pituitary Hunter
dir. Dan Pan, 1990.
Hong Kong. 83 min.
In Cantonese with English subtitles.
A gang of unhappily subtitled detectives follow a trail of pilfered pituitary glands across Hong Kong, uncovering a coterie of black market habitues with equally desperate claims to illicitly harvested human growth hormones. In the tradition of Category III gialli, the question of who is hoarding the glands resolves itself in the most baffling and tastless manner imaginable, but not before the audience is subjected to several displays of basement neurology and a constant barrage of non-sequiturs that will leave them disoriented and horrified for weeks to come.
SATURDAY, APRIL 2 – 11:59PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 7 – 10PM
FRIDAY, APRIL 15 – 11:59PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 21 – 10PM
FRIDAY, APRIL 29 – 11:59PM