Blu-ray Review – Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky

There's plenty of bizarre cinema out there to sample, yet few have the capacity to both horrify and delight quite like 1991's "Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky." Based on a Japanese manga that reveled in violence, the film adaptation isn't one to let fans down, ordering up a buffet of carnage that includes impalements, disembowelments, beheadings, skinnings, and a considerable loss of limbs. A wildly over-the-top effort, "The Story of Ricky" is also aware of its extremity, often caught braiding emotional sincerity with cinematic absurdity. The narrative does take a few naps as it slowly unfolds, but storytelling isn't a top priority here. Director Lam Nai-choi is more enlivened by the challenge of orchestrating macabre antics between feuding characters, splashing blood and screams all over the frame as every martial arts-based encounter turns into an occasion to detail excessive gore. There's a certain thrill in viewing such goofball hostility, and the feature isn't afraid to go absolutely bonkers when necessary. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com