Ebola Syndrome (1996)

Synopsis

When his boss catches him with his wife, Kai San (Anthony Wong) kills his boss, his henchmen, and his wife. He flees Hong Kong and takes up residence in South Africa, where he lives for a decade. Kai now works at a Chinese restaurant where the owner and his wife constantly hassle him. The boss takes Kai to a Zulu tribe to buy some cheap meat, which is dealing with an Ebola outbreak. While out, Kai rapes a dying tribeswoman and ends up contracting Ebola, but he has a rare immunity. The owner’s wife contemplates killing Kai, which leads to Kai raping her and killing the owner, her, and her cousin. In addition, he chops up their bodies, makes them into burgers, and serves them to customers, inadvertently spreading the virus. As the police scramble to figure out what’s happening, Kai travels back to Hong Kong, unknowingly spreading Ebola.

Review

Ebola Syndrome is a wild ride of depravity and disgust, not suitable for the faint of heart. This movie is a nasty little affair that pushes the boundaries of good taste to an outrageous degree. When you think the filmmakers wouldn’t go there, not only do they go there, but they practically jump over it. The opening scene alone has our protagonist getting urinated on by the woman he was having an affair with. Director Herman Yau almost delights in how far he can go to challenge the audience’s sensibilities, which is admirable. What’s more shocking is the dark humor sprinkled in, like how Kai constantly accuses people of “busting his balls.” Admittedly, there are moments of real animal deaths that are inexcusable, even if it’s meant to be shocking. You could argue that these scenes add a sense of realism, but this is a movie, not real life.

On a more positive note, what makes this movie work so well is Anthony Wong’s performance as the sadistic Kai. While most everyone is a scumbag, he’s the biggest scumbag of them all, raping and killing without a second thought. Much like Christian Bale’s performance in American Psycho, Wong brings a certain charisma that makes him fun to watch. Sure, the movie doesn’t present anything he does positively, but there’s a reckless abandon that makes him fascinating. In a way, his performance overshadows everyone else, not because the rest are bad, but because he’s so good. That said, the other actors do a fine job, the highlight being Tsui-Ling Wong as Lily, one of Kai’s victims. She’s one of the few good characters in the movie, and you want to see her survive. Unfortunately, given the nature of this film, we know she’s not going to have a happy ending.

Given his experience as a cinematographer, it makes sense that Herman Yau’s direction is so fluid and stylish. As ugly as the story is, the film has a striking beauty that separates it from other splatter fare. Yau takes full advantage of his locations, from the African outback to the Hong Kong city streets. Granted, the film suffers from some pacing issues, especially towards the middle, during the police investigation. Even Kai’s repugnant behavior feels tiresome after a while, but that could be Yau trying to desensitize the audience. Still, for a roughly 90-minute movie, it’s a wild ride that throws out imagery you won’t soon forget. Obviously, a film like this won’t appeal to the average moviegoer, so I only recommend this for the strong-willed. Overall, Ebola Syndrome is a sick, twisted tale with an excellent lead performance, solid direction, and unforgettably gross moments.

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