Ebola Syndrome (1996)

Even by my standards, this is one screwed-up movie. It's about a rotten bastard with a chip on his shoulder who gets infected with ebola (you don't want to know how), only to unknowingly become a carrier when his immune system proves to be the rare one-in-ten-thousand that can subdue the virus. But it's more than that, so much more. Apparently the filmmakers didn't feel the spectre of ebola was enough to create a memorable gross-out horror flick, so they threw into their cauldron of sickness some garden-variety murder, some rape, some cannibalism, plenty of gratuitous nudity and a scene where Anthony Wong humps a piece of beef. That this works at all (indeed, that it turns out to be such an effective piece of blackly comic nastiness) is probably due to the intense commitment of Anthony Wong. Wong usually makes for the most interesting villains, and here he creates a guy so consumed with rage at his presumed inferiority that he's an amoral timebomb waiting to happen. It seems that the effectiveness of Wong's performances parallel the rudeness of the movies in which he's involved, and while this film can't top his previous collaboration with director Herman Yau (The Untold Story), this one's at least more entertaining. Weak stomachs need not apply, obviously, but if you're into this kind of thing, just see how long you feel compelled to shout "Fuck off! Ebola!" after watching this.

Grade: B-