Story Of Ricky

Ricky Ho is sent to prison for avenging the death of his girlfriend at the hands of a gang of drug dealers.

He soon discovers that the prison regime is utterly corrupt. Each of the four wings is ruled by a gang leader, enforcers for the warder and his assistant. Worse, the prison greenhouses grow opium poppies.

It's fortunate, then, that Ricky possesses superhuman powers, not the least of which is his ability to punch holes in anyone and anything that stands in his way...

This Hong Kong adaptation of an ultra-violent Japanese manga exists for one reason: to showcase some of the most ridiculously over-the-top gore ever.

If you want to see one man slice open his own stomach and attempt to strangle another with his intestines then this is the film for you. If not, then it isn't. It's as simple as that, though it's also worth mentioning that the splatter is of a cheesy, cartoon-like quality.

Everything else, whether it be cameos from Tetsuro Tanba and Gloria Yip Wan-Yee, the oddball casting of female action star Yukari Oshima, as a male prison boss, or the father and son pairing of Mui Sang Fan and Fan Siu-wong, is pretty much superfluous bet-hedging by the producers.

Love it or hate it, a non-committal response to Story Of Ricky is out of the question.