Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.0

Dr. Lamb Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 12, 2022

He may not get a "you talkin' to me?" soliloquoy as the focal character in Dr. Lamb, but Lam Gor-Yu (Simon Yam) is nonetheless a Taxi Driver with a murderous side, even if his obsessions may not totally coincide with one Travis Bickle's. Dr. Lamb has a number of really interesting supplements, some of which get into its infamy as a so- called "Category III" film, which more or less equates at least in broad terms to what used to be a "dreaded X" rating on this side of the pond, though with perhaps at least a perceived subtext of even more graphic sex and violence than an X rating might have hinted at. And in that regard, it's easy to see why this often shocking film was categorized as such, since while supposedly dramatizing a "ripped from the headlines" event involving a taxi driving serial killer, Dr. Lamb "goes for the gusto" in terms of its depiction of brutal violence against women, with a special (?) emphasis on necrophilia.

If the depictions in this film will either be titillating or stomach turning depending on your particular proclivities, perhaps the most interesting thing about Dr. Lamb is its structure, since there's never really any suspense about Lam being the villain, since he's pretty much in police custody from the get go. The bulk of the film plays out in a series of flashback vignettes, which supposedly seek to illuminate Lam's motives, but really are simply grist for the exploitation mill, with Lam stalking and murdering a series of women and then proceeding not to "stop there", so to speak, with even more "activities" involving corpses.

There's also an apparently intentionally seesawing tone, which kind of careens madly from horrifying violence and kinky (to say the least) sexual activities to almost slapstick comedy, as unbelievable as that may sound. Yam is a force of nature throughout the film, also careening wildly from apparently mild mannered taxi driver to gonzo serial killer at various moments.

Dr. Lamb Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dr. Lamb is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Unearthed Classics, an imprint of Unearthed Films, and MVD Visual with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. I frankly can't even remember if the only previous time I've seen this movie was courtesy of a bootleg or an authorized release, but this is unsurprisingly a noticeable improvement from that experience, which is not to suggest it's problem free. The element utilized is littered with almost nonstop damage, most of it admittedly quite small, typically in the form of white flecks, but it's pretty consistently there to the point that you can't really ignore it. There are also a few compression issues, notably in some of the darker material where things can look almost pixellated and you sense macroblocking may just be about to occur (it never really does, but the visual effect is pretty similar). The palette is mostly nicely suffused, if just a bit cool looking, and the surplus of extreme close-ups means you get generally good fine detail levels on everything from faces to areolas, and, yes, I just said that. My score is 3.25.

Dr. Lamb Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Dr. Lamb features Cantonese and Mandarin LPCM 2.0 mono tracks. As I tend to do in these situations, I toggled between them, and while there isn't any gigantic difference other than the dialect, to my ears the Mandarin track sounded at least marginally brighter and more full bodied. A plot conceit involving stormy weather means there is some energetic ambient environmental background sound in some outdoor material. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Dr. Lamb Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary with Art Ettinger and Bruce Holecheck can be accessed under the Setup Menu.


• Lamb to the Slaughter (HD; 20:22) is an interview with filmmaker Gilbert Po, the force behind the Dr. Lamb project.


• Three Times the Fear (HD; 20:33) features film critic James Mudge talking about "the golden age of Category III".


• Cut and Run (HD; 16:09) offers film academic Sean Tierney who goes by the nickname The Silver Spleen talking about the film.


• Atomic TV Interview with Simon Yam (SD; 7:58) is an archival piece that looks like it may have been sourced from an old videotape, replete with tracking issues.


• Trailers includes Dr. Lamb (HD: 2:41), along with trailers for other releases from Unearthed Films.

Additionally, an insert booklet has an interesting essay by Calum Waddell and packaging features a slipcover.

Dr. Lamb Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I freely admit that films like Dr. Lamb are simply not my particular cup of tea, and I'm sure there are people out there who think this is five star entertainment all around. The copious supplements on this release suggest that if not considered a masterpiece, others think this has more redeeming value than I personally do. One way or the other, it's the supplements that may be of at least as much interest here as the actual film. Technical merits range from passable if improvable (video) to generally fine (audio), for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.