3. Ebola Syndrome (1996)
Hong Kong Category 3 fare which follows the adventures of Kai - the ultimate sick f**k - in becoming a carrier of Ebola and liberally spreading the disease around him wherever he goes. It all transpires when Kai - a chef - kills his boss and his boss's wife. A fugitive from the law, he flees to South Africa where he finds work as a chef. He goes out into the bush with his new boss to source some meat and they come across a tribe infected with Ebola. Opportunistic pervert that he is, Kai rapes a dying woman, thus infecting himself with Ebola. He falls ill but miraculously survives. What Kai doesn't know is that he is now an effective carrier of the virus... In a repeat of history, Kai kills his boss and the boss's wife - but not before he has infected them with Ebola. He chops them up and serves them as burgers, thus infecting South Africa with the virus. With his boss's money, Kai goes back to Hong Kong and starts to infect people there. Eventually he is tracked down by the authorities as the source of the disease. He goes mad in the streets with people in Hazmat suits chasing him. Kai actually spits at people in the street to purposefully infect them! Eventually he is killed. Ebola is a dreadful disease to contract. It has around a 70% mortality rate and makes you bleed from every orifice as your internal organs go to mulch. Outbreaks have been mainly restricted to Uganda, the Congo and Gabon and it is thought the disease has arisen from victims eating infected bush animals such as Gorillas. Once infected, the disease is highly contagious and is spread by bodily fluids. The film is not a Contagion/Outbreak thriller that meticulously follows the spread of the disease and efforts to cure or contain it. It utilises Ebola as a plot device to make a repellant man even more repulsive. I hate to say it but despite the ultraviolence and Ebola story arc, Ebola Syndrome is a very funny film - its audacity is charming. Yes it is in very poor taste, but it is entertaining for those of us who like our cinema way out there. Other respectable people will be appalled at the gory violence and the antics of Kai.