Ebola Syndrome (1996)

This movie opens up with a man named Kai San getting caught “doodling” his bosses wife.  After getting slapped around a bit and almost being forced to castrate himself (holy crap!) he turns the tables and kills everyone in site.  Well almost everyone that is, because the bosses daughter is spared when he is interrupted trying to set her on fire!  Years later Kai is hiding out in Africa while working at a Chinese restaurant.  It seems that since the murders he has managed to keep his temper under control, but he is still a scumbag.  After managing to contract the Ebola virus (which he is immune to and becomes a carrier of) he starts to pass it to everyone he comes in “contact” with.  Since he has a habit of raping women (and then putting them on the menu at the restaurant) he causes an outbreak.  This is made worse when he sneaks home and brings the illness with him.  I don’t’ want to spoil the movie so lets just say things get even crazier before the credits roll. 

I’ve heard about this movie for years, but it wasn’t until recently that I actually sat down to watch it.  This is one of those rare times that the movie actually lives up to the hype.  First of all the story is insane and I do mean insane.  The main character, Kai San, is a serial rapist and murderer.  Most of the time Kai San is sort of a sad sack that can’t relate to anyone and is a goofy looser.  But then all of a sudden he can go bat shit crazy and there is hell to pay.  Most of Ebola Syndrome is spent either watching Kai slowly getting angry or him getting his revenge on the world and people that he thinks have wronged him.  So by the time he gets pissed at his boss and then finds a sick native woman to take advantage of it isn’t surprising.  Hell it is in his character by then.  From this point on is when the movie really gets crazy, and it already has a body count before this.  So yeah it is that kind of flick.

I also wanted to mention how mean spirited and nasty this movie can be (just in case it isn’t obvious yet).  The assaults, and there are a couple, are very violent and nasty.  I was cringing quite a bit when Kai was getting even with the wife of the restaurant owner.  But right from the start you know what you are in store for.  I mean he was going to torch the little girl for crying out loud! 

The special effects are sticky and gory.  Most of the kills aren’t that graphic, but the bits with those dying from Ebola is nasty looking.  And while the kills might not show a lot, they are well staged and let your imagination fill in the blacks.  The movie also makes use of dead animals and unfortunately some animals are killed on camera.  So if this sort of thing offends you you might want to steer clear of Ebola Syndrome.  But then again most that would object to animal killings are going to have bailed long before they ever get that far into the movie.

This movie was made to be over the top, a bit offensive, and brutal.  It delivers those goods, while at the same time making an effort to have a decent story with interesting characters.  Because of the subject matter I can’t see this being a movie that I’ll watch a lot, but I respect and recommend it for being a well made and oddly entertaining film. 

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2010 John Shatzer