How Hong Kong director Herman Yau went from gory cult films to action blockbusters

Herman Yau Lai-to began his career as a cinematographer before transitioning to the director’s chair. He gained notoriety as a pioneer of Hong Kong’s Category III (adults-only) exploitation era, directing gruesome genre classics such as the 1993 serial killer thriller The Untold Story and 1996’s Ebola Syndrome. Since then, the prolific filmmaker – an academic with a PhD in cultural studies who is just as often recognised by his signature rock ‘n’ roll T-shirts – has worked ceaselessly. Known for being capable of shooting multiple features in a single year, Yau, 64, has helmed around 80 films across nearly every conceivable genre. The past decade has seen him successfully pivot to large-scale action, directing polished blockbusters such as Shock Wave (2017) and The White Storm 2: Drug Lords (2019). Below, we discuss the veteran director’s versatile career with film historian Frank Djeng. Herman Yau is often seen as the quintessential Hong Kong director – prolific, efficient, working across genres while staying firmly focused on the box office. Yes, he is a jack of all trades who does a bit of everything. He also works as a cinematographer – he shot Time and Tide (2000), by Tsui Hark, for instance – and I think that experience of filmmaking may have led to his pragmatic approach. He is reputed to deliver his films under budget and well within the schedule, which has earned him a good reputation within the industry. He became known as a cult film director because of The Untold Story. (But) he is good at horror, at ghost comedy, at cops-and-robbers, at action – all kinds of films. He describes himself as more of a craftsman than an auteur. Do you see any distinct “Herman Yau” stylistic hallmarks in his work? It is difficult to spot any stylistic hallmarks, as he tends to change his style to fit the film he is making. His Category III films usually have a tongue-in-cheek element, and I think that is very him, but that is not true of all his work. Ebola Syndrome is shot like a television horror movie, and 2007’s A Mob Story is more stylish. (The latter) is visually a very good-looking film; I think he looked at the style of Johnnie To Kei-fung’s Election for that, as the subject was similar. Then you have Ip Man: The Final Fight (2013), which is one of his best films. It is not one of the “official” Ip Man films, but visually, it looks like it could be. His later action films, like The White Storm 2, have a Hollywood sheen to them. Yes, White Storm 2 looks like it could be a Michael Bay movie. That is amazing, as he had a relatively small budget compared to a Hollywood filmmaker. His films always look really good, and producers love him for that. The Untold Story made him famous as a director, largely due to its extreme gore. It was vilified in Hong Kong upon its 1993 release, but is now widely accepted as a genre classic. Producer Danny Lee Sau-yin apparently offered him that job because no one else would direct it because of the strong nature of the material. It is ironic that, as initially Hongkongers sniffed and sneezed at it and said it was trash, it was too graphically violent. Then it started getting a good reputation in Europe and in America, where people started calling it a cult classic. That changed the way it was perceived in Hong Kong. Even today, it remains an incredibly violent watch for many viewers. The thing I love about The Untold Story is that it starts more or less as a comedy. Yau set it up in a very humorous way, showing a bunch of bumbling policemen who are always making mistakes, who are lazy and always chasing after girls. But once the killer gets caught, the tone changes and all of them become professional and brutal. I think that was Yau’s way of getting audiences prepared for the shock and horror of the actual crime. He knew there was some disgusting stuff coming up, so he thought that he would have some fun easing viewers into it. Yau often embeds social commentary into his films, even within B-movies. Occasionally, he will even direct an all-out sociopolitical drama like From the Queen to the Chief Executive (2001). He always tries to put some social issues in, and I think it has to do with the fact that he is a highly educated man. He is tuned in to local pop culture and to what is happening in Hong Kong. He even put some social observations in Taxi Hunter (1993), which is a very gritty neo-realistic film. Viewers sympathised with Anthony Wong Chau-sang’s character as they could understand why he hated Hong Kong taxi drivers – people thought they were terrible, refusing fares and so on. It is like he is venting on our behalf by making a film about a guy who has had enough of them. Even a big action film like Shock Wave touches on issues like mental health and how people in Hong Kong are stressed out by their work and their marriages. During the last decade, Yau successfully transitioned into a director of glossy, big-budget action films like Customs Frontline (2024). How did that happen? Big-budget action films are almost always Hong Kong-China co-productions now – Hong Kong itself can no longer make films on that scale. I think Andy Lau Tak-wah, whom Yau knows, had a say in having him get involved in it to start with, by recommending him to direct Shock Wave. The producers noted he did not go over budget and was able to deliver the film on schedule, and that led to Shock Wave 2 and The White Storm 2. Producers thought, “He’s capable, he’s good, and he delivers.” That is how he switched to this commercial mode. In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the careers of its greatest stars and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved industry. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook.

How Hong Kong director Herman Yau went from gory cult films to action blockbusters

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Once known for Category III shockers such as Ebola Syndrome, Herman Yau has become the go-to director for action blockbusters

Once known for Category III shockers such as Ebola Syndrome, Herman Yau has become the go-to director for action blockbusters