Skip to main content

Mr. Vampire (1985) - Ricky Lau


Jiangshi is a genre of horror from Hong Kong made popular in the mid-eighties. It focuses on Vampires and Zombies based in Chinese culture. This movie was an intrical part in that popularity. Mr. Vampire, or 暫時停止呼吸, is a horror comedy that's directed by Ricky Lau and produced by Sammo Hung. It has a big emphasis on slapstick humor and creative stunt elements.

A village plans to rebury an elder. However, after the body is exhumed it's discovered that the corpse is a reanimated, blood-thirsty, hopping vampire. Three guys that work at the local mortuary are tasked to save the world and stop the small vampire outbreak. Oh, there is a succubus in there too. She is running around doing her thing.

The horror portion is actually pretty fantastic. I really like the lore here too. They have Hopping Vampires that can be constrained with wards that you past to their foreheads. The vampires can also smell you when you breath. Needless to say, its a far cry from the past incarnations. It's kind of a breath of fresh air compared to the countless Dracula remakes. There isn't really any gore. It's mostly replaced with heavy makeup and implied elements. The comedy breaks things up. For what it has. It's great. Definitely not scary. But not tame either.

I love the style of this movie. The quick witted pace and slapstick action is perfect. It's something that dredges up a great deal of nostalgia. The acting leaves a lot to be desired. But it works for the time and it works for this movie. I wouldn't change a thing. The showdown at the end with the succubus works really well. It's a really decent Kung Fu/Horror movie.

Director:  Ricky Lau
Producer: Sammo Hung
Writers: Sze-to Cheuk-hon, Barry Wong and Wong Ying
Starring: Ricky Hui, Moon Lee, Chin Siu-ho, Lam Ching-ying
Studio: Bo Ho Films Co., Ltd. and Paragon Films Ltd.
Release Date: 7 November 1985
Country: Hong Kong
Did ya know: The scene were the body was being exhumed was filmed just outside of the New Territories in Hong Kong. The background had been used in such movies as The Young Master (1980) and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) (during the end fight). Also filmed in the New Territories was the scene where the police investigate in a cave and the scene in where a body was being burned.




Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ju-On (2000) - Takashi Shimizu

Watching Japanese horror is similar to watching British comedy. If you enjoy dry whit then you probably enjoy the boys of Monty Python in drag. That's the joke, they're dressed like women. Get it? Well, that's British humor. But if you're like most Americans you probably prefer Adam Sandler farting his way across a football field and hooking up with chicks that are way out of his league. Americans usually prefer this more in your face, crass brand of humor. My point is funny in England is different from funny in the US. The same goes for J-Horror. What the Japanese consider scary is very different from what Americans consider scary and it shows in this horror film. Japanese horror is generally slow (a little too slow sometimes), suspenseful and creepy. Ju-On is a creepy effing film. The movie has almost no soundtrack. It is incredibly suspenseful and the pay-offs are pretty awesome, but I think that it was done better in the American version (cultural t...
Post a Comment
Not scared yet? »

Humanoids From the Deep (1980) - Barbara Peeters and Jimmy T. Murakami

This is your standard old drive-in Creature Feature that has tons of gore and boobs. It's great if your in for a cheap thrill. This film goes right up along side any Roger Corman produced picture from the eighties. It's rumored that Joe Dante was approached to direct this movie but he turned it down. Humanoids from the Deep, also known as Monster, is a strange but forgettable piece of exploitation that failed to make it's notch in history. Don't let that detour you though. This is a really fun little film that doesn't fail to be entertaining.  A small sea town in California is terrorized by some mutated creatures from the deep. They look like some sort of mutated fish, merman-thing. They seem to have one goal in mind and that is raping and impregnating the females of the town. Also the town is being taken for a ride by a shifty businessman and his new corporate cannery. Could this evil cannery corporation be responsible for the Extreme Creatures of the B...
2 comments
Not scared yet? »

Escape From Tomorrow (2013) - Randy Moore

This review may contain spoilers. An American independent horror movie from filmmaker Randy Moore. It stars Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Jack Dalton, Annet Mahendru, and Alison Lees-Taylor. It premiered at the official selection of Roger Ebert, at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18th, 2013. Synopsis Jim is a depressed middle-aged man that despises his family life but wants to try to hold it together for a vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort. Jim receives a call before they leave and, unfortunately, Jim has lost his job as well. It proves too much to handle as this trip to the Magic Kingdom becomes a hellish nightmare. Jim’s mind cracks as we watch him deal with Disney’s seedy underbelly. Complete with elaborate corporate conspiracy, undercover sex workers, and demons. Oh and two very young French girls that Jim lusts over. It’s gross. Analysis The acting is amateurish. It’s nothing that’s going to win any awards or anything. The wri...
Post a Comment
Not scared yet? »