Cinema Macabre, Volume 4: Mr. Vampire

The fourth volume of BC Magazine's Cinema Macabre concerns itself with the dark world of vampires. My contribution to the collaborative effort is the kung fu/horror/comedy from Hong Kong, Mr. Vampire. It was one of the first films to explore this combination, along with Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind, and would go on to influence a number of similar films, as well as a string of sequels. Be sure to check out Cinema Macabre Issue 4: Vampires! for reviews of other films such as Martin, Near Dark, and The Return of the Vampire.

Have you ever heard of hopping vampires? Didn't think so. The idea of hopping vampires seemed like an idea that just could not work. That is until I saw Mr. Vampire, a film from Hong Kong made back in 1985. The Chinese myth of vampires is vastly different than the Bram Stoker version here in the West. In Chinese myth, vampires are reanimated corpses whose souls have not left the body. They come back to feed on the life essence of the living, not the drinking of blood. Their preferred method of moving about is hopping — you see, rigor mortis has made them a little too stiff to walk.

Mr. Vampire tells the story of a rich man who was instructed by a fortune teller to have his deceased father reburied in order to improve the family's fortune. The problem is that the deceased's soul has not yet left, and once removed from the earth reanimates as a vampire, hopping around in pursuit of the living. The man in charge of the reburial is a Taoist priest, Master Ko (Ching Ying Lam), a man who knows the spells that can be used to control the living dead. The problem is that he also has two assistants, and they are a little less than competent.

The movie is a blend of horror, slapstick comedy, and martial arts that works to great effect. It also goes a long way towards introducing concepts that are quite foreign to an uninitiated audience, from hopping vampires, to soul-sucking ghosts, to vampirism transferred like a virus, to the use of sticky rice, Taoist spells, and ink-covered string to combat the vampire. Then there is the fact that you can avoid vampire detection by holding your breath.

The story is pretty easy to follow, as it centers on a vampire on the loose and a group of heroes seeking to stop his rampage. However, it is so much more than that; it is a window into another culture, it serves up some big laughs, and has some surprisingly creepy moments. And let's not forget the man who travels around with a group of the hopping vampires in tow.

Ching Ying Lam stars as Master Ko, and does a great job of centering the film, bringing an aura of deadly seriousness to the silliness around him. He has great presence and plays the teacher role perfectly. His assistants, played by Siu Hou Chin and Ricky Hui are also perfect, they are both adept at martial arts, and their comic timing is spot on. They're directed by Ricky Lau, who went on to direct a number of sequels and other vampire-related films.

Mr. Vampire is definitely not your typical vampire movie. It is quirky, it is funny, and it is a lot of fun. The film is never scary in the traditional sense, but there are tense moments where you are not sure what may happen next, there is the "infection" of one of the bumbling assistants, and the ghost that loses her head. It is a wildly different movie than what you get in the West, as well as a pioneering one in Hong Kong. It kicked off a stretch of vampire themed horror/comedies, including one titled Vampire vs. Vampire, which pits an Eastern vampire against a Western one.