In these troubled times, I find myself seeking out one of two things for a sure-fire spirit lifter: guys in masks (luchador-style or criminal-style--doesn't matter) or hopping vampires. There's a straightforwardness to either flavor of entertainment that I find comforting--there are conventions to be observed, and goddammit, I CRAVE those awesome conventions.
"Mr. Vampire" is arguably the Gold Standard of hopping vampire films and, to my eye anyway, one of the most entertaining entries in the impressive body of Hong Kong genre flicks. It's an incredibly satisfying way to spend ninety minutes escaping from what ails the world, crammed full of monsters, kung fu, and comedy. The film follows the One-Eyebrow Priest (a character who would be featured in several other films, mainly due to his KICKASSITUDE), a rural cleric who specializes in combating supernatural forces, and his two bumbling assistants Chou (a handsome yet foolish young man) and Man Choi (a buffoon cut in the classic "Three Stooges" mold) as they track down a powerful vampire who is terrorizing the village. Set in what I'm guessing is the 1920s, there are period costumes and sets to add an extra level of interest.
I'll confess--I find most foreign comedies to be rather inscrutable. I tend to only understand the comedy behind the most low-brow bits, and I'll wind up scratching my head at the nuanced dialogue-based punchlines. The genius of "Mr. Vampire" is that its comedy is almost entirely physical and therefore approachable by any audience. I'm not talking about mere slapstick here, dear readers--this is Best Of Breed slapstick that would make Buster Keaton take notes. The chemistry between the actors serves to put a cherry on top of the EXCELLENCE SUNDAE that is this film.
The choreography of the comic scenes blends the acrobatic artistry of the best kung fu fights with a pitch-perfect sense of comic timing. Don't believe me? Well, here's the first ten minutes of the movie featuring an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING vampire fight:
The comedy doesn't only work on a visual level. There are several scenes in which dialogue is used to enhance the hilarity of a particular encounter. A scene in which the priest and Man Choi attempt to behave properly during an English Tea with potential clients yields embarrassing results that span the language gap. Who knew that a comedy of errors sequence revolving around the proper way to drink coffee could have me in stitches? Upon watching it twice in a row and breaking up with laughter both times, I can only believe that this is the product of directorial genius.
The incredibly generous nature of this film is underscored when, in addition to fighting off the threat of vampires, our heroes have to face off against a lady ghost who feeds on sexual energy as well. That's right, lieblings--this movie lives in delicious Monster Mash territory, pitting man against creature AND creature for maximum awesometude.
There are some genuinely creepy horror moments as well. I'm a huge fan of in-camera effects used to convey terror, and when the lead vampire hops into frame in slow-motion--well, it's surprisingly chilling! The vampire effects are ghoulish and become more grotesque as the film advances, sparing no expense to create a look that oozes gruesome decay. [SIDEBAR: Hooray for monster-style vampires! Can I just say how refreshing a good ol' monster-style vampire can be to cleanse the palate from the whiny-ass bitches that populate most of today's vampire landscape?]
One of the things that makes "Mr. Vampire" so extraordinarily entertaining to me is that it balances elements familiar to Western audiences with traditions unique to China. The supernatural traditions in "Mr. Vampire" are very different from the garlic and holy water mojo of the West. Combating a vampire is done very differently--spells are slapped on the forehead, and a coin-sword can be used to cause harm to an undead being. Holding one's breath prevents the vampire from locating a potential victim (apparently these monsters navigate using the sense of sound and touch). If one is unfortunate enough to get stabbed in the neck by the poisonous claws of the corpse, dancing on sticky rice can ward off the onset of vampirism.
For sheer bang-for-the-buck entertainment, it's hard to beat "Mr. Vampire." Cozy up with a bottle or three of your favorite beer and settle in for a lovely evening with this Hong Kong delight. Psst--you can find it serialized on YouTube right here if you crave instant gratification.
I am so goddam excited about this. I can't wait for evening soz I can settle-in with my YouTube, hot cocoa and Mr. Vampire.
BTW: Loved the "Blind Dead" Series (in its awesome coffin box). You really do have to revisit "Night of the Seagulls" and see what you think.
I know "Ghost Galleon" kinda sucked but really, who can resist a creaking ghost ship when it appears outta nowhere? I'll forgive any flick with one of 'em, even "The Fog" or whatever the hell that movie was called with the Sexy-Superman dude.
As with most offerings of excellence from the Tenebrous Empire, I find myself woefully undereducated on this particular genre, but after reading your write-up I am hungry to learn and experience more! Thanks for once again going out of your way to bring the weird and wonderful to the masses.
It's been a week for Significant Comment Verification words--mine for this comment is "hopweene"...which I can only assume is the Hong Kong Halloween in which everyone dresses up like a bouncing bloodsucker. :D
I treated an old high school mentor to a double feature of Mr. Vampire and Viy on his new big screen TV and it was great to see both and how well they both played in tandem. So much horror nowadays is blah-blah-blah CGI, blah-blah-blah SQUIB EFFECT, blah-blah-blah PROSTHETIC HEAD that it's great to see horror done with energy, gymnastic precision and even geometry.
FYI, Ghost Galleon is my favorite of the "Blind Dead" films. I loves me a dark horse.
I liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would. I'm always leary about foreign comedies--but you're right, this film 'is' genuinely funny. I found I caught more of the humor through the dubbed version, than w/the subtitled version, but it worked either way. The cool thing about the film (well one of the cool things) is, even if you don't grasp all the humor--it's still an entertaining movie on its own.
Brian--enjoy "Mr. Vampire!" I don't think you'll be disappointed :) I'm so psyched you dug the "Blind Dead" movies, and I'm definitely looking forward to re-watching "Night of the Seagulls." I remember that being my fave of the bunch, though I enjoyed them all (even "Ghost Galleon," in its own creaky way).
You're very welcome, Vicar! I am loving the idea of Hopweene--you get, and you give right on back. You're such a doll.
Arbogast, that is a treat indeed! I have heard a lot about "Viy" but haven't peeked at it yet. It's high time I corrected this omission in my movie-watching!
Rev--this is one of those films that I recommend to friends without hesitation, even if they find most international comedy hard to get into. It's just so damn lovable!
Mr V was one of my first exposures to the strange world of hopping Chinese vampires. You've reminded me how much fun this stuff is and they definitely seem worthy of a revisit. (I remember one film with hoppers fighting a kookball Robocop rip-off, anyone know the name of it?)
Back in the day when I was watching all this HK stuff I had to rent it from this little asian market in south STL, practically all their vids contained NO translation, or if one did have subs they were the impossible to read kind that never seemed to even fit on the screen properly. They were usually riddled with an endless stream of unintentionally hilarious typos too. The girls that worked there spoke little engrish and thought I was crazy for liking their films.
Looking at your captures here makes me think I haven't really seen this film properly now, cuzza the pan/scan scratchy ass print I had to wade through. Holding my breath!
Karswell, there are some really nice, shiny and inexpensive (yay!) DVD transfers of the "Mr. Vampire" movies over on HKFlix.com--I think I paid somewhere under ten bucks for my copy, and it looks VERY nice. If you've got Netflix, I *think* these are the prints they rent.
I had a pal who'd score films at a Chinese rental shop, and I REMEMBER those awesome subtitles! There's a book called "Sex and Zen and a Bullet in the Head" that's light-but-informative reading on the HK films of the 80s and 90s, and they highlight some of the more hilarious subtitling flubs--"You bastard! Try this melon!" wound up getting incorported into the vernacular of my group of friends, to cite one example :)
I don't think it was Counter Destroyer, I remember when you reviewed that one but I don't think I've ever seen it. The more I think about it I wanna say it might have been something I actually bought from the ridiculously overpriced Video Search of Miami. I'll brainstorm and get back to you.
In these troubled times, I find myself seeking out one of two things for a sure-fire spirit lifter: guys in masks (luchador-style or criminal-style--doesn't matter) or hopping vampires. There's a straightforwardness to either flavor of entertainment that I find comforting--there are conventions to be observed, and goddammit, I CRAVE those awesome conventions.
9 comments:
I am so goddam excited about this. I can't wait for evening soz I can settle-in with my YouTube, hot cocoa and Mr. Vampire.
BTW: Loved the "Blind Dead" Series (in its awesome coffin box). You really do have to revisit "Night of the Seagulls" and see what you think.
I know "Ghost Galleon" kinda sucked but really, who can resist a creaking ghost ship when it appears outta nowhere? I'll forgive any flick with one of 'em, even "The Fog" or whatever the hell that movie was called with the Sexy-Superman dude.
As with most offerings of excellence from the Tenebrous Empire, I find myself woefully undereducated on this particular genre, but after reading your write-up I am hungry to learn and experience more! Thanks for once again going out of your way to bring the weird and wonderful to the masses.
It's been a week for Significant Comment Verification words--mine for this comment is "hopweene"...which I can only assume is the Hong Kong Halloween in which everyone dresses up like a bouncing bloodsucker. :D
I treated an old high school mentor to a double feature of Mr. Vampire and Viy on his new big screen TV and it was great to see both and how well they both played in tandem. So much horror nowadays is blah-blah-blah CGI, blah-blah-blah SQUIB EFFECT, blah-blah-blah PROSTHETIC HEAD that it's great to see horror done with energy, gymnastic precision and even geometry.
FYI, Ghost Galleon is my favorite of the "Blind Dead" films. I loves me a dark horse.
I liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would. I'm always leary about foreign comedies--but you're right, this film 'is' genuinely funny. I found I caught more of the humor through the dubbed version, than w/the subtitled version, but it worked either way. The cool thing about the film (well one of the cool things) is, even if you don't grasp all the humor--it's still an entertaining movie on its own.
This movie is all that, and a bag of fried wonton chips.
- elnigma
Brian--enjoy "Mr. Vampire!" I don't think you'll be disappointed :) I'm so psyched you dug the "Blind Dead" movies, and I'm definitely looking forward to re-watching "Night of the Seagulls." I remember that being my fave of the bunch, though I enjoyed them all (even "Ghost Galleon," in its own creaky way).
You're very welcome, Vicar! I am loving the idea of Hopweene--you get, and you give right on back. You're such a doll.
Arbogast, that is a treat indeed! I have heard a lot about "Viy" but haven't peeked at it yet. It's high time I corrected this omission in my movie-watching!
Rev--this is one of those films that I recommend to friends without hesitation, even if they find most international comedy hard to get into. It's just so damn lovable!
Elnigma--AGREED 100% :)
Mr V was one of my first exposures to the strange world of hopping Chinese vampires. You've reminded me how much fun this stuff is and they definitely seem worthy of a revisit. (I remember one film with hoppers fighting a kookball Robocop rip-off, anyone know the name of it?)
Back in the day when I was watching all this HK stuff I had to rent it from this little asian market in south STL, practically all their vids contained NO translation, or if one did have subs they were the impossible to read kind that never seemed to even fit on the screen properly. They were usually riddled with an endless stream of unintentionally hilarious typos too. The girls that worked there spoke little engrish and thought I was crazy for liking their films.
Looking at your captures here makes me think I haven't really seen this film properly now, cuzza the pan/scan scratchy ass print I had to wade through. Holding my breath!
Happy Turkey Day too.
Karswell, there are some really nice, shiny and inexpensive (yay!) DVD transfers of the "Mr. Vampire" movies over on HKFlix.com--I think I paid somewhere under ten bucks for my copy, and it looks VERY nice. If you've got Netflix, I *think* these are the prints they rent.
I had a pal who'd score films at a Chinese rental shop, and I REMEMBER those awesome subtitles! There's a book called "Sex and Zen and a Bullet in the Head" that's light-but-informative reading on the HK films of the 80s and 90s, and they highlight some of the more hilarious subtitling flubs--"You bastard! Try this melon!" wound up getting incorported into the vernacular of my group of friends, to cite one example :)
As to the Robocop-dude movie, it might just be "Counter Destroyer". This is a cap of the Robocop-lookin' character!
Happy Thanksgiving to you as well :)
I don't think it was Counter Destroyer, I remember when you reviewed that one but I don't think I've ever seen it. The more I think about it I wanna say it might have been something I actually bought from the ridiculously overpriced Video Search of Miami. I'll brainstorm and get back to you.
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