Living in a post-Bruce Lee world means it probably doesn’t take long for people to come up with a favourite East Asian actor/director/producer/stunt choreographer, etc. For actors, if it’s not Lee himself, it could be Jackie Chan, or Chow Yun-Fat, or Jet Li, or Takeshi Kaneshiro, or Michelle Yeoh, or Ziyi Zhang. You get the point. So it’s all the more surprising that the best film to come out of Hong Kong, if not China or Asia as a whole stars none of them. It’s not even a John Woo or Wong Kar-Wai deal either. It was made by Ricky Lau, the guy behind Two Toothless Tigers (1980) and I Am Chinese (2012).
Original movie poster for Mr Vampire (1985).
Yes. Mr Vampire. Or Goengsi Sinsang in its native Cantonese. This isn’t the kind of vampire from your local housewife’s wet dream either. Or, if it is, your local housewife has problems. Goengsi, or Jiāngshī in Mandarin (僵屍 literally ‘stiff corpse’) are the hopping vampires gamers might’ve seen in Super Mario Land on the Gameboy, or in the Darkstalkers series through Hsien-Ko/Lei-Lei. Like vampires they’re part of the undead- living corpses that feed off the lifeforce of others to stay alive. Only Western vampires do it by drinking your blood. Goengsi go straight for the spirit, or qi. Yet unlike Western vampires, they’re subject to rigor mortis.
You know, because they’re dead.
The advantages of post-mortem moisturiser.
So they have trouble moving their limbs. They’re usually depicted hopping forward towards their prey, holding their arms out forward. The recently dead ones can be more mobile, but they’re usually rotten and gross. Less Dracula and more like a qi-eating zombie. Kind of like how vampires used to be blood-drinking zombies before Bram Stoker put pen to paper. These hopping vampires were all over Hong Kong cinema from the late 1980’s to the early 1990’s, and Mr Vampire led the way, if not starting the craze to begin with.
Why? Because it’s awesome. Who are you to question that?
Okay, if you want a serious answer, it’s a great action comedy-horror. A ‘romzomcom’ that came out 19 years before Shaun of the Dead coined the term. Though the rom is, uh…questionable? But it’s the zom and the com that hooks you in. The rom is just the icing on the cake. But we’ll get to that later. Here’s the plot, as taken from Wikipedia.
“Master Kau (Lam Ching-Ying) is a Taoist priest who performs magic that maintains control over spirits and irrepressible vampires. Together with his inept students, Man-choi (Ricky Hui) and Chau-sang (Chin Siu-Ho), he resides in a large house protected from the spiritual world with talismans and amulets.
Master Kau (centre) with Chau-sang (left in green) and Man-choi (right in orange).
One day, he accepts an assignment from a wealthy businessman, Yam (Huang Ha), to remove Yam’s deceased father from his grave and rebury him, with the hopes that doing so will bring more prosperity to the Yam family. Unfortunately, upon opening the coffin, Kau notices the body is still intact, even though it has been years since he died. Realising that it is a vampire, Kau orders it to be moved to his house for further study and to be subject to spells that will prevent it from awakening. Kau deduces that Yam’s father had died angry, and his last breath became stuck in his body for years, causing it to keep him “alive” and reducing it to a mindless state.
Once in the house, Choi and Sang cover the coffin with enchanted ink to keep the vampire from escaping. However, they forgot to cover the bottom of the coffin, and the vampire breaks out two nights later and escapes from the house.”
Thus it is left to Kau and co to try and stop the vampire before its rampage goes too far. It sounds like it’d be simple. Kau not only knows Tao principles inside and out, but he is also a martial arts master. It’s a Hong Kong action film after all. The film even starts with him and another priest pacifying some tame vampires through tricks and kicks. But they also have to deal with Inspector Wai (Billy Lau), an incompetent police inspector, and Jade (Wong Siu-Fung), a ghost with eyes for Chau-sang. As dopey as the former is, and spooky as the latter is, it’ll take some cunning to handle all 3. Plus sticky rice. Lots of sticky rice.
Chinese vampires also can’t sense you if you hold your breath. But you can’t do that forever.
Being steeped in traditional Chinese culture, traditions and superstitions, it sounds like it might be hard to follow if one isn’t familiar with them to begin with. But it isn’t really. That is not to say it doesn’t have its esoteric parts, like the exhuming rites for Yam’s father, and the nitty-gritty of the curse upon him. But it’s pretty straightforward if you take it at base level. Western vampires require blessed, Christian props to defeat them, like crucifixes, holy water, garlic, etc. This film acts as an introduction to the Taoist props used to beat Chinese vampires- special talismans, mirrors, the aforementioned sticky rice, etc. The film doesn’t go into exposition on why they work. It shows them in action through some elaborate stunt co-ordination. So there’s no need to scour the net for explanations afterwards.
But it isn’t just the martial arts and magical trappings that make it great. There is enough characterisation present that make it shine above any average kung-fu flick. Master Kau is generally on top of things when it comes to monsters, but dealing with Man-choi and Chau-sang often test his patience with their hijinks. Though they come in handy as foils when he’s confronted by one thing he cannot get to grips with; English Tea. It acts like a precursor to Goodness Gracious Me‘s ‘Going for an English’ sketch, as Kau and Man-choi try to get to grips with the etiquette behind English tea. Yet it doesn’t have that sketch’s racial role-reversal. It is more Kau trying to keep up with Mr Yam’s worldiness in an attempt to keep a rich client happy, with Man-choi’s naivety there to take attention away from any mistakes he may make.
Other comedy scenes aren’t quite as deep. Wong’s scenes as Inspector Wai are more slapsticky, where he often acts as the fall guy for the Kau-Choi-Chau trio. His attempts at imposing his authority are met with either verbal or physical put-downs, like being possessed through a talisman charm, or being used as bait to lure away a vampire. He does get to be a threat on occasion, though that’s usually when others don’t challenge his power.
The film’s more elaborate wordplay would be best picked up by Cantonese speakers, though some of it comes through in translation. Mr Yam’s daughter Ting-Ting (Moon Lee) doesn’t get much to do beyond being the straight woman unfortunately, yet her first meeting with Chau-sang at his aunt’s shop is perhaps her strongest scene. Chau’s aunt tells him a prostitute will be picking up some perfumes, and that he should be nice to her, and…well, it becomes a case of mistaken identity and purposes. Chau tries asking her about her ‘craft’, and she thinks he’s talking about her interest in beauty products. Once Choi comes in and reveals (a) who she is and (b) what ‘Yee-Hung Garden’ is…oh dear.
Ting-Ting ends up in an awkward situation with Chau-Sang.
The humour is of its time, yet it comes off pretty even. Chau doesn’t judge her when he thinks she’s a sex worker, but does get outraged when he mistakes certain phrases for sounding worse than they are. Though one part that does provide food for thought comes with the subplot between Chau and Jade the ghost. She tries the passive approach at first, hitching a ride on his bike in one of the film’s softer, sweeter scenes. But then she gets aggressive, using her powers to pretend to be in trouble to appeal to Chau’s sense of justice…and sense of trying to look good in front of a pretty lady.
Then she invites him into her ‘home’ and, while he’s trying to come with a polite way to think of getting a sweet reward for helping her out, she thinks a few steps ahead and gets to the point. Chau thinks he’s doing well…but also too well and tries to back out, until Jade conjures a storm to keep him in. She offers him a warm tea, which makes him more suggestible and she ensnares him in her charms. The film presents this as something romantic, but it does come off more like a encounter of dubious consent. I say dubious because he does go back, which leads to Kau following him to get to the bottom of the mystery behind Chau’s mysterious hickies. It suggests he accepted her, but…let’s just say I wouldn’t blame people who’d skip the film on hearing this. The fight scene between her and Kau is particularly elaborate, especially as she reveals her true form and the extent of her powers. But the rapey connotations are…yeah, fishy to say the least.
So why do I say it’s still the best film from Asia? Well, being serious, people who prefer romance and drama would be better suited by Wong Kar-Wai, etc. But aside from its action and comedy, its own drama do get tied up in tidy, sweet resolutions. Even the outcome between Chau and Jade reaches a climax as she tries to make amends, saving Chau’s life. It makes for a nice scene as Chau and Kau cast judgement on her. Kau says it’s up to Chau, yet he deftly gets his blade ready just in case.
The film doesn’t condone her actions, and she isn’t rewarded for them. Neither can she be trusted even after coming through for an honest cause. But she did come through. So the eventual conclusion makes for a bittersweet finale. The good/evil battle is left for Kau, Chau & Choi’s fight against the titular vampire, but he is a mute, animalistic menace. Jade is there for a more questionable antagonist, with shades-of-grey morality than just two undertakers corralling another monster. Her subplot makes for a more human, relatable piece of drama, despite the fantastical elements of it.
Jade on trial.
If anything, the resolution to that plotline overpowers that of the vampire itself. It has some great action, and even offers a vampire vs vampire showdown, as Mr Vampire is attacked by a horde of tame vampires controlled by Kau’s priest friend (Anthony Chan). But it feels more like the film calling time, like ‘okay, time to finish things off’. Especially as another subplot- Man-choi’s slow transformation into a vampire after a previous fight- gets quickly rectified before the fight occurs.
Nonetheless, I couldn’t complain about an action-packed, explosive finale to a film full of thrills and chills, be it through its scares, stunts or implications. It was enough to earn the film a brace of nominations at the 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture, Director and Action Choreography. Though ultimately it just won the one for Best Original Film Score. Many other vampire films followed in its wake, often named as sequels despite having little connection beyond having a vampire and having Lam Ching-Ying in it. 1986’s Mr Vampire II was actually called Vampire Family and was about a male, female and child vampire rising in modern day Hong Kong. While 1988’s Mr Vampire Saga was about Master Kau’s friend, billed only as ‘Four-Eyed Taoist’ (he wears glasses, you see) trying to get along with ‘Buddhist Yat-Yau’ (Wu Ma) as a vampire arrives to terrorise the town.
Perhaps the most interesting of the spin-offs was one directed by Lam himself- 1989’s Vampire Vs Vampire. Lam, Chin-Siu Ho and Billy Lau return as technically different characters, but act the same way as the ones from Mr Vampire, as they not only have to deal with a Chinese Vampire, but a Western one too. Reviews weren’t as glowing for its as its forebear, but it does offer viewers a sight of what it’d be like if a Van Helsing-type took on a Chinese type, or how the Taoist Priest’s own tricks fare against a Western one.
Thai poster for Vampire Vs Vampire (1989).
DVDs of the film aren’t hard to find, with CineAsia providing a release complete with a commentary from Bey Logan and an English Dub. Quality-wise, it’s fine, with minor changes (the green Chinese title card turned into a white English one, the credits appear over a medley of scenes instead of a freeze-frame, etc). It’s gotten trite now to complain about dubs, especially as they’ve improved substantially overt the years. But avoid the one on the DVDs. It tries to be Kung-Pow by sneaking in gags, but it just ends up being painfully unfunny. The acting is bottom-of-the-barrel too, so it wrecks the drama and the laughs.
As said, I wouldn’t blame anyone who skipped out once they read about its dodgier elements. But I do recommend they see it through to the end, see how it ties everything up, and how the action plays out. Why? Because it blends mysticism with humanism, martial arts with verbal sparring, and even roughness with tenderness. As far as most films go, it’s got everything a viewer could want.
Thinkin' Thinkin' 