Pretty Good

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Hong Kong movies from these days were always all somewhat clumsy and cheap looking, even the very best ones. It prevents me from ever calling an Hong Kong movie a true classic but they surely knew how to bring some entertaining movies to the silver screen.This is a quite ridicules movie really, that combines horror, with comedy and kung fu action. The blend of it all works out rather successfully, making "Geung si sin sang" simply a fun movie to watch. Simplistic but fun.In a way you can describe this movie as being rather lame, with its over-the-top performances, comical moments and action sequences. But with this the movie knows to create a great style that helps to make this movie such an entertaining one to watch.What stood out to me was the movie its action. It has some greatly choreographed moments in it, that are spectacular looking but above all also adds to the movie its comedy. It's kind of like a Jackie Chan movie in that regard.It's also a rather well looking movie, with some nice make up, costumes and settings. It isn't really a cheap looking movie, which means that the film-makers did a good job with their budget, which no doubt, wasn't very large.It's a fun and at times spectacular movie to watch but also not really more than that really. It's simply good for what it is though.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I guess the best way to describe Mr Vampire is any traditional HK martial arts film mixed with Evil Dead II. I mean, amongst the excellent kung fu that you would expect from HK, there is quite a lot of slapstick and other supernatural shenanigans.The plot is based around a mortuary owner and his two young employees (one who looks like he's 40 odd), and their fight against the strange hopping vampires that appear after a body is dug up. They also throw in a sub-plot involving one of the young lads being haunted sexually by a lady ghost. True, it doesn't make sense, but who the hell cares, it's entertaining! While a lot of what happens is based around mythology in regards to how to beat vampires, some things still are very strange. The already mentioned hopping vampires is one, but eccentric spells like chicken blood (extracted ungraphically on screen) mixed with sticky rice and a snake's gall bladder (extracted graphically on screen) are just flat out oddball.The kung fu is of a high standard, while not of Yuen Clan insanity, it is still exciting, with bodies flying everywhere and stuff being smashed. One problem I did have was the somewhat slow start, but it isn't excruciatingly slow paced, so it's no big deal.I really enjoyed Mr Vampire, and so should other martial art fans. Apparently, there is another 3 or 4 Mr Vampires around that I'll have to chase up.7/10

This first and best film in a famous series is a great introduction to the off-center world of Asian horror films. Forget everything you learned from Hammer House of Horror, because HK horror is a different game. Wacky slapstick combines with genuinely tense moments amongst hopping vampires (that's right HOPPING vampires) and seductive ghost girls as the One-Eyebrow Priest and his incompetent assistants try to rid a town in period China of a large number of unusually pesky undead. The assistants struggle to execute complex traditional rituals to banish the lesser ghouls, while the priest makes preparations for a flying chop socky showdown with the dangerous vampiric leader. This is fun and action packed entertainment, although a bit violent for younger viewers.The DVD I watched allows the film to be watched in an English dubbed version or the more authentic original version in Cantonese with English subtitles. I recommend the latter.

This is a very original film concerning a Daoist/Taoist priest, or "One-Eyebrow Priest", (Lam Ching-Ying) and his involvement with what begins as a murder mystery. We follow this character and his comedic assistants as they go up against supernatural forces, including ghosts and vampires. The mix of action and plot is excellent, and a lot of devices used in this film have been borrowed in Hollywood I believe. The acrobatic stunts and Lam Ching-Ying's Kung-Fu are great - watching the vampire (Yuen Wah) receive this punishment is really entertaining stuff.The vampire of the title is mischievous and brutal. He is represented as an unstoppable force and superhuman in power. So, do not expect a Western-style vampire. The Chinese vampire is quite different and much more interesting to watch; they are actually inhuman. No sensitive-new-age-god-i'm-so-tortured-Gothic Tom Cruise types here. Rather, he is a tortured soul, intent on causing death with either his long, sharp fingernails or overflowing mouthful of teeth. He doesn't fly, he is not a bat, and his limbs are inflexible and stiff. (The literal translation of the title is "Mr. Stiff Corpse"!) There are loads of highlights, (the scene involving the vampires lair and the rodents around him is genuinely gruesome), and the supporting cast is great, especially Ricky Hui, Pauline Wong and Moon Lee. Siu-hou Chin is a great assistant to the priest, and is the more cocky and acrobatic character. His stunts are fluid and performed with the signature HK matter-of-fact style. But, modern audiences may find the humour too broad, (slapstick is out of style right?), and some of the clever wordplay is surely lost.