Review by Monkey Fist
SCUM Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Hong Kong has a slew of horror-comedy films back in the ‘80s but Mr Vampire remains the most memorable. The late Lam Ching-Ying stars as Kou, a ghostbusting Taoist priest assigned to tend to the reburial of a long-deceased fellow (Yuen Wah) who’s buried in a place with bad Feng Shui. Unfortunately the fellow comes back as a hopping terror who first takes out his own son and then eyes his beautiful granddaughter (Moon Lee). Kou intervenes to save the day, but must contend with the infection of his student (the late Ricky Hui), who was wounded by the vampire. Kou’s other student (Chin Siu-Ho) helps, but he becomes haunted by a female ghost (Pauline Wong). Kou must exorcise her while tending to the encroaching danger of the vampires. Anthony Chan also makes a cameo appearance as another Taoist priest who brings with him an army of vampires.
Ricky Lau (film director) did a pretty good job balancing the film’s elements. The first 30 minutes is relatively slow, but the film picks up thereafter with the main vampire rearing its ugly head. In summary, this is a fun movie that showcases Lam Ching-Ying at his best.