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Review: Mr Vampire (1985)

Mr Vampire ricky

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.

Mr Vampire nuts

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.

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About The Author

Monkey Fist’s fascination with film began in the late ‘70s when he was first introduced to B-classics such as 'The Car', 'Konga' and 'The Incredible Melting Man'. Life might have been very different if he had heeded his mom’s advice to read Enid Blyton novels instead. Seriously, he’s just glad he didn’t! Instead, a lot of time was spent checking out the latest flicks in local theaters or getting updates from the 'Movie News' mag. It wasn’t long before he delved into Japanese anime and Tokusatsu gems like Voltron, Gatchaman and Kamen Rider. Today, he continues exploring and collecting classics from the reel world!

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