Mr. Vampire (1985)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

I first saw this movie, Mr. Vampire, when I was about five or six years old. At that time, it was one of those ghost movies I tried to stay away from. I remembered that the first scene of the Vampire seen in his coffin after it was exhumed and another scene where his long, thin, sharp-nailed fingers stick out of the coffin frightened me a lot. Now, this movie is pretty tamed. However, seeing this movie when I am older reminds me that this film is a piece of cinema classic and brilliance.A solid plot about a Taoist Priest and his two disciples, trying to save the village from an old chief or officer who was resurrected into a hopping vampire. Adding to the suspense, one of the disciples gets injured and turns into a vampire himself while the other is seduced by a female ghost. All these plot elements flow smoothly and compliment each other well, making this an entertaining and intriguing feature. Ricky Gau did a great job directing and did not drag on the plot with pointless fillers, which are evident in many films made in Hong Kong.Actor Lam Ching Ying, formerly a member of actor Sammo Hung's stunt team, plays Master Gau, the powerful Taoist Priest ("Vampire Buster"), which would become Lam's signature role. He would reprise this "Vampire Buster" role in many vampire, ghost and fantasy movies that follow.Lam is joined by movie veterans Ricky Hui and Chin Siu-Ho, who play his hilarious disciples. The ghost is portrayed by Pauline Wang, who would go on to typecast this role in many other fantasy films featuring a restless ghost. Set in ancient China, the village and countryside sceneries are colorful and magnificent, alongside the cast members' beautiful costumes. Rounding up the great elements of this film is a wonderfully eerie and orchestral music score by Anders Nelsson.I believe Mr. Vampire is the ultimate and original film of the vampire/ghost film genre, preceding movies that represent what I think are some of the best work of Hong Kong Cinema.Grade A

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/

"Mr. Vampire" is bar none one of the most imaginative, entertaining, and creative stories ever committed to film. In this movie, Master Gau (Ching-Ying Lam), and his two bumbling students, Chou (Siu-hou Chin) and Man (Ricky Hui), deal with the awakened corpse of a man whose body has been buried inauspiciously. The hopping ghost goes on rampage through the town, killing several innocent bystanders. Add to this mix a bumbling cop who, under pressure to apprehend this heinous murderer, decides that one suspect is as good as another and arrests Master Gau. Throw in a ghostly romance and a zombie-on-zombie mêlée and you have one of the East's cinematic masterpieces.Aside from the truly awe inspiring wire work, gymnastics, acrobatics, and martial arts displays, Mr. Vampire also gives us characters whose company we truly enjoy. In another refreshing turn, verbal wit plays as much a role in the humor of this movie as the Buster Keatonesque slapstick.Buy it, rent it, do whatever you have to in order to see this. One viewing will hardly be enough.One hundred out of ten - quite possibly one of the best of its genre and no doubt one of the best ever.

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.