Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Silly brilliance from start to finish, 15 Feb 2003
Mr Vampire is in my opinion one of the best films ever to come out of Hong Kong with the film spawning a whole series of 'hopping-vampire' movies. Although it may be a slight disappointment for fight and horror fans alike that isn't what Mr Vampire is about. From the opening sequence in the mortuary you can tell it's going to be farcial slapstick affair, and that's exactly what's delivered, with our undertaking heroes being played by Lam Ching Ying, Ricky Hui and Chin Siu Ho with such energy and enjoyment you can't help but become engrosed in the series of farcial situations the hapless trio get themselves into and out of while trying to outwit their worryingly inept bloodsucking foe, from Man Choi's(Hui) constant dancing (to avoid turning into a vampire), to Malcolm's(Ho) love affair with a ghost with a detachable head, to the mysterious jail-house branding I can honestly say every scene in the movies brings tears to my eyes. Since discovering this movie I've been forcing friends and family to watch, even those who dislike Hong Kong cinema and subtitled films, and I have yet to find anybody who hasn't succumed to the relentless charm and fun that Mr Vampire exudes. This particular verison of the films has been lovingly restored by the Hong Kong Legends label and therefore doesn't suffer from the poor picture quality and 'comedy-broken-english-subtitling' you may get for other distributors.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A True Classic of Hong Kong cinema, 17 Jun 2002
By A Customer
This film spawned hundreds of imitators, but this, the original finaly makes it on to DVD in all its remastered glory. This is just one of those films thats so entertaining.. full of comedy, horror, action, and just weirdness. This film has hopping chinese vampires (who cant see you when you hold your breath), Taoist Wizards, Female ghosts who seduce young men late at night.. put it this way, its very different from most western films! A highly entertaining film. Its also an excelent DVD, lots of extra's and interviews & very slickly produced. Well done again Hong Kong Legends for an excellent release.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sticky rice, 22 Jul 2006
"Mr. Vampire" is a movie for people tired of angsty, gorgeous vampires with thick Transylvanian accents.
Instead, this hilarious supernatural comedy has a different kind of vampire -- the superstrong, zombielike "hopping vampire." And dealing with the hopping vampires are a long-suffering Taoist priest and his bumbling assistants, who add all sorts of wacky twists.
Master Gau (Ching-Ying Lam) agrees to help the wealthy Yam family move their patriarch's body -- until he sees the undecayed body. Turns out Grandpa is a vampire. And after his bumbling assistants fail to properly restrain the vampire, it gets loose, kills its son, and now the vampire hunters are facing TWO vampires instead of one.
To make matters worse, Man Choi (Ricky Hui) has been infected with vampire toxin, which will turn him into a vampire if they can't cure him with sticky rice, and Chou (Siu-hou Chin) is being seduced at night by a ghost. Master Gau must cure one, save the other, and somehow destroy a superpowerful vampire that invades the Yam household.
"Mr. Vampire" was such a success in China that it started a whole trend of "hopping vampire" movies. But as with most trends, the original is still the best and more entertaining example. And it incorporates traditional vampires and succubi from China, as well as little-known mythical trivia (such as sticky rice being the "garlic" for a Chinese vampire).
Expect lots of Peter Jacksonish twisted humor (Man Choi having his fangs filed down) alongside the more typical kind (Chou and Man Choi cast a spell to make their romantic rival strip in public). But when the vampires show up, there are plenty of wild, undignified action scenes. And lots of property damage -- they break every piece of furniture they come across.
The late Ching-Ying Lam became a star thanks to this movie, and his staid, unibrowed priest is a likable guy when you consider everything he has to deal with. Hui and Chin are hysterical as a pair of earnest but hormonal guys. They're kind of an annoyance when Gau isn't actually fighting vampires, but perhaps they're good for doing errands.
(Fortunately they also cleaned up the subtitling on this movie. The original subtitling was comically bad, but the new ones are are very well done)
"Mr Vampire" is one of China's better supernatural comedies, with weird vampires and lots of sticky rice. Hysterical and warped.
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