RIGOR MORTIS (僵尸) DVD (2013)

SYNOPSIS: In this eerie and chilling, contemporary, action/special effects laden homage to the classic Chinese vampire movies of the 1980’s, writer-director-producer, Juno Mak makes his feature directorial debut. Reuniting some of the original cast members of the classic Mr. Vampire series, the film is set in a creepy and moody Hong Kong public housing tower whose occupants we soon discover, run the gamut from the living to the dead, to the undead, along with ghosts, vampires and zombies.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Some called it a reinvention while others slammed it as pretentious. Singer/actor turned feature director Juno Mak’s Rigor Mortis is a mixed bag but you can’t deny Mak’s directorial debut is surprisingly more engaging than the rest of the stuff he has dabbled in.

A tribute to the vampire-hopping genre with a J-horror twist, the protagonist in Rigor Mortis happens to be a washed-up actor played by Chin Siu-Ho. Of course, Chin is one of the leading actors in the first Mr Vampire before he went off the radar. Anyway the actor with the intention of taking his own life shifted into an eerie block of apartment that is occupied with many colorful characters and macabre events.

There is a hawker cum Taoist priest played by Anthony Chan, his assistant Billy Lau. Another priest, Chung Fat who specialized in black magic. A crazy mother Kara Hui and her albino son roaming around the block looking for food. An old loving couple, Paw Hee Ching and Richard Ng and lastly a kind-hearted security guard Loi Hoi Pang. Not to mention, a haunted unit that is occupied by the ghosts of two twin sisters.

Mak stuffed his movie with a whole lot of familiar veterans from the 80’s, 90’s especially Chan, Lau, Ng and Fat who has appeared with Chin in a series of Vampire movies in the past. Nostalgic works even though the horror on the whole remains questionable. With the aid of cinematographer Ng Kai Ming and some touch up from visual effects, the mood captured is often unsettling, creepy and depressing. This factor alone is worth the admission ticket or in this case, the price of the DVD.

The credited script by Mak, Philip Yung and Jill Leung while devoiding of any humour has a lot of heart to it. The relationship between the old couple stood out as the best and probably a statement to remind the young not to forget this group of people who are still very much alive in today’s society. On the flip side, the character of Chin is not given an indepth look except for a couple of brief flashbacks and a series of dialogues exchanges between characters is too self-seriousness to be absorbed.

Discarding Sammo Hung’s style of outrageous kungfu stunts, Rigor Mortis is content in providing a digitally enhanced vampire, some simple fisticuffs, hell lot of gore and two long hair spirits probably a nod to producer Takashi Shimizhu. And seriously, someone should put a stop to all those annoying slow-motion crap as well.

The biggest problem however turned out to be the ending. Put it this way, one that won’t be appreciated by the masses. Rigor Mortis is impressive especially when it comes to the cast performances and the technicalities. Story wise, it contains all the spot on elements to tell a gratifying new age horror tale instead Mak chooses a few wrong artsy choices which diminishes the magic. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The dark, brooding mood is captured beautifully on DVD and the dual Cantonese and mandarin track makes it a worthwhile listening experience.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee