Staff Picks: Favorite Horror Films – Patrick Pryor on Mr. VAMPIRE

Like many films near and dear to my heart, Mr. Vampire pulls out all the stops to send audiences howling and hooting into a fist pumping frenzy.  This horror movie has everything:  high flying kung fu battles, lecherous lady-ghosts, slapstick comedy, black magic rituals, Cantonese pop music, a period setting chock full of billowing robes and frilly dresses, and a rotting, rasping, hopping vampire archnemesis.   This film crawls, oozes, and groans to please, and it succeeds wildly with its gleeful mishmash of popular genres.   Jump kicks and dizzying back-flips segue into pants ripping hijinks and boil bursting scares.  The plot of Mr. Vampire, which concerns a Taoist priest and his assistants battling an ancient vampire, keeps butts teetering on the edge of seats, but still finds time to slip in inspired flourishes of supernatural lunacy.  One of my favorite scenes involves a showdown between the priest and a lecherous lady ghost.  Her head detaches, grows spikes, and flies at the priest.  But he delves into his Taoist bag of tricks, including magic basil leaves and a glowing dagger, and tears the ghost a new one.  I even prefer to listen to the English dub.  It sounds like it was recorded by a pizza delivery guy from Compton, complete with  “whoas” and botched Chinese pronunciations.  However, the dub, like the film itself, captures and crystallizes a pure sense of fun.

In China, Mr. Vampire became so popular that it spawned a slew of sequels starring its Taoist priest lead, Lam Ching-Ying.  Vampire vs. Vampire, Crazy Safari, Exorcist Master, Magic Cop, and many more all feature Ying going toe to toe with life sucking, hopping vampires in a variety of time periods and locales.  Back when I stomped around New York City, vendors in Chinatown even hawked li’l jianshi dolls.   Part of what draws me to the Mr. Vampire series, and many supernatural kung-fu films in general, are the different “rules” the vampires follow.  Instead of a seductive blood-sucker, the jiangshi in Mr. Vampire hop around, look festering and lifeless, and suck your soul through your breath.  Mr. Vampire III even introduces a kid jiangshi hero, further endearing the pallid life suckers to our hearts .

Each time I watch Mr. Vampire, I can’t help but smile.  It’s a comfort movie of the highest order — a film I like to play after a brutal day or when I want to clear my  head.  I became so enamored with Mr. Vampire , in fact, that I decided to dress up as the Taoist priest for Halloween.  I even grew out a mustache (not a flattering look for myself) and searched for a Yin Yang robe to mirror the almighty Sifu.  That’s dedication.

The more I think about it, the more Mr. Vampire rises in stock as one of my favorite films.  You can keep your glossy horror yarns about ax murderers, creepy kids, and digital faces flying at the screen.  Mr. Vampire is the real deal that wears its heart on its sleeve. Anyone yawning, watch-checking, or chronically falling down during this barn burner of a film must be as lifeless as the jianshi.  Pity them, and rent this now.