Shi yao

CORPSE MANIA (1981, original title Shi yao) is a rare Asian attempt at a giallo, although it starts off as something entirely else. It was made by Shaw Brothers, the Hong Kong studio best known for their kung fu epics, although they knocked out a fair few atmospheric and very grisly horrors in the early 1980s and this is certainly one of them. It starts off with a true crime feel, as a husband's love for his wife carries on after her death...Grisly stuff for sure, a mix of queasy necrophile love scenes and copious maggotry, so only strong stomachs need apply here.

Thankfully things soon take a different turn, with a killer wielding a massive knife and wearing a blue gown, black hat, sunglasses and white scarf works his way through folk associated with a busy brothel. BLOOD & BLACK LACE seems a key inspiration here, but the film has an atmosphere all of its own, and the murders are grisly enough to satisfy ardent horror lovers. Not one of Shaw's best horrors, but watchable all the same if you like seeing the inspirations.

Corpse Mania is one of those titles that makes me immediately think of those insane, bug-infested, gross-out, black magic movies that proliferated in Hong Kong during the early 80s; but although this film does have its fair share of creepy-crawlies, what the movie most closely resembles seems far less likely—a giallo!

Just like those Italian murder mysteries, Corpse Mania features stylish cinematography that makes maximum use of vivid colours and strong lighting, a mysterious killer who keep his face well hidden (in this case wearing a scarf, dark glasses and a hat to disguise himself), red herrings aplenty, several bloody death scenes, and a silly ending in which the killer's true identity is finally revealed (along with the reason why they're making such a mess in the first place). As is common with this kind of fare, not everything makes perfect sense (particularly so with my version, in which the English subtitles were partially obscured), and sometimes the going is tough during the less lurid moments, but the film's creative visuals and a general willingness to offend make it reasonably entertaining nonsense nonetheless.

During the course of his film, director Chih-Hung Kuei presents his viewers with not one, but two scenes of necrophilia (this is where we are treated to some delightful shots of completely naked dead women smothered in writhing maggots), a pretty cool decapitation, several gory knife attacks, and a body falling from a height and going splat on impact with the ground; there is also a well orchestrated moment of tension which sees a woman struggling to raise the alarm as she is gradually pulled beneath her bed, some inexplicably surreal behaviour from the necrophiliac, who rubs a corpse with a big furry glove before eventually getting jiggy with it, and this being a Shaw Brothers production, we even get a smattering of kung fu action.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

Following the discovery of a dead body, a police inspector realizes the similarities to a case from a neighboring village and travels there to conduct his investigation where he falls into the plot of a vicious killer conducting a killing spree against a local whorehouse and must stop it.

Overall, this one has plenty to recommend about it. The movie's at its best when dealing with the abundant and grimy sleaze packed into it. The very nature of a killer running around defiling bodies and committing necrophilic acts on those bodies is quite unsettling from the very start, and doing as many detailed shots of the body's being examined while absolutely crawling with maggots and worms is absolutely revolting. That the girls are nude in this manner while covered in such a nausea-inducing state makes for a queasy experience which is suitably matched by the scenes caressing the naked bodies in the morgue in an almost orgasmic manner to really get an uneasy feeling about the material present. The extended close-ups and panning shots along the body showing the insects crawling out of the orifices or simply congealed on the various points present with the rotting, desiccated skin underneath creates even more disgust and grime within here, and helps to provide the appropriately dirty air throughout with the revolting concept being equaled by their realistic execution. Another suitably strong aspect here is the melding of the grimy atmosphere with the storyline. The inclusion of elements from the giallo and krimi genres, especially the policeman's dominance of the first half conducting an investigation into the crimes and setting the events around a whorehouse playing major roles in the film. From the first attack on the security guard on patrol to the excellent ambush inside a car outside the whorehouse and then the big dual attack at the chicken farm nearby that offers two different attacks inside, there's plenty of strong action scenes throughout here. With the finale taking place in the upper realms of the whorehouse with a fun attack and chase scene giving this one lot of great gore and fun at the ending, these manage to hold it up rather nicely. There are a few minor issues with this one. The biggest problem to be had is the rather flat and sedate pacing that runs throughout the first half, as the scenes not focusing on his investigation tend to be quite bland with the focus on the whorehouse and their inner workings, which aren't in the least bit interesting. Watching how they entertain guests, the behind-the-scenes struggles trying to keep the sickly performer healthy and the various bits of comic relief trying to get inside the building don't have much of any interest as it drops the necrophile angle in favor of these investigations singling out the individual we all know is the killer. That aspect also manages to hold the later half back since the main focus here turns away from these aspects to turn to the slasher scenes and investigations. With the revelations and double-crosses in this section emerging into far more convoluted scenarios than necessary, this half of the film is a lot more underwhelming than it really should be.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Full Nudity and explicit themes of necrophilia.

Corpse Mania was produced by The Shaw Brothers whose horror movies were always outrageous, maggot-ridden fun. This movie owes a lot to giallo, but remains singular with its grotesque horror and romantic leanings to create a simultaneously gloomy and mesmerizing atmosphere. It is a crime horror story dealing with a serial killer in the background of a red-light district. The movie simply delivers exactly on the points to be expected, watch out for the ritualistic corpse washing scene. One of the fine points of Corpse Mania is that it manages these shifts in tone-from a mostly comic (if repulsive) first half to a downright bleak ending. Somehow, they make it all fit together, in a stew only a Category III Hong Kong film can bring you. The first half is rather meandering, and the characterization is basically non-existent. However, this is still good for a lazy Sunday afternoon and if you get a kick out of twisted humour, this is well worth a watch.

No pun intended - Shaw Brothers are best known for their martial arts movies - but they did try to reach out and make movies with different themes ... with directors that were trying to do different genres ... and we have one here. Now the movie did not age greatly in quite a few aspects.

One of them being women and how they are treated ... or random quite offensive male character - with sexual preferences that are not consensual ... just saying. On the other hand there are quite a few interesting cases of special effects ... you still get to see "dummys". Better that way than having a stunt person being hurt .... especially considering the impact of the stunt(s) ... again no pun intended. Not a lot of nudity (some disgusting scenes though, so be mindful of that) ... but quite a bit of action ... and a lot of red herrings (plot stuff that messes with the viewer) and may make him see things ... that he/she did not want to see anything.