NEW MR. VAMPIRE might be an official knock-off of the popular Hong Kong comedy horror yarn MR. VAMPIRE, but it's still a great deal of fun. This low budget outing is very similar in scope and tone to the original film, although being a typical Hong Kong production of the 1980s it has a vibrancy and energy all of its own.
The film starts the hard-working Fat Chung as a typical Taoist priest who's encountering problems with the living dead. His problems are confounded by a murderous local army general, two bumbling apprentices, one of whom manages to put himself under a curse, and his evil wizard brother who is intent on destroying him. As you can imagine with all of those plot ingredients, this is a fast-paced and action-packed story that never flags. Supporting stars include Wu Ma and the great Po Tai in a bigger role than usual as the chief of police.
Some reviewers on here have complained about the flagging midsection of the movie, which focuses on slapstick comedy involving the zombie girl who copies everything that the apprentice does. I loved this segment and thought that the slapstick jokes were hilarious; they perfectly tap into the Chinese love of knockabout comedy and the humour is always funny even when low brow. The main vampire action is saved for the climax and is great fun too. NEW MR. VAMPIRE doesn't have the kind of electric fight choreography found in the best offerings of the genre but it's still a delightfully ghoulish production - and funny to boot.
