Mr. Vampire

This film has to be one of the most entertaining of all time. There are great fight sequences and a great story and acting. The best part would have to be comedy. I've never laughed so much watching any film. Watch for the scene with the dead uncle and the perverted police officer. It is for me, the funniest scene ever filmed.

"Mr. Vampire" is bar none one of the most imaginative, entertaining, and creative stories ever committed to film. In this movie, Master Gau (Ching-Ying Lam), and his two bumbling students, Chou (Siu-hou Chin) and Man (Ricky Hui), deal with the awakened corpse of a man whose body has been buried inauspiciously. The hopping ghost goes on rampage through the town, killing several innocent bystanders. Add to this mix a bumbling cop who, under pressure to apprehend this heinous murderer, decides that one suspect is as good as another and arrests Master Gau. Throw in a ghostly romance and a zombie-on-zombie mêlée and you have one of the East's cinematic masterpieces.

Aside from the truly awe inspiring wire work, gymnastics, acrobatics, and martial arts displays, Mr. Vampire also gives us characters whose company we truly enjoy. In another refreshing turn, verbal wit plays as much a role in the humor of this movie as the Buster Keatonesque slapstick.

Buy it, rent it, do whatever you have to in order to see this. One viewing will hardly be enough.

One hundred out of ten - quite possibly one of the best of its genre and no doubt one of the best ever.

Personally, I think that everyone should see Mr. Vampire, if only so that they can claim to have seen a kung fu zombie comedy. But, in my opinion, this is almost more of a Chinese Ghostbusters with some kung fu sprinkled in than a kung fu movie, which was somewhat of a disappointment for me. The story is fun, fresh and full of more than just zombies (although I won't reveal any surprises). The action, when it occurs is fully justified, which is something I always like to see, and is choreographed quite well by Lam Ching-ying. The comedy is somewhat hit or miss, but it didn't bother me very much. I had a lot of fun but I came away wanting more action.

If you feel the same way, try Encounters of a Spooky Kind, which has all the zombies you love, but with more kung fu.

I do not lie.

This movie is perfect on every count. Its funny, clever, action packed, great musical score, thrilling, scary. You name it, its got it.

Everyone should see this movie. Lam Ching Ying is perfect (as usual) so go watch it now!

This is a perfect example of how DVD removes barriers prohibiting wonderful movies, such as Mr. Vampire, from entering my living room. My viewing was enhanced because a friend from Singapore provided added commentary. Believe me, if you enjoy a good laugh, a little slap stick, a completely different view of the undead (vampires) and ghosts, well choreographed kung fu fight scenes and an overall fun movie, you won't need a friend from Singapore.

I hope the mention of slap stick doesn't misled, as the balance is perfect between comedy and seriousness throughout the 94 minutes of this movie. There are movies I've enjoyed watching once....this will be a repeater, many times over.