Hong Kong popstar-turned-actor Juno Mak continues to defy expectations with his directorial debut, a sombre and eerie eulogy to the hopping vampires of the 1980s that trades the sub-genre's signature laughs for world-weary melancholy from a fine cast of screen veterans.
After the
surprise success of Wong Ching Po's Revenge A Love Story, lead actor Juno Mak,
who also conceived of the bleak thriller's premise, felt sufficiently empowered
to step behind the camera and helm a feature film of his own. Inspired by the
traditional Chinese vampire films of his youth, most notably Ricky Lau's Mr.
Vampire (1985), Mak set out to resurrect and ultimately lay to rest that
particular sub-genre of Hong Kong horror.
Set in a
shadowy, otherworldly apartment complex, populated by a disparate assortment of
elderly loners and creepy kids, washed-up actor Chin (Mr. Vampire's Chin Siu Ho
essentially playing himself) moves into a vacant unit, with the sole intention
of ending his miserable life. But Chin's presence is immediately noted by the
other tenants, most obviously perturbed housewife Feng (Kara Hui Ying Hung) and
the building's caretaker, Uncle Yin (Lo Hoi Pang). Supernatural forces are at
work in the building, and Chin's apartment in particular, and when his wizened
neighbour, Yau (Anthony Chan Yau) intervenes and prevents his suicide, Chin
discovers his real problems have only just begun.
Fans of Hong
Kong Cinema's proud heritage of vampire films, filled with energetic kung fu
and knockabout comedy, will struggle at first to see a similarity in Mak's
proposed homage. Rigor Mortis is bleak, moody and contemplative, building a
progressively unsettling atmosphere while exploring the dark backstories of its
world weary characters and haunted environs. The film has a gorgeous aesthetic
(shot by Ng Kai Ming and edited by David Richardson) that is both seductively
dreamlike and quietly nightmarish, which helps build towards the action and
scares to come.
Far and away
the biggest trump card in Rigor Mortis' deck is its spectacular cast of Hong
Kong veterans. Rather than follow the lead of his recent acting projects, which
saw Mak share screen time with some of the region's hippest young talents, he
has assembled the last survivors of that bygone vampire genre, together with
some of the finest character actors working today.
Chan Yau
appeared alongside Chin Siu Ho in the original Mr. Vampire, and officially
retired from filmmaking in the mid-1990s. Here he is the soul of the entire
film, a taoist-style exorcist who comes to Chin's aid after he is unwittingly
possessed by the malevolent demons that haunt his new home. While the audience
is brought into this film by Chin, who is gifted a rare starring role, it is
Chan who takes our hand and leads us through the complex and largely unfamiliar
world of ritual and superstition that is required reading before tackling
Chinese hopping vampires. Chan gives an unshowy, but captivating performance
that is sure to lead to plaudits and hopefully an extended return to the
industry.
Kara Hui (Wu
Xia, My Young Auntie) gives predictably strong support as a deeply troubled
mother who now wanders the corridors of the complex with her young, white
haired son. However, nearly stealing the show is Nina Paw Hee Chung (The Way We
Are) as a recently widowed resident who goes to extraordinary lengths to bring
her husband (Richard Ng Yiu Hon) back from the dead. To do this she enlists the
help of the mysterious Uncle Gau (Chung Fat, another former thesp brought out
of retirement), who also dabbles in the dark arts.
While
audiences familiar with more Western vampire legends may be somewhat lost by
the specifically Chinese mythology in Rigor Mortis, Mak is as inspired to
educate his audience as he is to entertain them, and before long Yau and Gau
are casting spells, repelling long-haired demons, and dispensing amulets
throughout the building as they do battle with all manner of supernatural
entities.
Renowned
Japanese horror director Shimizu Takashi (Ju-On, The Grudge) is on board as a
producer, and his influence is certainly felt during many of the film's more
overtly ghostly moments, and Mak has credited Shimizu with influencing much of
the film's sinister aural landscape.
The result
is a film that will no doubt surprise many viewers, both in its maturity, technical
competence and host of uniformly excellent performances. Mak has refused to go
easy on himself with his latest artistic endeavor, venturing even further into
the moody darkness that his earlier work, Revenge: A Love Story, suggested,
while also embracing CGI and local horror iconography. Rigor Mortis is a
slowburn by typical vampire movies standards, and never attempts to resurrect
the humour of Mr. Vampire and its contemporaries, but proves a brave, confident
and assured debut from a new independent voice in Hong Kong Cinema.