Mr. Vampire II
Reviewed by YTSL
The idea and sight of blue-faced, vampire-fanged,
Ming dynasty costumed corpses that are so stiff that they have to hop --
rather than run or walk -- may already be weird enough for many people.
However, Hong Kong horror movie makers have thought to also introduce viewers
to an expert vampire buster who possesses eyebrows so lush that they connect
in the middle and become just one big bushy feature (on the face of Lam
Ching Ying, THE Taoist Priest [cinematic] incarnate). It makes some
kind of sense that such imaginative minds would eventually come up with
the idea of mixing together components and characters from "The Gods Must
Be Crazy" with vampires and others of this genre's traditional staples
to infamously produce "Crazy Safari". And then there's the sections
of this 1986 follow-up to the original "Mr. Vampire" that clearly were
"inspired" by some Hollywood movies, including "E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial"
(with the strange but cute creature being a (re)animated dead child rather
than a marooned alien space traveler...).
Yes, it's true. MR. VAMPIRE 2 has a Mrs.
and young Master as well as Mr.; and IMHO, it's the youngest of the vampiric
trio who steals the whole show! This is actually not that difficult
to do since the headliners, Lam Ching Ying (playing a herbalist who turns
out to also be a Taoist sifu) and Yuen Biao (whose role is that of a journalist
in love with Lam's daughter (played by Moon Lee) who effectively becomes
the vampire-fighting priest's helper), don't appear in this horror-comedy
until about the 35th minute (or maybe even later than that). Fans
of these actors should also bear in mind that this production really doesn't
present anyone -- but particularly the adults -- with many opportunities
to fight or dramatic emote. Consequently, like the rest of the cast,
who include Wu Ma and the actor who played Uncle Fishball in "Boys are
Easy", they generally just have to be content to clown around.
Set in the present day, MR. VAMPIRE 2 starts off
with elements borrowed from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" including a treasure-hunting
grave-robber (who really ought not to be honored with the title of "archeologist")
and his two bumbling assistants, and their encountering of creepy crawlies,
a snake and a skeleton in the kind of place whose peace it would be better
not to disturb. Story-wise, where it differs is in the three men's
also discovering three still fleshy corpses in there and carting them back
to the "Professor"'s lab to be cleaned before they get sold to the highest
bidder.
Suffice to say that MR. VAMPIRE 2 also markedly
contrasts in tone -- and (special effects and overall) budget -- from the
Steven Spielberg-George Lucas collaborative effort. This is no where
more apparent than in the scenes that take place after the child vampire
is accidentally "reactivated". Indeed, what consequently ensues could
be scarily described as a cutesy Hong Kong horror-comic version of "E.T.",
complete with: The escaped as well as undead kiddy taking refuge
in a garden shed; then getting discovered, befriended, and given a name
-- here, it's "O.K. Chai/Boy"! -- along with temporary protection by a
human child (in this case, a chubby girl, who has a pudgy elder brother
and similar shaped gang)...
At a certain point though, notably with the extended
"sedative" segment in which hopping corpses attack and humans defend and
counter-attack in excruciatingly slow motion, MR. VAMPIRE 2 vaults into
the "only in Hong Kong movies" realm in which: Vampires cause a traffic
jam and then hop from car roof to car roof; before going off in search
of their lost child, whose cries they are able to psychically hear from
a distance (Hey, they can do so many other things. Why not this as
well?!). Then there is the inclusion of such as expressed concerns
about catching AIDs along with ensuring that certain individuals will get
to successfully reincarnate.
All of which makes for one certifiably weird movie.
Re whether it's appealing: Well, I liked -- but didn't love -- it;
not least because it is one of those works which is so outlandishly "one
of a kind" (even while definitely part of a specific genre). However,
I can see why MR. VAMPIRE 2 would be charmless to many Hong Kong movie
fans, notably those who have a low tolerance for Hong Kong movie children
and the kind of shenanigans that really can make "the Police Academy films
look like high art" (in the words of IS of Joseph Fierro's sadly (temporarily)
disabled site)!
My rating for the film: 6