Mr. Vampire is quite possibly the seminal entry in HK’s famous horror-comedy genre. The late Lam Ching-Ying is Kou, a ghostbusting Taoist priest who’s under duress when a variety of supernatural shtick occurs. He’s assigned to tend to the reburial of a long-deceased fellow (Yuen Wah), but the guy was buried in a place with bad Feng Shui. He comes back as a hopping terror who first takes out his own son and then eyes the pretty neck of his granddaughter (Moon Lee). Kou charges in to save the day, but must contend with the infection of his student (Ricky Hui), who was wounded by the vampire. Kou’s other student (Chin Siu-Ho) helps, but he becomes haunted by a female ghost (Pauline Wong). Kou must exorcise her while tending to the encroaching danger of the vampires. All this and a cameo by Anthony Chan as another Taoist priest who brings with him an army of vampires. Credit should go to director Ricky Lau, who manages to balance the film’s elements well. The first 1/2 hour is relatively slow, but the film picks up after that when the shtick takes a rest and the main vampire rears its ugly head. This is a fun movie that showcases Lam Ching-Ying at his best. (Kozo 1998)

image courtesy of Fortune Star