Mr Vampire, aka Geungsi Sinsang (simplified Chinese: 僵尸先生; traditional Chinese: 殭屍先生; pinyin: Jiāng Shī Xiān Sheng) is a 1985 Hong Kong horror-action film directed and written by Ricky Lau.
The film's success led to the creation of a Mr. Vampire franchise, with four sequels directed by Ricky Lau from 1986 to 1990 and a New Mr. Vampire trilogy directed by Billy Chan and Leung Chung from 1987 to 1992.
Synopsis
Priest Kau (Lam Ching Ying) is engaged to perform a reburial for a deceased rich man. Together with his inept disciples Man Choi (Ricky Hui) and Tsau Tsang (Chin Siu Ho), Kau discovers that the corpse is still almost intact and looks alive. They attempt to prevent the corpse from rising but they fail and the corpse becomes a Jiang Shi (Chinese "hopping" vampire).
The vampire runs amok and kills many people. Kau leads his disciples on a brave attempt to destroy the vampire. Man Choi is attacked by the vampire once and almost turns into one after being infected by the vampire's disease. Meanwhile, Tsau Tsang is seduced by a female ghost and his soul is almost taken away. Kau has a hard time dealing with his disciples' problems and putting an end to the vampire's rampage.
Cast
Release
Highly successful at the time, both at home and as a cult film favorite with overseas enthusiasts of Hong Kong cinema, Mr. Vampire spawned four sequels, inspired numerous parodies and homage films, and launched the late Lam Ching Ying's character of the "One-Eyebrow Priest", the unibrowed Taoist exorcist he would portray not only in the Mr. Vampire sequels but in many other, not necessarily related, films.
Awards
At the 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards, Melody Bank won an award for Best Original Film Score. The film was nominated for 11 other awards at the Hong Kong film awards: Best Picture, Best Screenplay (Barry Wong and Roy Szeto), Best Director (Ricky Lau), Best Cinematography (Peter Ngor), Best Action Choreography, Best Art Direction (Sai Lok Lam), Best Film Editing (Peter Cheung), Best New Performer (Billy Lau), Best Original Film Song (the song Gwai San Neung, or "Ghost Bride"), and two Best Supporting Actor nominations (Billy Lau and Lam Ching Ying).
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