New Mr. Vampire

Rating:
Summary: Good comedy, but not really Mr. Vampire
Review: "New Mr. Vampire" is a pretty solid Chinese Vampire comedy, though
it's not really part of the "Mr. Vampire" series. It doesn' star Lam
Ching Ying, for starters, despite being made about a year after the
original Mr. Vampire.

Also, the vampires don't hop. That may sound
like a weird complaint if you've never seen any Mr. Vampire movies,
but since the whole Chinese vampire genre is often called "hopping
vampire" movies, it is something I really miss. (In case you're
wondering, Chinese vampires hop because the ground hurts their feet
when they walk).

Such niggling complaints aside, though, "New
Mr. Vampire" is a very funny movie. The plot is not terribly deep or
complex, but the walking corpses provide a steady stream of excellent
slapstick.

Pauline Wong Siu Fung in particular is outstanding as a
corpse whose essence becomes tied to a grave robber's, such that she
moves exactly the way he does. Her ability to mimic his movements is
amazing.

The action scenes are also quite well done, striking a good
balance of comedy and kung fu butt kicking.

My major complaint about
this DVD is that it does not have a Chinese language soundtrack, and
the dubbing is done with those typical cartoonish bad Kung Fu movie
voices. When is Tai Seng going to realize that they don't have to get
rid of the Chinese audio track when they dub something? Subtitling is
cheap, especially since they've previously released a subtitled
version of this movie.

The English language commentary on this DVD
is OK, though it was geared toward someone who had no idea what they
were watching. The DVD transfer quality is decent, though again,
nothing very exciting.


Rating:
Summary: Good comedy, but not really Mr. Vampire
Review: "New Mr. Vampire" is a pretty solid Chinese Vampire comedy, though
it's not really part of the "Mr. Vampire" series. It doesn' star Lam
Ching Ying, for starters, despite being made about a year after the
original Mr. Vampire.

Also, the vampires don't hop. That may sound
like a weird complaint if you've never seen any Mr. Vampire movies,
but since the whole Chinese vampire genre is often called "hopping
vampire" movies, it is something I really miss. (In case you're
wondering, Chinese vampires hop because the ground hurts their feet
when they walk).

Such niggling complaints aside, though, "New
Mr. Vampire" is a very funny movie. The plot is not terribly deep or
complex, but the walking corpses provide a steady stream of excellent
slapstick.

Pauline Wong Siu Fung in particular is outstanding as a
corpse whose essence becomes tied to a grave robber's, such that she
moves exactly the way he does. Her ability to mimic his movements is
amazing.

The action scenes are also quite well done, striking a good
balance of comedy and kung fu butt kicking.

My major complaint about
this DVD is that it does not have a Chinese language soundtrack, and
the dubbing is done with those typical cartoonish bad Kung Fu movie
voices. When is Tai Seng going to realize that they don't have to get
rid of the Chinese audio track when they dub something? Subtitling is
cheap, especially since they've previously released a subtitled
version of this movie.

The English language commentary on this DVD
is OK, though it was geared toward someone who had no idea what they
were watching. The DVD transfer quality is decent, though again,
nothing very exciting.


Rating:
Summary: Good comedy, but not really Mr. Vampire
Review: "New Mr. Vampire" is a pretty solid Chinese Vampire comedy, thoughit's not really part of the "Mr. Vampire" series. It doesn' star LamChing Ying, for starters, despite being made about a year after theoriginal Mr. Vampire.

Also, the vampires don't hop. That may soundlike a weird complaint if you've never seen any Mr. Vampire movies,but since the whole Chinese vampire genre is often called "hoppingvampire" movies, it is something I really miss. (In case you'rewondering, Chinese vampires hop because the ground hurts their feetwhen they walk).

Such niggling complaints aside, though, "NewMr. Vampire" is a very funny movie. The plot is not terribly deep orcomplex, but the walking corpses provide a steady stream of excellentslapstick.

Pauline Wong Siu Fung in particular is outstanding as acorpse whose essence becomes tied to a grave robber's, such that shemoves exactly the way he does. Her ability to mimic his movements isamazing.

The action scenes are also quite well done, striking a goodbalance of comedy and kung fu butt kicking.

My major complaint aboutthis DVD is that it does not have a Chinese language soundtrack, andthe dubbing is done with those typical cartoonish bad Kung Fu movievoices. When is Tai Seng going to realize that they don't have to getrid of the Chinese audio track when they dub something? Subtitling ischeap, especially since they've previously released a subtitledversion of this movie.

The English language commentary on this DVDis OK, though it was geared toward someone who had no idea what theywere watching. The DVD transfer quality is decent, though again,nothing very exciting.

Rating:
Summary: Give it a try if you're looking for something different...
Review: First, let me state that I was expecting a hopping vampire movie, but unfortunately the vampire does not hop. Aside from my initial disappointment, I thought New Mr. Vampire was a very entertaining movie. The plot concerns two rival ghost hunters. One is commissioned to bury a dead gangster. The other decides to sabotage the mission by making sure the corpse comes back to life as a vampire. Along the way they run into a grave robber who happens to have accidentally resurrected a woman. The dead woman mimics his every move, which is a really interesting concept and leads to many funny situations. Most of the action takes place in a hotel. I think the movie would have been better off subtitled in English rather than dubbed, but this is still a great little Kung fu-vampire-horror-comedy, and worth buying if your tastes in movies is on the eclectic side. Be sure to get a hold of the original Mr. Vampire as well as Mr. Vampire 3, which, in my opinion, is the best of these movies.

Rating:
Summary: Give it a try if you're looking for something different...
Review: First, let me state that I was expecting a hopping vampire movie, but unfortunately the vampire does not hop. Aside from my initial disappointment, I thought New Mr. Vampire was a very entertaining movie. The plot concerns two rival ghost hunters. One is commissioned to bury a dead gangster. The other decides to sabotage the mission by making sure the corpse comes back to life as a vampire. Along the way they run into a grave robber who happens to have accidentally resurrected a woman. The dead woman mimics his every move, which is a really interesting concept and leads to many funny situations. Most of the action takes place in a hotel. I think the movie would have been better off subtitled in English rather than dubbed, but this is still a great little Kung fu-vampire-horror-comedy, and worth buying if your tastes in movies is on the eclectic side. Be sure to get a hold of the original Mr. Vampire as well as Mr. Vampire 3, which, in my opinion, is the best of these movies.

Rating:
Summary: Vampires, Zombies, and Kung Fu!
Review: I've recently stumbled into the genre of Kung Fu vampire flicks and found New Mr. Vampire to be quite entertaining.

The story centers around a Ghost Chaser, his student, and a grave robber. The story begins when the ghost chaser and his studnet accept a job of burying a dead ganster in his home town. Along the way they pick up the grave robber who has a number nine concubine zombie girl chasing him. She follows him and does exactly what the grave robber does due to the fact that she's bound to him. Behind the scenes a rival ghost chaser revives the dead ganster and turns him into a vampire. The story progresses and lends itself to several humourous situations. Particularly between the grave robber and his mimicing ghost played by Pauline Wong. I also agree that she does an excellent job of shadowing the grave robber, and adds a lot of light hearted moments to the film.

The story is really a comedy and should be viewed as such. Although there is some Kung Fu in the movie, it's not the focus of the film. There's also an audio commentary by Ric Meyers included on the DVD version which explains a little bit about the orgin of Chinese Vampires. He does point out that the Vampires don't hop like they do in the original Mr. Vampire, and Spooky Encouters by Sammo Hung, but that did'nt really bother me. The U.S. has potrayed vampires many different ways, so I don't see a problem with different Hong Kong versions.

If your curious about New Mr. Vampire and want a good laugh, give it a try. I think you'll enjoy it. Escpecially around Halloween. Oh, and it is a tad bit scary too. Just a tad.