Director: Juno Mak
Notable Cast: Chin Siu-Ho, Anthony Chan, Kara Hui, Richard
Ng, Lo Hoi-Pang, Nina Paw
Blending genres of film can be a chancy maneuver for any
filmmaker. When you’re successful it’s impactful. When you’re not, it’s a
clusterfuck. Going into Rigor Mortis I had my qualms. Could the
combination of Juno Mak and Takashi Shimizu really produce a film about Chinese
hopping vampires and J-Horror popping ghosts that would be as awesome as it
sounds? They sure as hell did. Rigor Mortis is one of the most unusual
horror films I’ve seen in years and the combination of two countries worth of
horror trends is a sight to behold. It’s quirky, brutal, and massively
entertaining. Not only is Rigor Mortis one of the best horror films of
the year, it’s one of the best films, period.
Life has been a little rough for actor Chin (Chin Siu-Ho)
and he’s decided it’s time to end it all. So he rents out a room in a shitty
apartment complex where he can commit suicide. Unfortunately, he doesn’t quite
get there because this apartment is filled with the supernatural and macabre. Twins
haunt his apartment, there is a mother/son duo who randomly wander the halls,
and let’s not forget the black magic practioner who has just created his own
hopping vampire. With the help of cook/vampire hunter Yau (Anthony Chan), Chin
is going to have to step up if he is going to put an end to all of these
shenanigans.
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| Jump for joy! It's good horror this year! |
To be perfectly honest, I’m not necessarily familiar with
the entire Chinese hopping vampire film. I have yet to experience Mr.
Vampire (a film that Rigor Mortis pays massive homage to with its
casting) so going into this one I was a bit hesitant that I might not get what
Juno Mak was throwing at me. Luckily, it never seemed to hinder my enjoyment of
the film. Blending the hopping vampire aspects with some Japanese ghost
elements, Rigor Mortis combines some very unique horror elements into
one package. Using both subtle jumps and some more straightforward shock
elements (gore aplenty and some wicked kills), Juno Mak slathers the film in
brutal moments and some intense atmosphere with his rather unhindered visual
work, which is beautiful as it is horrifying in many moments. Rigor Mortis
is top notch in production values and Juno Mak uses them to their full benefit.
From there (this is where it gets tricky and might not
appeal to as many people like it did to me) Rigor Mortis adds in some
dark comedy and, believe it or not, some kung fu. The finale is packed with
some hero vs. vampire kung fu trickery as is a somewhat humorous and quirky
possession sequence where our vampire hunter and black magician have to team up
to ‘exorcise’ the twin ghosts from our hero. This adds a bit to the humor, most
of which is pretty dry and straightforward. I don’t think the vampire hunter/cook
Yau wears a pair of pants for most of the film, for example. Both of these
elements might not appeal to horror fan that is going out to purchase this, but
for this cult cinema nerd it was impressively integrated into the film and
worked to balance out some of the strong dramatic beats and heavy horror
elements.
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| Kitchen accidents happen. |
To say that this film ends up as an energetic ball of
eclecticism is probably an understatement. It’s an odd combination of talents
behind and in front of the camera that makes Rigor Mortis work, but it
works in such an odd and brilliantly balanced way that I immediately hit play
again when the film ended. For all the things that could have gone wrong with
the blended genres, it works damn near perfectly here. Rigor Mortis gets
the highest recommendation from me. It’s a blast through and through.
Written By Matt Reifschneider
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