Corpse Mania (1981) aka Si Yiu

3.5 / 5 Jan '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Chih-Hung Kuei
Written by: Chih-Hung Kuei, On Szeto
Actors include: Ni Tien, Yung Wang, Tsu Ling Yu
Genre: Horror, Giallo, Crime
Length: 82 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well the "corpse" part is accurate enough, not so sure about the "mania" however hehe. This is a Shaw Brothers film that is rather unusual in that the kung fu role is very minor, that and it resembles a giallo in some ways which is odd. A man seems obsessed with sick women, you see them go home with him...then their "sexually abused corpses" surface (their words, not mine). Our killer is disguised (much like in a giallo) and although some things we know right away, others are kept from us until later. It's a bit confusing and strange but it's relatively entertaining for the most part. Also funny is the fact that the dead girls appear covered in bait....not maggots....bait. Some of the killings were a bit surprising and they did put forth some effort to make it gruesome, also they don't spare us from the corpse sex. It's not the best of it's kind, parts somehow manage to be a bit dull but for the most part it's an unusual and decent film.

Availability:  On DVD

Mr. Vampire (1985) aka Geung si sin sang

4 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Ricky Lau
Written by: Ricky Lau, Cheuk-Hon Szeto
Actors include: Ching-Ying Lam, Ricky Lau, Siu-hou Chin
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror
Length: 97 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Although I'm not sure this made a lick of sense were you to pull it apart it's not meant to be. It's purely entertaining absurd comedy with some kung fu action and a touch of horror thrown in. So I don't understand the why on most of this stuff but let's see if I can kind of give a plot synopsis. There is a Master, and two bumbling trainees, also an army of zombies who hop like bunnies (my favorite part) but are kept docile by putting spells on them. In fact spells (made from voodoo paper, and chicken's blood and sticky rice) seem to tame most things when they are in danger. There are also vampires, on of the assistants is bitten by a zombie and tries to stave off zombie effects by dancing around like a fool, and by filing his teeth and nails. The other assistant is possessed by some attractive ghost who throws her own head around. The lessons I learned from this film are that people in Hong Kong are very superstitious, you can't mix sticky rice with other rice, and that more zombies should bounce like bunnies, it's hilarious! It's well paced, action packed and full of laughs, definitely a winner for those of us looking for something rather strange but also very fun.  Also it's worth noting that there are several other entries into the Mr. Vampire series, but this is the first.

Availability:  On DVD

Three Extremes (2002) aka Three Extremes 2 aka Saam Gaang aka Three

2.5 / 5 May '10
Tagline: When two just ain't enough!
Directed by: Peter Chan, Ji-woon Kim, Nonzee Nimibutr
Written by: Teddy Chan, Matt Chow
Actors include: Hye-su Kim, Bo-seok Jeong, Suwinit Panjamawat
Genre: Horror
Length: 129 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
So the scoop is that this 3 Extremes film was released on DVD as 3 Extremes 2 despite the fact that it is actually volume 1. The sequel was more popular and therefore I believe was released as volume 1 instead of 2. Now that I've been super confusing, let me just say that the other 3 Extremes tales I really enjoyed each of them, quite fascinating. This time I found them rather dull and derivative, even when some were trying to be artsy it just seemed like drawing out the obvious. The first tale was about a woman who wakes up without memory also we have a husband who can't remember why his woman left him. The wandering woman calls a number on her dry cleaning bill (the only thing she has on her) and her husband finds a bloodied bag at his place. It's very confusingly told but at the same time it seems obvious what is going on despite all of the nonsense. It's got a bit of gore but it's very unsatisfying. The second tale is much like the film Dolls only a lot less amusing. This time it's traditional oriental dolls who are coming to life and they seem to cause voodoo like damage on folks. It's not as fun as it sounds and it goes on for way too long. The last story is the most interesting, a fellow has a dead wife in the tub who he believes is real. He bathes her and talks to her as though she's coming back to life and she speaks to him in his mind. When a neighbor pops by to look for his missing son he ends up tied to a chair and kept hostage waiting for the dead wife to revive herself. None of the stories were nearly as interesting as the other film, none were as shocking nor were the stories as clear. I do recommend seeking out the 2004 film called Three Extremes but this one I thought was a rather big dud...and over two hours long to boot.

Availability:  On DVD

3 Extremes (2004) aka Saam Gaang Yi aka 3 Extremes II aka San Geng aka Three

4 / 5

Tagline: From the Nightmares of 3 Horror Masters

Directed By: Fruit Chan, Takashi Miike, Chan-wook Park

Written By: Haruko Fukushima, Lilian Lee, Chan-wook Park, Bun Saikou

Actors Include: Ling Bai, Byung-hun Lee, Kyoko Hasegawa

Genre: Horror

Length: 125 minutes

Banned: Nope

Review:

When dealing with anything "extreme" like say this film, there are two ways the films seem to go. They are either low budget, predictable and gory as heck, or you get something wonderfully creative and extreme like these stories. These have things to gross us out (which of course we want) yet the stories are well put together, it appears to have a budget and it actually works as a good movie. Well what this is are three short stories from different directors. It starts off fantastically with "Dumplings" the best in the set and actually one of the best Asian tales I've seen in a long while. I do not want to ruin this in any way but it's about some dumplings which give youth to the consumer but they are made of something rather disgusting (you'll see). Anyhow that tale seemed too short but fortunately on the DVD there is a longer version of this tale too (but I haven't seen that one yet). Next we move on to "Cut" which is demented and sadistic but the ending is less than satisfying. A young Man finds himself in a terrible situation when he finds his wife super glued to the piano (and she's a pianist). Can he stop the torture being inflicted upon her before it's too late? It's rather bloody, weird and generally artistic looking which I really appreciated. It's twisted, but heck so was the opening story. Both stories to this point are grotesquely fascinating, but can the third story hold up? Nope, sorry but it in fact doesn't. It's not impossible to watch or anything, but the last tale "Box" which is confusing, and non satisfying but bizarre enough to warrant at least one viewing. It's something to do with two gymnastic sisters, and well a box and fire and....well you'll see. I'd definitely recommend watching this trilogy but I do question the order of things, who ends a movie with it's worst material? Anyhow watchy watchy, especially "Dumplings"!

Availability:  On DVD