Shi yao

"Corpse Mania" is not as demented as it's reputed to be.I found Kuei Chih-Hung's earlier horror flick "The Killer Snakes" more disturbing and revolting.However there are some gruesome shots of decomposing female corpses eaten by maggots.There are also several intense murder scenes and some atmospheric bits that suggest Mario Bava's influential "Blood and Black Lace".A calm,inconspicuous young man has quite a special taste in women:he likes them dead.The factor of disgust bounces up to new heigths when the director shows us naked corpses of women,covered from head to toe with countless crawling maggots and he has the camera exploring every single body part.There is a necrophiliac killer on the loose wearing a black coat,a black hat,a white scarf and big sunglasses.The killings are gory enough:a stabbing in a car,vicious throat slashing,smashed head and a decapitation.The climax is fairly surprising.8 out of 10.

CORPSE MANIA (1981, original title Shi yao) is a rare Asian attempt at a giallo, although it starts off as something entirely else. It was made by Shaw Brothers, the Hong Kong studio best known for their kung fu epics, although they knocked out a fair few atmospheric and very grisly horrors in the early 1980s and this is certainly one of them. It starts off with a true crime feel, as a husband's love for his wife carries on after her death...Grisly stuff for sure, a mix of queasy necrophile love scenes and copious maggotry, so only strong stomachs need apply here.

Thankfully things soon take a different turn, with a killer wielding a massive knife and wearing a blue gown, black hat, sunglasses and white scarf works his way through folk associated with a busy brothel. BLOOD & BLACK LACE seems a key inspiration here, but the film has an atmosphere all of its own, and the murders are grisly enough to satisfy ardent horror lovers. Not one of Shaw's best horrors, but watchable all the same if you like seeing the inspirations.

Corpse Mania was produced by The Shaw Brothers whose horror movies were always outrageous, maggot-ridden fun. This movie owes a lot to giallo, but remains singular with its grotesque horror and romantic leanings to create a simultaneously gloomy and mesmerizing atmosphere. It is a crime horror story dealing with a serial killer in the background of a red-light district. The movie simply delivers exactly on the points to be expected, watch out for the ritualistic corpse washing scene. One of the fine points of Corpse Mania is that it manages these shifts in tone-from a mostly comic (if repulsive) first half to a downright bleak ending. Somehow, they make it all fit together, in a stew only a Category III Hong Kong film can bring you. The first half is rather meandering, and the characterization is basically non-existent. However, this is still good for a lazy Sunday afternoon and if you get a kick out of twisted humour, this is well worth a watch.

"Corpse Mania" is a Hong Kong giallo. As such, it features a masked killer, blood like red paint, and stylish photography.

Unfortunately, and typically for HK genre flicks, this one also features a hard-to-follow plot, murky characterisation and too much dialogue. The only times it really got my attention were particularly well photographed moments using light and shadow. At times, it's like a photography book come to life.

The movie is called "Corpse Mania" presumably as a reference to its killer's necrophilia. There is only one scene of this, which is nowhere near as repulsive as it could have been, mostly because the "corpse" in the scene is clearly an actress pretending to be dead.

Also, like apparently all HK horror flicks, this one features an abundance of creepy crawlies. At least in this case they don't spew forth from people's mouths like they did in "Seeding of a Ghost" and "Centipede Demon".

No pun intended - Shaw Brothers are best known for their martial arts movies - but they did try to reach out and make movies with different themes ... with directors that were trying to do different genres ... and we have one here. Now the movie did not age greatly in quite a few aspects.

One of them being women and how they are treated ... or random quite offensive male character - with sexual preferences that are not consensual ... just saying. On the other hand there are quite a few interesting cases of special effects ... you still get to see "dummys". Better that way than having a stunt person being hurt .... especially considering the impact of the stunt(s) ... again no pun intended. Not a lot of nudity (some disgusting scenes though, so be mindful of that) ... but quite a bit of action ... and a lot of red herrings (plot stuff that messes with the viewer) and may make him see things ... that he/she did not want to see anything.