Bio Zombie

Well, i'm extremely pleased I saw this film when I had the chance. I managed to see it late one night on 'Film Four Extreme', not knowing what i'd be in for. I was expecting a cheap zombie effort that I would have to force myself to sit through. But I was wrong!

First of all I have not seen the newly 'dubbed' version of this film and do not wish to either. I have seen two different versions which different subtitles. The first was on 'Film four' which seemed to have been translated by someone british, I could tell because most of the slang was british. The other version of subtitiling is from the HK region 0 DVD and NOT the newly release US version of this film which I think has the dubbing. The DVD subtitling isn't great because some of it is translated very poorly, whereas the 'Film four' version of this is grammar perfect.

From the very opening shots of the film I actually found myself laughing! Could this be!? A horror film that is actually truly funny and isn't 'Return of the Living Dead'! Two characters called 'Crazy Bee' and 'Woody Invincible' work at a VCD shop in a neon like indoor mall, and accidently run into this person in their car which is inevitably a zombie. They take the body back to the mall in the trunk of their car only to release that its missing and starting all kinds of trouble in the mall. That's the basic plot from there without giving anything away. But I assure you, you'll find yourself laughing! There are some classic moments in it.

Now, for the Zombie genre horror people out there I still suggest checking this out. As far as I know there are few zombie films out there that seem to be able to work with comedy. A couple that spring to mind are 'Return of the Living Dead' and 'Brain Dead'. Although Bio Zombie may not be as good as either of these in effects, its still an equally great zombie film. There are minimal gore scenes and no truly amazing SFX but it doesn't let it's low budget appereance hurt the film at all. Still there are some great gore scenes, such as the 'tap in the face' where Bee jams a tap pipe into a zombies head and turns on the fawcett and blood comes out the end! Not to mention a scene with a drill in the mouth! There are good points to be had for the true zombie genre horror fan. If you do get the chance to see this on 'Film four' then I suggest you do, because this version of the subtitles are a lot better.

I sat down to watch "Sang faa sau see" (aka "Bio-Zombie") again in 2021, and that makes it the third time that I have seen it.

While "Bio-Zombie" is not your average zombie movie, there is something oddly and profoundly entertaining about it. Perhaps it is the fact that this is a horror comedy that involves zombies and it is mixed up with that archetypical vibe that Hong Kong movies had in the late 1990s. Whatever it is, it definitely works.

Sure, if you sit down to watch the 1998 "Bio-Zombie" with the hopes of being in for a serious and gory zombie movie, then you will be sorely disappointed. Indeed, because "Bio-Zombie" from writers Matt Chow, Man Sing So and Wilson Yip is a light hearted horror comedy that is sort of akin to "Shaun of the Dead" in some aspects, but actually managing to be very much different at the same time. Yeah, I know that "Shaun of the Dead" wasn't out before 6 years after this one, but they fall within the same category.

The zombie make-up and prosthetics in "Bio-Zombie" are low budget, very, very low budget. It looks unbelievably fake, and it doesn't even feel like the movie makers were even bothering to make it look realistic. But it somehow adds to the charm of the movie, especially since the make-up and special effects are so low key and low practical that is borders on being hilarious.

What makes "Bio-Zombie" work out great is the two lead performers, whom are Jordan Chan and Sam Lee. These two put on very enjoyable and memorable performances in this horror comedy, and they definitely were so well-casted for this particular movie from director Wilson Yip.

I suppose the fact that "Bio-Zombie" takes place inside an archetypical mall, as those you'd find all over Hong Kong, but very much archetypical for Mong Kok, then there is a nod towards George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" here.

If you enjoy the Hong Kong cinema, and if you enjoy horror comedies or zombie movies, then you most certainly should give "Bio-Zombie" a watch, provided you have the opportunity.

With having seen the movie three times, I can say that this is still a movie that proves entertaining and enjoyable after 23 years. My rating of "Bio-Zombie" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Bio Zombie (aka."Sang dut sau shut") is one sucessful and pretty zany HK black comedy/horror film. The plot has to do with Crazy Bee and Woody having to own a VCD/DVD store, owned by the greedy Kui and his wife. Their hobbies in the mall (which seems to strangely be their home...) are chasing girls, going to arcades, cause trouble and eat. In the meantime, the government comes up with a sports biological weapon in disguise as a sports drink. The drinks turns people whom drink it into the living dead and the fun starts to begin.

There are also alot of decent special effects and rather different plot twists as well, but just to be nice, I WON'T spoil anything! Plus, Jordan Chan, Sam Lee and Angela Tong are very talented (as well as sexy!) This is one film of such a strange combo of genres that does not dissapoint.

Although not the standard zombie splat-fest which i had hoped for, I've gotta say I totally enjoyed this quirky little flick. Apparently made on a shoestring, the whacked out, neon dripping, Plaza setting offers an almost halucinatory overtone to the proceedings. The story throws a small group of young HK shopkeepers into a siege by the undead. Kind of plays as a combination of DOTD and Night of the demons, helped by a heavy dose of HK youth culture and comedy, very reminiscent of that in other HK comedy-horrors (Mr Vampire springs to mind.) Despite wanting a bloodbath, I couldn't help but to appreciate it for what it is - entertainment.

By no means up there with DOTD, The Beyond or any other of the slew of late 70's early 80's zombie cannibal chunk blowers - but still, more than enough of a breath of fetid air to keep zombie fans ticking over. To summarize - Great 90 mins worth. Not taxing on the mind. Entertaining characters (great subs!). But if you want gore - it's back to an umpteenth viewing of "The Beyond"... Well worth seeking out if you're looking for something different. Well, I liked it anyway...

Today, on a whim, I decided to pick up the Media Blasters DVD of the Hong Kong living dead flick "BioZombie". I'd heard only a little about it before, and popped it in expecting a trashily enjoyable rip-off of Dawn of the Dead. Well, I was wrong, and right, in equal doses. And having finished the film only minutes ago, I am still unable to wipe the smile off of my face.

Woody and Bee (Jordan Chan and Sam Lee) are two slacker employees of a mostly bootleg VCD shop (changed to DVD for less familiar American audiences) at a shopping mall, who spend their days playing videogames, harassing customers, ditching work, and finding clever (and riotous) ways to make extra cash. Running an errand for their absent boss, they accidentally run over a man carrying a suitcase containing "soda". They give the drink to the injured but still breahing man, not realizing its actually a biological weapon, and then stuff him in their trunk. Shortly after they've gone back to the mall, the man has strangely disappeared...and you can guess what will ensue.

As seems to be the case with so many of the films I've reviewed on IMDB, the plot of this one is razor thin and merely a set-up. It's the clever execution that takes this film to the comedy/horror stratosphere...not to mention, surprisingly, the acting. Chan and Lee are fantastic in their roles, and if this movie gets seen by enough genre fans they could easily give Bruce Campbell a run for his money as the top shelf of smartass horror movie heroes. The first thirty minutes or so of the movie have little to do with zombies, and merely offer a chance for the camera to follow this duo around during their everyday exploits, giving the film the feel of an Asian "Mallrats". In fact, one could almost mistake the first act of the film for a Kevin Smith comedy. The two terrific actors play off of each other like a smarter vision Jay and Silent Bob, making up for what they lack in lovable doofus-ness with almost incomparable cynicism. Trey Parker and Matt Stone would be very, very proud.

Although the "zombies in a shopping mall" motif is clearly meant to be an homage to George Romero's all-time fright classic "Dawn of the Dead", by no means is this what I would consider "a horror film". It's actually just a very, very dark comedy, much in the same vein as such wonderful fan favorites as "Return of the Living Dead", "Re-Animator", and "Dead Alive". However, it's a bit less slapsticky than any of those films, and a bit darker in its humor, too. It's also complete with references to a good number of horror classics. One sequence, for example, is lifted almost shot-for-shot right ouf of Dario Argento's "OPERA" (but believe me, Argento fans won't mind!), and Woody and Bee's hitting the "man with the soda" is followed by a hillarious nod to the then-recent "I Know What You Did Last Summer". The film also manages to do a great job of paying homage to Romero's "Dead" films. One couple in the movie clearly a wonderfully caricatured update of "Night of the Living Dead"'s Harry and Helen Cooper, and another character plays like the direct descendant of "Bub" from "Day of the Dead".

Gorehounds might be a bit disappointed, as the violence is only slightly more graphic than the average American horror film, and zombie fans will perhaps be a little bit let down that the film is significantly less frightening than the newly released Resident Evil. However, I doubt very much that this will dampen their enjoyment very much. BioZombie is a real treat for horror fans, a chance to sit back and laugh WITH a zombie movie, not at it.

The DVD from Media Blasters is a pretty good package. It presents the movie in widescreen (1.85:1) and it looks pretty good despite being non-anamorphic. The sound is a suitable Dolby Digital stereo in either original Cantonese or dubbed English (yes, there ARE optional English subtitles) but the extras are unfortunately limited to some lobbycards and a few trailers...none of which are for this film. However, I'd recommend that horror fans plant the $24.95 for this purchase. It's a fabulously entertaining film, and if it makes its way among genre fans, this could be a Friday night party movie for years to come.

My Grade: A