Xin jiang shi xian sheng

There are a lot of great Chinese vampire movies, but "Mr. Vampire 5" is most def not one of the great ones (What do you expect from the fifth in a series?). Please take note that this is a comedy.

If you already are familiar with the Chinese vampire genre, you will probably enjoy this cheap, fun genre spoof from the "Mr. Vampire" cast. The movie is riddled with cheap sex jokes and potty humor, much of it at Lam Ching Ying's expense. Sandra Ng cuts loose with an extremely silly performance. There are one or two genuinely funny moments but very little creativity with the action.

One reviewer suspects the film was made very quickly while they were filming something else (like "Eagle Shooting Heroes" was a wuxia spoof made at the same time as "Ashes of Time"). I agree, and I suspect that the crew had more fun filming "Mr. Vampire 5" than the audience has watching it. "Mr. Vampire 5" is fun if you are already very familiar with the Chinese vampire movie genre; just don't let it be your introduction to the genre. Check out "Mr. Vampire" or "Spooky Encounters" for all-around better films, and come back to "Mr. Vampire 5" later on for ridiculous laughs.

The story revolves around a Tai Chi master (Lam) and his two pupils, Chiu and Man. Their adventures include everything from fighting vampires to eating sushi with a General (who sharpens his nails daily and has been bitten by a vampire). There are also several subplots. One involves the wife of the General (she's the one who's giving birth to the Hell Baby) and the evil midwife. Also twisted somewhere in there is the love story (mostly one way) of Lam and Birdie (the female exorcist).

It seems that Chinese vampires are not undead, but rather spirits who have no rest in the afterlife. There are other differences from the European vampire. Chinese vampires seem to hop around a lot and generally act like zombies from Night of the Living Dead (slow, uncoordinated and grunt frequently). They also have poor eyesight, as they can only detect non-vampires through smell and hearing. In a funny scene, it would seem that vampire society has fang-size status (the bigger the fang, the higher the vampire is in the echelon). By the way, an easy method to immobilize a Chinese vampire is to remove his/her fangs.

Somewhere in the midst of this is the idea of the Hell Babies (it looks like Fester Adams - a varicose veined, bald albino). Those are the spirits of the aborted children, whom after numerous abortions become evil. It seems that one of them has gotten out of the "exorcists" protective custody and wants to be born into the world. There is a crazy scene at the beginning where Chiu and Man trick the spirits of the children to do their work for them, in return for eggs. When the two do not keep their end of the bargain, the children materialize and begin to torment the two. This would include one child spirit pissing into the face of Man and another child pulling extremely hard on Chiu's penis (OUCH).

Where Fearless Vampire Killers changes the mood between the serious and the comical quite frequently, this movie resides in the absurdly comical (a lot of physical comedy). The battle with the General's vampire father is quite an example of this. After eating with the General (Lam chugs a large lump of wasabi) they go to the crypt. There they wait until dark, when vampires come out. In the midst of the battle, Kam, Man and Chiu get an attack of diarrhea. The whole battle is a juxtapose of going to the bathroom in an urn behind a table top and pushing away the uncoordinated vampire.

This movie should not be taken seriously and does not take itself seriously. The humor at times is more absurd than comical (might be a cultural thing). I think some amount of intoxication is required for the viewing of this movie.

Most viewers are used to american and european vampire flicks,but this one is different.First of all,the vampires in hongkong are people who seem dead,but haven't found rest yet,because they haven't blown out their last breath.In america and europe you have to put a cross in front of it to make it stop(and some other ways of course).Well,if you don't want to be bitten by a chinese one....hold your breath,unbelievable,but indeed if you hold your breath,the vampire won't bite,or even see you.Great,and this makes some funny ,hilarious scenes too.The movie contains also some supernatural elements ,like ghost(horny ones!),lots of humour,and of course combined with martial arts.Its like Jacky Chan meets eh...a vampire.I really enjoyed this one,cause it's so different.Its not scary,but you will enjoy this perfect mix. ruben,holland

This is the unofficial "Part 5" of the "Mr. Vampire" film series. Vampire Buster actor Lam Ching Ying returns as the "Master" once again, along with Chin Sui-Ho and Ricky Hui reprising their roles as Chou Sheng and Man Choi from the original "Mr. Vampire" movie.

In this film, Master Lam, Chou Sheng and Man Choi must battle a horde of Chinese vampires in order to get the teeth dust needed to cure ailing General Lung (Billy Lau). Meanwhile, Lung's wife and former love interest to Lam, Lin (Suki Kwan), is pregnant and an evil spirit of an aborted baby wants to possess the unborn child's body for its resurrection. What results is an original and unique storyline of the series and one might find pretty captivating to watch.

The film is full of Taoist magic and vampire/ghost action, from the creepy yet enchanting ghost wedding procession (filmed to composer Anders Nelsson's bewitching and haunting, yet beautiful music score) to the battle between the Taoist masters/disciples and the evil child ghost. And, while the child ghost and the ailing general are the main focus of the plot, the famous hopping vampires do make an appearance in the film a number of times - an iconic nod to the series that adds onto the action and fun. To top it off, this movie is also loaded with martial arts, some sophisticated special effects and memorable direction from Director Ricky Lau.

All the horror and action elements in this film, though, are sometimes distracted by some childish and potty humor and sexual innuendos. This is mostly at the expense of Lam Ching Ying, Chin Siu-Ho, Ricky Hui, Billy Lau and Sandra Ng. And, the film also features a band of children spirits that, at times, sway this film into the kids genre. But, all these issues are not major enough to overshadow the fun and entertainment this movie serves up - it's a worthy entry in Hong Kong Cinema's Ghost/Vampire/Fantasy genre and also appears to be the final sequel in the original "Mr. Vampire" series.

Grade B

April 2021

Mr Vampire 1992, i believe this was the latest of the Mr Vampire style films, but it doesn't disappoint.

Lam Ching Ying is joined agian by Chin Siu Ho and Ricky Hui as his 2 sidekciks as they were in the first film, as well as Billy Lau featuring again.

Some great comedy moments, you can't beat that toilet humour.

9 out of 10.