Bio-Zombie

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.

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...

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.

This movie is great fun! I read a comment that said it was like mallrats with zombies, which is exactly what i thought while watching. The two main characters Bee (Sam Lee - who is on his usually funny form) and Jordan Chan's Invincible, while being both entertaining, offensive and lacking morals (they don't worry about mugging people, running people over or generally bullying people) do show some redeeming qualities towards the end (Bee -"I don't want to be a zombie, i'd rather die" what a line!). OK so the zombie (sub)plot does take a while to get in place, but the comedy does provide entertainment up until the zombies all start shuffling in. The pacing is great, with scenes of tension (the handcuff key in mouth scene)and cheesy emotion (The Sushi zombie giving a present to that girl) pushing along the narrative and character development to a good standard. Before watching it i was expecting a gore-fest, but gore fans will be disappointed, scenes of zombie-culling are quite brief and restrained, but fans of comedy-horror or zombie films should enjoy. To be honest the film does play as a bit of a spoof with moments of clichéd and cheesy emotion and the whole computer game idea towards the end. Although the ending does shaft the comedy element for emotion (although i think its played for laughs) and the ending is a bit of shock, it is overall an enjoyable experience and if you do enjoy this check out Peter Jackson's Braindead!

Should this movie be described as a Hong Kong take on Dawn of the Dead? No. Return of the Living Dead? No, certainly not. Mallrats with zombies? Sounds better.

The point of this movie is not to provide stark raving terror, deep social commentary, or five gallons of blood per second. This movie is fun. Follow the lives of a pair of small-time punks running a VCD shop, the likable Crazy Bee and the incredibly named Woody Invincible, as they try to get their boss's car and end up accidentally unleashing a zombie plague. Oops. But even before the first zombie shows up, the duo has gotten into some amusing scrapes and got out of them with bluster that for once is not unlikable. They may be jerks, but at least their the kind of jerks you can see yourself hanging out with.

When the zombies show up, the movie stays focused on Woody and Bee. It seems so wrong to say that this movie is character driven, but it is. Not it a dramatic sense, but in the sense that the characters and not the zombies are the main focus of the movie. That surprisingly doesn't hurt the film, as the interactions are definetly between our heroic duo and the zombies are generally amusing.

But the movie knows when to get serious. The last ten minutes or so switch from humor to seriousness (save one speech from Bee) suddenly and yet without missing a step. The last ten minutes seem to come from a "real" zombie movie and are filled with emotion and pathos. It's kind of startling, but it also fits.

All in all, I definetly recommend this movie. It is one of my favorites. Just go in expecting humor. Heck, it's best to go into the movie not knowing anything about it.