I have had the movie Rigor Mortis in my Netflix queue for a while and finally decided to give this little vampire flick a viewing. I must say that I was impressed.
I had no idea going into it, but this movie is apparently an homage to the eighties Chinese film Mr. Vampire. I have not see Mr. Vampire, but I have a fond remembrance of an old Hammer movie called Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires. Which was my introduction the Chinese hopping vampire. Rigor Mortus may be an homage but one they take deadly serious. This movie is very dark and very bloody.
The mood is set at the beginning with focus on the aftermath of a horrible fight or accident. A slow, haunting song permeates the scene. Burning embers float in the air. We then proceed to see how this scene came about.
The actors are very good all around. I have to give a special mention to Anthony Chan as Yau, the vampire hunter. I could watch a whole movie that just followed him as he vanquished vampires and other supernatural things around his apartment complex. He is supposed to be a vampire hunter who ran out of vampires to hunt and so cooks with his extra rice for those in the building. Here’s an extra tip for you; they don’t say it in the movie, but the reason a Chinese vampire hunter would carry rice is because if they dropped a handful of rice in front of a vampire, the fiend would have to stop and count each one.
Look for Rigor Mortis streaming on Netflix.
Brandon Jimison 