Sammo Hung, also known as Hung Kam-bo (洪金寶), is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a fight choreographer for other actors such as Jackie Chan.
Tsui Hark, born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. Tsui has directed several influential Hong Kong films such as Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983), the Once Upon a Time in China film series (1991–1997) and The Blade (1995). Tsui also has been a prolific writer and producer; his productions include A Better Tomorrow (1986), A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), The Killer (1989), The Legend of the Swordsman (1992), The Wicked City (1992), Iron Monkey (1993) and Black Mask (1996). He is viewed as a major figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema and is regarded by critics as "one of the masters of Asian cinematography".
A jiangshi, also known as a Chinese hopping vampire, is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore. The characters for "jiangshi" are read geung-si in Cantonese, cương thi in Vietnamese, kyonshi in Japanese, and gangsi in Korean. It is also known as phi dip chin in Thai, hantu pocong in Malay, and vampir cina in Indonesia. It is typically depicted as a stiff corpse dressed in Chinese shroud which is sometimes mistaken as official garments from the Qing Dynasty, and it moves around by hopping with its arms outstretched. It kills living creatures to absorb their qi, or "life force", usually at night, while during the day, it rests in a coffin or hides in dark places such as caves. Jiangshi legends have inspired a genre of jiangshi films and literature in Hong Kong and East Asia.
A Chinese Ghost Story is a 1987 Hong Kong romantic comedy horror film starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong and Wu Ma, directed by Ching Siu-tung and produced by Tsui Hark. The plot is loosely based on a short story about Nie Xiaoqian from Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and is also inspired by the 1960 Shaw Brothers Studio film The Enchanting Shadow. The film was popular in Hong Kong and several Asian countries, including South Korea and Japan. Although the film could not gain access to movie theaters in mainland China when it was first released, it became a cult film among young people in the mainland, especially the generation born in the 1980s. Most notably it boosted the stardom of Joey Wong, won Leslie Cheung popularity in Japan, and sparked a trend of folklore ghost films in the Hong Kong film industry, including two sequels, an animated film, a television series and a 2011 remake. The film was ranked number 50 of the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures presented at the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards, the Special Jury Special Award of the 16th French Science Fiction Film Festival and the Best Film Award of the Portuguese Science Fiction Film Festival.
Yuen Wah is a Hong Kong action film actor, action choreographer, stuntman and martial artist who has appeared in over 160 films and over 20 television series.
Japanese horror is horror fiction arising from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horror. Mediums in which Japanese horror fiction is showcased include literature, film, anime, video games, and artwork. Japanese horror tends to focus on psychological horror, tension building (suspense), and supernatural horror, particularly involving ghosts (yūrei) and poltergeists. Other Japanese horror fiction contains themes of folk religion such as possession, exorcism, shamanism, precognition, and yōkai.
Mr. Vampire is a 1985 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Ricky Lau and produced by Sammo Hung. The film's box office success led to the creation of a Mr. Vampire franchise, with the release of four sequels directed by Ricky Lau from 1986 to 1992, and subsequent similarly themed films with different directors released between 1987 and 1992, with Lam Ching-ying as the lead for the majority of them. The vampire of the film is based on the jiangshi, the hopping corpses of Chinese folklore. The film was released under the Chinese title 暫時停止呼吸 in Taiwan. The film was the breakthrough success of the jiangshi genre, a trend popular in Hong Kong during the 1980s, and established many of the genre's recognisable tropes.
Crazy Safari, also known as The Gods Must Be Crazy III, is a 1991 Hong Kong comedy film, directed by Billy Chan. The film is an unofficial sequel to The Gods Must Be Crazy II and part of a trend of jiangshi films, horror comedies with hopping corpses, that were popular in Hong Kong throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It was followed by Crazy Hong Kong (1993) and The Gods Must Be Funny in China (1994). This was N!xau's first Hong Kong film.
Encounters of the Spooky Kind is a 1980 Hong Kong martial arts comedy horror film directed by and starring Sammo Hung, who also wrote the film with Huang Ying, and produced by Hung's production company Bo Ho Film Company. Released as Spooky Encounters in the United States and also known as Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind, the latter title more blatantly mimicking the title of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Encounters of the Spooky Kind was the progenitor of the jiangshi film genre and one of Hong Kong's first action horror comedies.
A zombie film is a film genre. Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror genre, some cross over into other genres, such as action, comedy, science fiction, thriller, or romance. Distinct subgenres have evolved, such as the "zombie comedy" or the "zombie apocalypse". Zombies are distinct from ghosts, ghouls, mummies, Frankenstein's monsters or vampires, so this list does not include films devoted to these types of undead.
Vampire Vs Vampire (一眉道人) is a 1989 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by and starring Lam Ching-ying. The title references the interaction in the film between a jiangshi child, a creature from Chinese "hopping" corpse fiction, and a British vampire based on Western vampire fiction.
Mr. Vampire II, also known as Mr. Vampire Part 2, is a 1986 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Ricky Lau, starring Yuen Biao, Moon Lee and Lam Ching-ying, and produced by Sammo Hung. The film is the second of a series of five films directed by Ricky Lau in the Mr. Vampire franchise. Mr. Vampire and its sequels were released as part of the jiangshi cinematic boom in Hong Kong during the 1980s. The Chinese title of the film literally translates to "Vampire Family".
Mr. Vampire IV, also known as Mr. Vampire Saga Four, is a 1988 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Ricky Lau and produced by Sammo Hung and Jessica Chan. The film is the fourth of a series of five films directed by Ricky Lau in the Mr. Vampire franchise. Mr. Vampire and its sequels were released as part of the jiangshi cinematic boom in Hong Kong during the 1980s. The Chinese title of the film literally translates to Uncle Vampire.
Mr. Vampire 1992, also known as Chinese Vampire Story, is a 1992 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Ricky Lau. The film is the fifth of a series of five jiangshi films directed by Ricky Lau in the Mr. Vampire franchise. The Chinese title of the film literally translates to New Mr. Vampire.
The Era of Vampires is a 2002 Hong Kong martial arts horror film directed by Wellson Chin and written and produced by Tsui Hark. An edited version of the film was released in North America under the title Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters. The film lacked comedy, a departure from earlier jiangshi films like Mr. Vampire that were popular in the 1980s.
Jiangshi fiction or goeng-si fiction in Cantonese, is a literary and cinematic genre of horror based on the jiangshi of Chinese folklore, a reanimated corpse controlled by Taoist priests that resembles the zombies and vampires of Western fiction. The genre first appeared in the literature of the Qing Dynasty and the jiangshi film is a staple of the modern Hong Kong film industry. Hong Kong jiangshi films like Mr. Vampire and Encounters of the Spooky Kind follow a formula of mixing horror with comedy and kung fu.
Rigor Mortis is a 2013 Hong Kong horror film directed by Juno Mak and produced by Takashi Shimizu. The film is a tribute to the Mr. Vampire film series. Many of the former cast are featured in this film: Chin Siu-ho, Anthony Chan, Billy Lau and Richard Ng. Additionally, Chung Fat, who starred in Encounters of the Spooky Kind, is also featured.
Chung Fat ,a native of Guangdong, is a Hong Kong film actor, choreographer, producer and director. He primarily stars in jiangshi films and martial arts films.
Vampire Controller is a 2001 Hong Kong action comedy horror film produced, written and directed by Tony Leung and starring Gallen Lo, Wayne Lai, Kathy Chow, Joey Meng, Yuen Wah and Kingdom Yuen. The film is considered a throwback of the jiangshi fiction-genre films popularized in the 1980s by Mr. Vampire.
Vampire Cleanup Department (救僵清道夫) is a 2017 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Yan Pak-wing and Chiu Sin-hang.
