Rigor Mortis (2013)

A public housing tenement is plunged into a dark storm of supernatural chaos.

Director:

Juno Mak

Writers:

Lai-Yin Leung (script) (as Jill Leung), Philip Yung (script)

Stars:

Anthony Chan, Siu-Ho Chin, Fat Chung

6 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Anthony Chan	...	Yau (as Antony 'Friend' Chan)
Siu-Ho Chin	...	Chin Siu-Ho
Fat Chung	...	Gau
Chun-Man Ko	...	Feng's husband
Giselle Lam	...	Siu-Ho's Wife
Billy Lau	...	Cook
Hoi-Pang Lo	...	Uncle Yin
Richard Ng	...	Uncle Tung
Hee Ching Paw	...	Auntie Mui (as Nina Paw)
Kara Wai	...	Yeung Feng

Storyline

In this eerie and chilling, contemporary, action/special effects laden homage to the classic Chinese vampire movies of the 1980's, writer-director-producer, Juno Mak makes his feature directorial debut. Co-produced by J-Horror icon Takashi Shimizu, and reuniting some of the original cast members of the classic Mr. Vampire series, RIGOR MORTIS is set in a creepy and moody Hong Kong public housing tower whose occupants we soon discover, run the gamut from the living to the dead, to the undead, along with ghosts, vampires and zombies.

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | directorial debut | hong kong | ghost | blond boy | 

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Taglines:

The dead will rise (UK DVD, front)

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Genres:

Action | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Release Date:

6 June 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rigor Mortis

Box Office

Budget:

HKD 15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$603,742 (Hong Kong), 27 October 2013, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kudos Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Each ghost in the film is based on a mythological Chinese ghost: * The actor is a diao si gui, a lost soul who wanders aimlessly after a suicide by hanging. * The old man is a jiangshi, a vampire ghost. * The old woman is a gui po, a ghost who means well and wants to help but can take her methods too far. * The twins are nu gui, vengeful spirits after suffering sexual assault and suicide. * The mother is a di fu ling, a ghost eternally bound to a location that drove her to suicide.

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Goofs

Towards the beginning, we see Pak exiting the elevator through a reflection of Chin's sunglasses. In this image, we also see the floor number 24. However, since this is being seen via reflection, the number 24 should be reversed as a mirror image, but it is not.

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Crazy Credits

The split-second image that pops up before the cast credits begin, is actually of the director, Juno Mak, who is sitting on seat 13.

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Connections

Features Xia ri fu xing (1985)

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Soundtracks

Spiritual Love
By Anders Nelsson (as Nelsson Anders Gustav)
Lyrics by Kok-Kong Cheng (as Cheng Kok Kong)

User Reviews

Asian mythology meets stunning visual effects in an atmospheric, detailed and slow-paced horror movie

"Rigor Mortis" is a slow-paced but intriguing atmospheric horror movie that honours both classic supernatural Hongkong cinema from the eighties and nineties and Japanese horror cinema of the nineties and the early years of the new millennium. The movie uses mythological elements from both cultures. To dig all these elements, it's suggested to get informed about the mythological background and watch this movie multiple times. You will realize that each character in the movie represents a different kind of ghost from Chinese mythology for example. You might also realize that the strange tall people with the umbrellas that seem to have a random cameo appearance in this movie are actually soul collectors using their umbrellas as traps. You could also see that the cook and the priest are both Taoist priests but while one uses his powers to help people and fight demons, the other uses the same powers for his own selfish acts and helps to awake and strengthen the demons. As you can see, this movie is filled with many lovely little details. If you are looking for explicit gore or an extremely creepy experience, you are at the wrong address.

Something that largely contributes to the atmosphere is the use of lights and shades, camera angles varying from wide angels to claustrophobic short cuts and many special effects that especially use colours very well. The CGI effects never look out of place and aren't overused as in many other contemporary Chinese films, especially action movies. In his directional debut, Juno Mak manages to keep the basis of solid traditional horror movies based on an atmospheric use of lights and sounds, on creepy settings in a dirty public housing tower with old- fashioned apartments and on a menacing score and more contemporary elements such as the use of vivid flashy colours contrasting with the dark settings, computer-animated demons that sometimes look exotically supernatural and at other times disturbingly realistic and slow-motion camera sequences that add a nightmarish touch to the movie.

Apart of its detailed background and its consistent gloomy atmosphere, the movie can actually convince with some interesting characters. Each important character in this movie has a tragic tale to tell and some sort of development. Some of the background stories are actually quite touching and mostly deal with loss in one way or the other. The acting is calm, grounded and actually realistic and a welcome change if compared to the usual hysterically screaming teenagers. There is not really one outstanding acting performance but each actor and actress does an above average effort in this film.

It's hard to talk about the plot itself as several individual fates and different stories end up leading to something bigger and a fatal last fight between some courageous apartment tenants and some evil creatures. The movie also contains some sort of twist or alternate story if you want to which is revealed in the last three minutes. This twist is nothing really surprising after all and maybe the only real weak point in here but you have to understand that what matters in this movie is not really the outcome of it but the way things unfold. The way between start and finish is much more intriguing than the short overture and the grand finale themselves.

Now, if you care for atmospheric, mythological and slow-paced Asian horror cinema where you have to use your brain a little bit, this is definitely one of the most original movies in many years. If you are expecting the usual graphic shocker or scary supernatural film that solely wants to entertain, then you might actually dislike this film. Make sure to be familiar with Asian horror cinema before checking this movie out and you might enjoy your overall experience even more.