Synopsis
When a former actor moves into an apartment building with the intention of commiting suicide, he is saved by a Taoist priest who used to specialize in hunting Chinese hopping vampires: or Jiāngshī. Elsewhere in the building, a woman turns to a specialist in black magic to bring her husband back to life.
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Cast
- Chin Siu-hoChin Siu-Ho
- Anthony Chan YauYau
- Kara Wai Ying-HungYeung Feng
- Lo Hoi-pangYin
- Hee Ching PawMui
- Richard NgUncle Tung
- Billy LauCook
- Paul Chung FatGau
- Ko Cheun-ManFeng's husband
- Morris Ho Kwong-Yui
Recommendations
- 75
RogerEbert.com
It's uneven, and more than a little mystifying, but Rigor Mortis is also a bittersweet coda to a deliriously silly series of films. - 67
The A.V. Club
Rigor Mortis functions best as an above-average fright flick, distinguished by its sense of supernatural folklore—scads more imaginative than its Western counterparts—and Mak’s eye for bizarre close-ups. - 60
The Dissolve
Rigor Mortis can’t fully work for a Western audience, but it does at least provide a fascinating glimpse of a strange genre that never quite crossed over. - 60
Los Angeles Times
The film supplies a succession of hyper-stylized and potent set pieces without ever establishing any sort of internal logic. - 60
The New York Times
Applying ghoulish special effects and atmospheric slow pacing, the film also maintains a dark palette of blacks, browns and ash grays, the better to serve as a backdrop when the blood starts spattering. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
Rigor Mortis’ strongest suit lies with its cast. The film comes with lavish (and sometimes distractingly so) digital effects, but it’s the old-timers who are instrumental in injecting humanity and life into the film. - 50
Village Voice
The resulting creep show has some frantic action scenes, but never quite enough spring in its step. - 30
Variety
The cause of death would appear to be visual-effects overkill in the case of Rigor Mortis, a flashy, incoherent and virtually scare-free Hong Kong horror exercise that marks the directing debut of actor, singer, record producer and fashion maven Juno Mak.
