Rigor Mortis

This movie is artistic and is a visually stunning story. At times you feel like the art style is very 300 like. The story, while sad it shows the demons we all face, and helps you see people in a different light. Never be too quick to judge someone as you do not know what they are going through. Great visuals to keep you entertained and drag you into the story even more.

Better than I remembered. An outstanding project on every level. Directing, cast, acting, sets, set dressing, lighting, cinematography, framing, camera angles, camera motion, palette, post production effects, special effects, fight choreography, dialog, sound design, narrative pace, editing. The story turns inside out on itself like a Klein bottle. Just superb. Some might complain about the pace, but such viewers have probably had their tastes ruined by the filmic equivalent of fast food.Addendum :As I did some reading into the origins of the film and its reception, it became clear that "Rigor Mortis" was not given much love in the West. The Hollywood Reported, Variety, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times were all either openly hostile or indifferent. "Rigor Mortis" current aggregate score at Rotten Tomatoes is 58%, which is very bad. To all of this I answer that these critics either forgot to turn off their Western sensibilities or forgot that that they had them. A Western viewer of Eastern films must always remember that whether high art or low, the art in question is based on aesthetic and cultural milieus whose depth is measured in millennia, not centuries. It makes a difference. Beyond that, "Rigor Mortis" was a love letter (Literally. Note the dedications before the end credits.) to a distinct facet of Hong Kong cinema. If the viewer is expecting some Western variety stand alone, self explanatory, already been chewed product ... well, choking will occur. Nuff said.

This is a creative homage to the genre of Chinese Horror films,by young Hong Kong director Juno Mak. This is his first feature film.It is a grim, unrelenting film, without the usual comedic elements of the genre.The devastating emotional pain of the loss of loved onesdefines the mood of the story, and it is equally important to the extremephysical pain and gory violence of the action sequences.Although-by hindsight-the title "Rigor Mortis" is revealing,please note that crucial plot elements are reviewed here.Actor Siu-Ho Chin, of Mr. Vampire (1985)fame, arrives in a run-down apartmentcomplex. All his belongins fit in a milk crate, and a battered suitcasewhich holds the costumes of his famous roles.His acting career is over, and he has been separated from his wife and hisbeloved son. In his frame of mind, his new abode appears like apost-apocalyptic prison. There, in his dreary cubicle #2442, crushed byloneliness and remorse, he takes his life.His dying brain casts the fleeting impressions of the other inhabitantsof the apartment complex into a complex narrative of traditional ChineseHorror. There's the retired Taoist Vampire Hunter, the twin ghosts of two girls,a corrupt priest dabbling in Black Magic, and the inevitable Chinese Vampire.The actor reprises, for one last time, his famous screen exploits.This is a masterfully directed, photographed and edited film, withfirst-rate special effects. It is frightening and emotionally poignantat the same time.Blu-ray extras include the trailer of the film, a making-of featurettewhich comprises conversations with the director and the principal actors,and a small photo gallery.

I bought this film with 10 000 BC and was not really impressed. I am use to foreign martial arts style films. Like Shaolin Soccer, Mahjong Kung fu and more serious ones (i'm aware those are comedy martial arts) The reason I brought this up is because even though they are comedy martial arts films, they implemented more martial arts scenes/fights in the story. Rigor mortis is basically a murder type mystery film with the ending scene being the physical fights and 2 short scenes towards the beginning. This isnt a bad thing, just dont expect it to be action packed. The story itself is basic. Man isolates himself in a bad part of the city, like a slum, that just happens to be haunted by a ghost of a person who committed suicide. You meet a variety of people from a black magic practitioner, retired buddhist monk and regular residents. There are a few surprises, it's not all straightforward. I just expected it to have a bit more martials arts, especially when trailers make it seem like it has them. The ghost and Chinese Vampire i'm already familiar with, so it doesn't grab my attention, however some may enjoy it because its a chinese version of them.Like I said, it's not a bad film. It's merely passable popcorn flick.

Good movie. Must watch

This movie was great! It had the traditional jiangshi ( hopping vampire) in it and it's been a while since I've seen a good jiangshi movie.The story was interesting and when the ending came it left me with an "Ohhhhh wow, wait a minute" moment, which was also pleasantly refreshing. Not too many movies have a twist that isn't predictable any more, but this one did!

entertaining new genre. not quite a horror, not quite an action drama but its all three at once! very interesting to see this movie unfold. there are some scenes that kinda drag on but its crucial to pay attention to whats happening during those scenes to really understand the storyline. The story may be hard to follow but they all tie together at the end. The underlying theme of the movie is the struggles of letting go of your pain, specifically suffering from the lost of loved ones who have either died or simply left. there are unforgettable gore scenes and definitely takes a new approach to representing spirits and ghosts. Each character's lives have been carefully created as different representations of the same intensity of pain. this is definitely not a movie i would forget

RIGOR MORTIS (2013) is directed by Juno Mak and produced by Mr. JU-ON himself; Takashi Shimizu. I guess there's some millennium J-Horror looking stuff in there, but RIGOR MORTIS is definitely mainly inspired by old school Hong Kong black magic-movies and primarily the 80s Jiangshi genre (remember the hopping vampires?). The Jiangshi-inspiration also becomes pretty obvious when you look at the cast. This movie is full of aged, but familiar faces of actors like Chin Siu-ho, Anthony Chan, Billy Lau and Richard Ng from the MR. VAMPIRE-series and Chung Fat from the Sammo Hung vehicle ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND (1980). Ok, they might be a bunch of old farts today, but it’s definitely cool to see these guys come together in an homage-like creation like this. And yes, the rest of the movie is pretty awesome as well. It looks great, got a cool plot and a nice mix of action and horror.

Shame it had subtitles found it hard to watch and read at the same time but it didnt let me fown on the horror side . Just having to multi task im giving this film a 8/10

I recieved the dvd today. But it didn't state when ordering the dvd that it was Cantonese language with English subtitles. Otherwise I wouldn't have bought it.

Very average horror. It's very slow and a bit all over the place but the Chinese "Hopping Vampires" have always been cool.Give it a watch on a rainy day if you've nothing better to do.

This was a good film really enjoyed it