Rigor Mortis apparently reunites cast members from a popular vampire franchise from Hong Kong in the 80s called Mr. Vampire. But that doesn’t really matter, because this is a stand-alone movie. But, is it a vampire movie? A ghost story? A martial arts flick? Actually, it’s a bit of all of them.
A sad and lonely man moves into an apartment building in which ghosts roaming the halls is an everyday occurrence. There’s an assortment of interesting living characters as well, including a friendly security guard, a nervous woman and her white-haired little boy, a self-proclaimed vampire hunter, an elderly woman, and a mysterious black arts practitioner.
While the lonely man begins to realize he is living in an apartment in which something tragic happened to twins who once lived there, the elderly woman turns to the black arts practitioner…to help bring her dead husband back to life!
From the first moment when the vampire hunter swoops in to save the lonely man from certain death, you know this is going to be a wild ride. Crazy supernatural shit happens and background stories are told through flashbacks. But they’re kept to a minimum and are very clear so they simply supply details needed to move the story forward.
When the lonely man and the vampire hunter team up to stop the evil, the movie takes on a video game quality, complete with combat sequences and boss battles. The creepy, crawling ghost twins will be familiar territory for fans of The Ring and The Grudge, while the vampire creature has an almost comic book quality.
Beautifully shot with stunning effects, setting, and tone, Rigor Mortis manages to be dark and fucked up without actually being terrifying or disturbing. The atmosphere is great, but the visuals are so incredible that you are more struck by the art than any sense of fear. And that’s okay. This one should be watched just for fun. And just be warned. You may reach the conclusion of the film thinking, “I don’t get it.”
