Hong Kong's 1985 Horror-Comedy 'Mr. Vampire' Re-released on Blu-ray, Exploring Geongsi Genre and Cultural Hybridity

Key facts

• Mr. Vampire was released in 1985 and is being re-released on Blu-ray in July 2020 by Eureka Entertainment.
• The film is directed by Ricky Lau and produced by Sammo Hung, launching Lau's career and inspiring four sequels by the early 1990s.
• It blends Kungfu with mo lei tau slapstick humor and features geongsi, or 'Chinese hopping vampires,' derived from Qing dynasty lore and Pu Songling's 1740 'Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.'
• The geongsi costume references anti-Qing sentiment tied to the dynasty's 1912 overthrow and the return of Han Chinese power.
• Hong Kong's vampire film history includes 1936's 'Midnight Vampire' by Yeung Kung-leung and 1972's 'The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires' co-produced by Hammer Film Productions and The Shaw Brothers.
• Strict film censorship in the PRC banned supernatural and wuxia genres outside Hong Kong, influencing the local industry.
• The genre emerged amid anxieties about the Handover, sparked by Margaret Thatcher's 1982 visit to discuss reunification.
• Geongsi films hybridize Western vampire lore, popularized by Bram Stoker's 'Dracula,' with Chinese traditions, using humor to parody apotropaics like garlic.