September 18 2013 – Making the successful transition to acting, from the world of Hong Kong popstars and celebrities would be a comfortable station in life for most who attain it. Not Juno Mak. His recent success in Ching-Po Wong’s Revenge: A Love Story, unearthed a directorial chutzpah that I assume has laid dormant all these years. Inspired by traditional Chinese vampire movie lore of the 80’s, Mak has crafted an unsettling, melancholic, supernatural thrillers with a vibrant ultra-slick art-house aesthetic. Suicide, supernatural and emotional salvation are just some of the caustic ingredients director, Juno Mak stirs into this cinematic potboiler. But, even with a strong roux of veteran actors, Rigor Mortis may not necessarily be ready for consumption.
Set in a bleak concrete tenement building populated by a disparate assortment of wayward kids and aimless centenarians, washed-up actor Chin (Mr. Vampire’s Chin, Siu-Ho), takes stock of his failed life in apartment 2442. Unable to sustain both career and family life, his suicide attempt, hastened through the possession of a malevolent spirits is thwarted by Uncle Yau (Anthony Chan) a former zombie-hunter whose services are no longer needed. Chin’s frequent encounters with resident lunatic Yeung Feng (Kara Wai) leads to the films first of many paranormal encounter as he discovers his real problems have only just begun.
Breaking with convention has been co-producer Takashi Shimizu’s calling card for years. His 2004 directorial opus to Hollywood, The Grudge gave us a new chapter in disturbing cinema and those touches are lovingly on display here. Central to this theme is the character arc developed when a kind, soft-spoken seamstress mired in delusions, Aunt Mui (Nina Paw Hee-Ching), resorts to increasingly desperate measures to bring her husband (Richard Ng) back to life.
Rigor Mortis shines brightest with its litany of tension bending technical effects in both gore and art. This, coupled with a sullen dream-like score bathed in dread, and its nightmarish die is cast. Liberally littered with mythic imagery that’s brimming with bizarre personalities, eye squinting chimera and wafting fight sequences, Rigor Mortis is never boring, but in its quest to entertain, it over reaches on its core premise.
Verdict: 3 out of 5: As directorial debuts go, Mak’s Rigor Mortis is an entertaining first effort. The technical wizardry and Chinese mythology embedded throughout will make this an audience favorite for fans of Hong Kong Cinema. That being said, missteps with a muddled, disjointed narrative are hard to overlook. Clarity regarding the back story of Chin’s wife and daughter are never really flushed out to satisfaction, adding to further confusion. Putting this aside, Mak’s jam packed action horror film contains enough thrills to keep audiences engaged.
CLOSING THOUGHT: Haunting memories never really let us go.
Genre: Horror, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Language: Cantonese
Release Date: September 2013
Director: Juno Mak
Producers: Takashi Shimizu, Juno Mak
Screenwriters: Philip Yung, Jill Leung, Juno Mak
Runtime: 101 minutes
Cast: Chin Siu-Ho, Nina Paw Hee-Ching, Anthony Chan, Kara Wai, Richard Ng, Chung Fat, Ho Pang-Lo
