Rigor Mortis - Rigor mortis - Blu-ray

Content: When Siu-ho (Chin Siu-ho) moves into the gray apartment complex, he cares little about what his neighbors are up to. For Siu-ho has only one desire: to die. But his suicide attempt is prevented by Yau (Antony Chan), an old vampire hunter. Now, Siu-ho also gets to know the friendly aunt May (Nina Paw Hee Ching) and the very strange Yeung Fung (Kara Hui) and these encounters make him suspect that there are all kinds of strange things going on in the house. But only when uncle Tung (Richard Ng), May's beloved husband, dies and she tries to bring him back to life with the help of medium Kau (Chung Fatt), Siu-ho realizes the full extent of the horror that lives in the old apartment block. Because Tung turns into a bloodthirsty vampire, whose presence evokes other ghosts as well. Now it's up to Yau to stop the sinister creatures - but to do so, he'll also need the help of Siu-ho...

Rigor Mortis pays homage to the vampire movies of the 80s, most notably the Mr. Vampire series of Hong Kong cinema. For his bow to this once popular genre, director Juno Mak was then able to get one of the stars of the Mr. Vampire films, Chin Siu-ho, in front of the camera. Since these movies are probably only known to a few viewers in this country, the numerous allusions to these classics will be obvious to only a few. The fact that Mak mixes the whole thing with very traditional elements of the Chinese spirit world doesn't exactly make things more accessible. To be able to really understand Rigor Mortis, appropriate previous knowledge is inevitable. If you just want to enjoy an atmospheric horror film, you will quickly feel lost here.

While the film is extremely charming with its mix of tangible creepiness and bizarre humor, it builds up a fascinating atmosphere that is intensified by a very effective visual language. And even if you can't really follow the plot at some point and some scenes only cause a big question mark, it's almost impossible not to get carried away by this very special atmosphere. The morbid, sometimes quite bloody events, the dark world in the old apartment block and the macabre undertone that lies under the story, make Rigor Mortis a very special viewing experience.

Netheless, at the end you are left with a somewhat unsatisfying feeling, if you have just not really understood many elements of this bizarre nightmare. For the broad mass of horror fans, this unusual vampire / ghost film is therefore probably rather difficult to access. But if you can get used to the somewhat unusual style of narration and the not quite clearly drawn plot, you will get a horror flick of a very special kind. And for this there is then also a clear: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The audiovisual implementation of the Blu-ray has turned out very atmospheric. The rather gloomy image may swallow up some minor details, but overall there is a decent overall sharpness that is accompanied by the good contrast matching and a very successful color scheme. In many scenes, silence or dialogue dominate the action. However, when surround effects or atmospheric ambient sounds are used, they are implemented extremely effectively and sometimes even provide a pleasant goosebumps. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the Blu-ray has a short making of (11:31 min.), a kind of gallery, as well as the trailer and other program tips to offer.

Conclusion:Rigor Mortis is an atmospheric work that mixes humor with gritty horror. The story is very much rooted in the mythology of Chinese spirit worlds, and as such is likely to be somewhat confusing for viewers to whom this is completely foreign, making it difficult to access. But if you can get used to the somewhat unfamiliar narrative style and the not quite clearly drawn plot, you will get a vampire movie of a very special kind. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp