Revisit "Mr. Zombie" and find that it brings traditional Chinese folk culture to the extreme. Like feng shui culture: in the film, the wealthy old man Ren moved to his father's tomb to change the feng shui transfer, which turned his father into a zombie. It was not until Maoshan Taoist priest (Lin Zhengying) was invited to find out that this so-called geomantic treasure land was originally made by others for revenge.
Before "Mr. Zombie", Maoshan Taoism was rarely seen in movies (usually not explicitly). "Mr. Zombie" and Lin Zhengying introduced me to Maoshan Taoism. When I was a child, I was scared by zombies when I was watching a movie, but I don't need to be afraid when I think of this "Maoshan Taoist"! In the film, there are strange things such as corpse hunters and female ghosts sucking souls; there are also ink lines, raw glutinous rice, yellow paper charms, peach wood swords, and gossip mirrors, which have become magic weapons well-known to the audience.
Most of the original zombie films imitated foreign zombies, walking stiffly and slowly. "Mr. Zombie" has successfully created a unique image of Chinese zombies. It can be said that the most characteristic feature of this film is the zombies wearing the official uniforms of the Qing Dynasty jumping and showing dark yellow and sharp teeth when they open their mouths. In addition to this, the film also portrays many classic folk superstitions. For example, the theory that raw glutinous rice can remove corpse poison, that zombies will rush over to suck blood as soon as you remove the paper charm, and that you can avoid zombies by stopping breathing, all made a deep impression on me.
Mr. Zombie is a clever blend of comedy and horror. While funny and entertaining, the fighting scenes are also in place. There are funny fights like Jackie Chan action movies, and Sammo Hung action movies with real hard work. Coupled with the zombie theme, the two stupefied apprentices fight with each other like Tom & Jerry but deal with the zombie king together, forming an interesting and unforgettable movie!
－－References
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[1] Zhu Jiakun (2008). Talking about Hong Kong Type Films. Wuhan, China: Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House.
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