Why can't Chinese zombies bend their knees and must jump straight forward? Why do Chinese zombies wear Qing official uniforms? Why hold your breath when encountering Chinese zombies?
The students who grew up fascinated by Hong Kong-made zombie films since childhood rarely paid attention to these setting sources. Many zombie movies in the 1980s did not have a consistent worldview system. These settings can be used as a "zombie response manual" is the 1985 zombie film monumental work "Mr. Zombie".
In the early 1980s, Sammo Hung's ghost kung fu comedy "Ghosts Fighting Ghosts" hit the box office and became the cash machine of Jiahe Company. From then on, Sammo Hung was determined to deepen the theme of ghosts.
After "Ghosts Fighting Ghosts", "Man Scaring", "Man Scaring Ghosts", Sammo Hung retired from behind the scenes and spurred the members of the Hong family class, let Liu Guanwei be the director, and Lin Zhengying starred as the zombie leader to create "Mr. Zombie". Leading the trend of zombie films and ushering in a glorious era.
1. The orthodox setting of the zombie film, the zombie response manual
The success of "Mr. Zombie" is inseparable from the directors Liu Guanwei and Lin Zhengying. The former has consulted a large number of folk literature, and the latter has deep martial arts skills. With rich experience in action design, the two have systematically systemized the world view of the zombie film.
Later Zombie Movies Regardless of whether Lin Zhengying participates, these settings will be followed in the movie and become the template for future zombie movies.
Yizhuang is a common scene in Hong Kong zombie films, this is not groundless. The Hong Kong Donghua Estate, established in 1875, is a transit point for the corpses of Chinese people from all over the world to be transported back to their hometowns. In the 1960s, it was full of scale and placed the corpses of many celebrities including Lee Shau Kee's father, Li Jiefu.
Yizhuang generally has two employees who "eat and live with the corpse". In "Mr. Zombie", Lin Zhengying's apprentices, Xu Guanying and Qian Xiaohao play the roles of the two staff guarding the Yizhuang, and the coffin is served twice a day.
In the 1980s, there were rumors that a zombie incident occurred in Donghua Yizhuang. Four corpses started activities at noon and were eventually subdued by a Taoist priest from Maoshan.
Director Liu Guanwei’s uncle is a master Maoshan, who has been familiar with zombie stories since he was a child. One of the screenwriters, Huang Ying, was the hottest ghost novelist in Hong Kong at that time. The other two screenwriters, Huang Bingyao and Situ Zhuohan, were famous Hong Kong gold screenwriters. This incident was also one of their inspirations for writing "Mr. Zombie".
The zombies placed in Yizhuang in the film became active because the lampstand was extinguished and the paper talisman on their heads fell. Lin Zhengying and Chen You captured them together by making a special gesture. , Bit his finger and pour blood on the zombie's forehead, making them stand still.
"Mr. Zombie" is based on the story of Yizhuang, adding the Xiangxi corpse. Based on the folklore of the Qing Dynasty and the folklore of the Miao people in western Hunan, the corpse-driving people used witchcraft to bring the corpses of the people who died in other places back to their hometowns for burial.
At the beginning of the movie, it is the corpse chaser played by Chen You, dressed in robes and ringing bells. The group of zombies dressed in Qing Dynasty official uniforms with their hands straightened and feet together, followed Chen You and jumped home in line .
2, professionally watch Feng Shui, deal with zombies
In the film, the first business of Lin Zhengying, the 9th uncle of Maoshan Taoist priest, was to help local rich gentleman Ren to watch Feng Shui. At that time, Mr. Ren believed that Mr. Feng Shui needed to be buried 20 years after his father was buried. He asked Jiu Shu for help.
Back then, the tomb was a "dragonfly point water cave", but there was no correct "snowflake cover". It was covered with cement, and Ren's business also plummeted because of this.
The relocation tomb was dug, but the Jiu Shu found that Mr. Ren's father had not been corrupted for 20 years. Uncle Jiu suggested to be cremated immediately, but Mr. Ren disagreed, so he had to temporarily take the body back to Yizhuang.
The corpse of Master Ren wore the Qing Dynasty official uniform.Now in the 1979 film "Maoshan Zombie Boxing" directed by Liu Jialiang, it is widely known as "Mr.
Lin Zhengying judged that Master Ren’s corpse was the one that was about to become a zombie. In the film, he explained the cause of the zombies: a sigh of relief.
Because of fear that the master will become a zombie, Jiu Shu ordered his apprentices Qiu Sheng (Qian Xiaohao) and Wen Cai (Xu Guanying) to get his Maoshan Taoist five-piece suit: yellow paper, red pen, black ink, Real sword, wooden sword.
ordered the two apprentices to bomb the ink mixed with chicken blood and glutinous rice on Master Ren’s coffin with an ink line. In the 1980s Donghua Yizhuang zombie incident, Maoshan Taoist priests' ultimate solution to the problem was to tie the coffin with an ink pipe rope. It is said that these four "zombies" are still stored in a secret room in Yizhuang.
Folklore ends in this play, and the movie continues. Qian Xiaohao and Xu Guanying are sloppy, forgetting to play the bottom of the coffin. At night, Master Ren’s zombies were dispatched and killed Mr. Ren, who naturally became a zombie.
Mr. Ren was killed. The nephew played by Lou Nanguang who worked in the police station insisted that Uncle Jiu was a prisoner and brought the bodies of Uncle Jiu and Mr. Ren back to the police station. In the middle of the night, Mr. Ren's zombies began to move, and the Jiu Shu asked Qian Xiaohao to fetch the Taoist Taoist meal from Maoshan. The setting in the movie is that the zombie will burn when hitting the ink fountain line.
Jiu Shu uses a mahogany sword into the zombie's heart, then lights the paper talisman, throws it on the zombie, let it be completely cremated.
In "Mr. Zombie", the zombie novelist Huang Ying made a groundbreaking principle for the attributes of the zombie itself: Unlike the zombies in Western movies, Chinese zombies are relatively low-powered, and it is a matter of life. The human breath comes to attack, so as long as you hold your breath, the zombie will lose its target. When "Mr. Zombie" was released in Taiwan Province, even the title was changed to "Stop Breathing Temporarily".
After being scratched and bitten by a Chinese zombie, it is not as completely unsaved as the zombies in Western movies. Jiu Shu teaches you the remedy: take out the snake gall of a live snake, mash it, put it on the wound, treat the corpse poison with snake venom, and fight the poison with poison.
Nuomi is also the best weapon against zombies. Uncle Nine asked to sprinkle glutinous rice on the bed, and Xu Guanying, who was scratched by the zombies, jumped on the bed; let Mr. Ren's daughter Tingting Xu Guanying make glutinous rice porridge and corpse poison.
Maoshan Taoist's business scope is not only to catch zombies, but also to solve people's ghosts: Qian Xiaohao ran into a female ghost and fell in love with him at first sight. Uncle Jiu had to follow Qian Xiaohao and wipe his eyes with [Grapefruit Leaf], and you could see the female ghost prototype.
Lin Zhengying used the Maoshan Taoist weapon-money sword in catching the ghost. String the spell money into a dagger, borrowing the energy of moonlight, and turning it into a gleaming artifact.
This is not groundless. There is a folk tradition of using amulet money to drive away evil and avoid evil, and Taoists in the Qing Dynasty often used it as a practice. After the spell money was consecrated by the Taoist priests, the folks often hung it at home or on the body to ward off evil spirits.
3. Zombie comedy: horror film selection for the faint-hearted
The biggest difference between Hong Kong zombie films and western film zombie films lies in the low energy of zombies and Maoshan Taoist priests. Funny and high-powered, Lin Zhengying is the superhero in the "Lin Zhengying Zombie Movie Universe", and he naturally loses his sense of horror.
is the best choice for the timid. At first glance, the title seems to be a horror movie, but it is actually a comedy in nature. Comedy horror films in Hong Kong at the timeThe scarcity of the movie market is also one of the reasons why Lin Zhengying has become a legend.
The powerful and omnipotent master of magic power and the unlucky apprentice who is playful and troublesome is a major tradition in Hong Kong ghost movies, especially the nine uncles of Maoshan Taoist priest played by Lin Zhengying, and the disciples Qiu Sheng and Xu Guanying played by the apprentice Qian Xiaohao. Literary talent has become a classic combination of Hong Kong zombie films.
The daily life of the master and apprentice can be described as full of laughter. For example, Lin Zhengying was taken away by Mr. Ren's nephew, Awei played by Lou Nanguang, who was in the police station and got stuck in the cell. live. Qian Xiaohao came to give him ink fountains and other tools. He asked Qian Xiaohao to find a way for him and let him put his head back.
Qian Xiaohao plays the eccentric Qiusheng, always thinking of the tricky Master, immediately went to take off Lin Zhengying's pants. Lin Zhengying's head came out in shock.
Mr. Ren’s zombies started to move, Lin Zhengying accidentally got stuck again, this time Qian Xiaohao directly raised the bench. Lin Zhengying's head came out in shock. Master and disciple love each other and kill each other. Such hilarious scenes can be seen everywhere in the film.
In addition, the film also has a love element: there are two beauties in the film, which also adds a lot of highlights.
Li Saifeng plays Mr. Ren’s daughter Tingting. Because Qian Xiaohao's aunt asked Qian Xiaohao to help see the rouge shop. He just told him to increase the price by 30% if a prostitute came to buy it. Finally, Tingting happened to enter the door. Qian Xiaohao's view of Tingting as a prostitute is also very humorous.
The female ghost who loves Qian Xiaohao is played by Wang Xiaofeng. The episode "Ghost Bride" composed by Nie Anda appeared in a sedan chair.
The female ghost is actually kind-hearted. Just because Qian Xiaohao passed by her grave and gave her a stick of incense, she became infatuated with him. Later, the younger brother Wencai, played by Xu Guanying, became a zombie after being poisoned by a corpse, and she also came to rescue Qian Xiaohao.
However, this relationship ended dismal, because Lin Zhengying's zombie movie universe has a basic worldview: people and ghosts cannot be together. Under Qian Xiaohao's plea, Lin Zhengying didn't make a move, because in this way the female ghost would never be able to live longer. Lin Zhengying asked Qian Xiaohao to deal with her, and Qian Xiaohao let her go.
"Mr. Zombie" is a large-scale commercial film with a relatively large investment in Hong Kong films that year. The signs of burning funds can be seen from the set and props without any plastic feeling in the film.
When Qian Xiaohao and the female ghost were going to be followed by Lin Zhengying on their second date, they had a fight with the female ghost. After the female ghost escaped, the courtyard was full of wind and rain, and the exquisite courtyard became a barren house full of spider webs. There was not a special effects lens in this process, it was achieved through the subtle arrangement of photography and fieldwork, which was amazing at the technical level at the time.
"Mr. Zombie" with an investment of 8.5 million, was prevalent at that time and shoddy. It was a freak in the Hong Kong film market, which was keen on small and broad. He Guanchang and He Guanchang of Jiahe before the release Producer Sammo Hung was so nervous that he couldn't sleep at night, thinking that the cost would not be recovered, and director Liu Guanwei was also afraid that he would bid farewell to the film industry.
But fortunately, the film sold in Taiwan Province, and Hong Kong also soared at the box office of 20 million. This box office level is unprecedented in movies of the same subject. (Author: Mankei Wu)
