Mr. Vampire IV

Mr. Vampire IV, also known as Mr. Vampire Saga Four (Chinese: 殭屍叔叔) is a 1988 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Ricky Lau and produced by Sammo Hung and Jessica Chan. The film is the fourth of a series of five films directed by Ricky Lau in the Mr. Vampire franchise. Mr. Vampire and its sequels were released as part of the jiangshi cinematic boom in Hong Kong during the 1980s.[1] The Chinese title of the film literally translates to Uncle Vampire.

Mr. Vampire IV
Original Hong Kong film poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese殭屍叔叔
Simplified Chinese僵尸叔叔
Directed byRicky Lau
Screenplay byLo Wing-keung
Story by
  • Ricky Lau
  • Lo Wing-Keung
  • Shut Mei-yee
  • Sam Chi-Leung
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
  • Abdul M. Rumjahn
  • Tom Lau
  • Bill Wong
Edited by
  • Peter Cheung
  • Keung Chuen-tak
Music byStephen Shing
Production
companies
  • Bo Ho Films Co., Ltd.
  • Paragon Films Ltd.
Distributed byGolden Harvest
Release date
  • 12 December 1988 (1988-12-12)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese
Box officeHK$14,038,901

Plot

In the rural countryside, a bespectacled Taoist priest (called Four-eyed Taoist) is always at odds with his neighbour, a Buddhist monk called Master Yat-yau. Their respective students, Kar-lok and Ching-ching, are friendly towards each other. The Taoist and Buddhist play pranks on each other.

One day, a convoy of soldiers escorting a coffin passes by their houses. Inside the convoy is Four-eyed's junior, Taoist Crane, and Crane's four disciples, as well as a young prince and his bodyguards. Four-eyed and Yat-yau learn from Crane that there is a jiangshi (Chinese "hopping" vampire) in the coffin, and the convoy is on its way to the capital to let the emperor inspect the jiangshi.

During a thunderstorm that night, rainwater washes away the magical charms on the coffin and the vampire breaks out, becoming more powerful after being struck by a bolt of lightning. The vampire starts attacking everyone in the convoy and infecting them with the "vampire virus", causing them to transform into vampires as well after a short time. Taoist Crane remains behind to hold off the vampire while the prince and his attendant flee towards the houses.

At this critical moment, Four-eyed and Yat-yau both decide to put aside their differences and focus on destroying the vampires.

Cast
  • Anthony Chan as Four-eyed Taoist (四目道長), a Taoist priest
  • Wu Ma as Master Yat-yau (一休大師), a Buddhist monk
  • Chin Kar-lok as Kar-lok (家樂), Four-eyed's student
  • Loletta Lee as JīngJīng (菁菁), Yat-yau's student
  • Yuen Wah as Attendant Wu (烏侍長), the prince's feminine personal attendant
  • Pauline Wong as the Vixen Spirit, a demoness who tries to seduce Four-eyed
  • Chung Fat as Taoist Crane (千鶴道長), Four-eyed's junior
  • Hoh Kin-wai as the 71st Prince
  • Cheung Wing-cheung as the Vampire
  • Chun Kwai-bo as one of the prince's guards
  • Chu Tau as one of the prince's guards
  • Pang Yun-cheung as one of the prince's guards
  • Ka Lee as one of Taoist Crane's students
  • Chow Gam-kong as one of Taoist Crane's students
  • Kwan Yung as one of Taoist Crane's students
  • Lung Ying as a soldier

Home media

VHS
Release date Country Classifaction Publisher Format Language Subtitles Notes REF
Unknown United States Unknown Rainbow Audio and Video Incorporation NTSC Cantonese English [2]

Laserdisc
Release date Country Classifaction Publisher Catalog No Format Language Subtitles Notes REF
Unknown Japan N/A Pioneer LDC CLV / NTSC Cantonese Japanese Audio Mono [3]
1989 Hong Kong N/A Unknown SEL0133H89 CLV / NTSC Cantonese None Audio: Stereo, 2 Sides [4]

VCD
Release date Country Classifaction Publisher Format Language Subtitles Notes REF
Unknown Hong Kong N/A Deltamac (HK) NTSC Cantonese, Mandarin English, Chinese 2VCDs [5]
1 April 2000 Hong Kong N/A Joy Sales (HK) NTSC Cantonese, Mandarin English, Traditional Chinese 2VCDs [6]

DVD
Release date Country Classifaction Publisher Format Region Language Sound Subtitles Notes REF
Unknown Japan N/A Universal Pictures Japan NTSC 2 Cantonese, Japanese Dolby Digital Mono Japanese Digitally Re-mastered Box-set [7]
19 December 2002 Hong Kong N/A Deltamac (HK) NTSC ALL Cantonese, Mandarin Dolby Digital English, Chinese [8]
19 February 2004 France N/A HK Video PAL 2 Cantonese Dolby Digital French Box-set [9]
15 March 2008 Hong Kong N/A Joy Sales (HK) NTSC ALL Cantonese, Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0 English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese [10]

Blu Ray
Release date Country Classifaction Publisher Format Language Subtitles Notes REF
22nd May 2023 United Kingdom 18 Eureka Entertainment N/A Cantonese English Part of the Hopping Mad box set [11]

References
  1. Lam, Stephanie (2009). "Hop on Pop: Jiangshi Films in a Transnational Context". CineAction (78): 46–51.
  2. "Mr. Vampire Saga 4 (Jiang shi shu shu) (1988) - 1988 Golden Harvest Ltd./Rainbow Audio VHS". ghoulbasement.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  3. "Mr. Vampire [IT94]". urabanchou.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  4. "Mr. Vampire Saga: vol.4 Rare LaserDisc". dadons-laserdiscs.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  5. "VCD Mr Vampire 4 Deltamac". cinemasie.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  6. "Mr. Vampire Saga 4 (VCD) (Hong Kong Version) VCD". yesasia.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  7. "Mr.Vampire DVD Box [Limited Release]". cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  8. "Mr Vampire Saga 4 Deltamac CO. LTD". play-asia.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  9. "Mister Vampire : L'intégrale - Coffret 4 DVD". amazon.fr. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  10. "Mr. Vampire Saga 4 (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All". yesasia.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  11. "Hopping Mad: The Mr Vampire Sequels (Blu-ray)".
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