Mr. Vampire IV

Mr. Vampire IV
Original Hong Kong film poster
Traditional	僵屍叔叔
Simplified	僵尸叔叔
Mandarin	Jiāngshī Shūshū
Cantonese	Goeng1 Si1 Suk1 Suk1
Directed by	Ricky Lau
Produced by	Sammo Hung Jessica Chan
Screenplay by	Lo Wing-keung
Story by	Ricky Lau Lo Wing-Keung Shut Mei-yee Sam Chi-Leung
Starring	Anthony Chan Wu Ma Chin Kar-lok Loletta Lee
Music by	Stephen Shing
Cinematography	Abdul M. Rumjahn Tom Lau Bill Wong
Edited by	Peter Cheung Keung Chuen-tak
Production company	Bo Ho Films Co., Ltd. Paragon Films Ltd.
Distributed by	Golden Harvest
Release dates	12 December 1988
Running time	96 minutes
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Cantonese
Box office	HK$14,038,901

Mr. Vampire IV, also known as Mr. Vampire Saga Four, 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.

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]

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. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
4. "Mr. Vampire Saga: vol.4 Rare LaserDisc". dadons-laserdiscs.com. 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.

External links

• Mr. Vampire IV at the Internet Movie Database
• Mr. Vampire IV at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
• Mr. Vampire IV at Hong Kong Cinemagic