Bluffing kfooz

This is one of my favourite from this year's HKIFF.

Rigor Mortis (2013)

Directed by: Juno Mak

Written by:  Jill Leung, Philip Yung, Juno Mak 

Starring:      Anthony Chan, Siu-Ho Chin, Kara Hui, Hoi-Pang Lo, Richard Ng, Nina Paw

OK. First of all, let's see what is "rigor mortis".

"Rigor mortis (Latin: rigor "stiffness", mortis "of death") is one of the recognizable signs of death, caused by chemical changes in themuscles after death, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff and difficult to move or manipulate." --- From Wikipedia

This is the directorial debut of singer-turned-director Juno Mak. It is a lovely surprise to see such an unusual gothic film from Hong Kong. It gains mostly positive reviews from both the industry and audience. I missed the first round screening. Luckily, I caught up at HKIFF.

When Hollywood are busy making tons of vampire fantasy films for the kidults, the vampires in HK style were not here for romances. This genre flourished and decayed. And Now, Juno is bringing it back to life, with a bit modern touch. 

I do like the concept of the film. I like it paying respect to the old aspect of HK, like the films, the actors, the public housing, the food and of course the myths. There are a lot of characters in this story. They are all interesting and full of back storries. However, together it's to much going on. I thought Chin Siu Ho is supposed to be the main character. And about the ending, ummm, what was that? Inception??

The performance of the cast is sublime. Ms Paw is the star of the film. The scene where she revolve around her vampire husband and the scene where she shut her ears from the innocent kid is hauntingly good. Her emotion is subtle but strong. Truly unforgatable.

The film is very much like Juno's music, very sppoky and moody. In technical aspect, it is a beautful gothic artwork. Every shot is a picyure. I also like the grey tone. I praise the visual of the film, but not until it turns into a video game. It feels gimmicky.  

I like the film even though it's a bit over the top. It surprises me. The credit definitely goes to Juno Mak. As the cast said, he knows what he was doing.