88 Films have been on a secret mission to unearth Wong Kar
Wai’s efforts as a screenwriter on other directors’ movies including but not
limited to Rosa and Flaming Brothers from 1987. That same year also began the
writing-directing career of comedy filmmaker Jeffrey Lau with the Hong Kong
horror comedy film The Haunted Cop Shop.
While Lau would carry on in this direction including comedies like A
Chinese Odyssey and the Operation Pink Squad films, Wai’s career
path would diverge elsewhere entirely into the ethereal romantic drama of ennui
and falling in and out of love.
While
they were together though, they devised this goofy, colorful tongue-in-cheek vampire
comedy that’s equal parts bawdy and occasionally kind of scary in that overly
lit color saturated Hong Kong way. There’s
also, like many Chinese films of the 1980s, still fresh unrest and wounds from
the Japanese occupation during WWII though treated here with a science-fiction/horror-comedy
element.
In Hong Kong, a police precinct starts experiencing hauntings over the building’s past amid WWII as a hangout for Japanese soldiers during the war with many of them committing hara kiri at the end of it. While tied to real world horror roots, the film quickly becomes a sort of buddy comedy involving Kim Mak-Kei (Jacky Cheung) and Man Chiu (Ricky Hui) arresting a jewel thief named Sneaky Ming (Billy Lau) for stealing a bejeweled crucifix.
In Hong Kong, a police precinct starts experiencing hauntings over the building’s past amid WWII as a hangout for Japanese soldiers during the war with many of them committing hara kiri at the end of it. While tied to real world horror roots, the film quickly becomes a sort of buddy comedy involving Kim Mak-Kei (Jacky Cheung) and Man Chiu (Ricky Hui) arresting a jewel thief named Sneaky Ming (Billy Lau) for stealing a bejeweled crucifix.
However a ghost in a pink dress releases Ming from his cell where he is
cornered by demons and turned into a vampire.
Pleading his findings to Kim Mak-Kei and Man Chiu who are skeptical
until sunlight turns Sneaky Ming to ashes, their only recourse is to try and
explain to their new superior Fanny Ho (Kitty Chan) somehow that vampires are
real. From here it turns into a sort of
riff on Dracula in The Old Dark House with a bloodthirsty vampire
biting the necks of any he can turn towards his allegiance.
Produced by In-Gear Film Production Co, Ltd. who would later produce WKW’s Days of Being Wild and distributed by Golden Harvest, The Haunted Cop Shop is a superbly silly headed horror comedy full of jump scares, creepy lighting effects, absurd scenarios, bawdy sex comedy and a richly colorful visual palette thanks to Mr. Vampire cinematographer Peter Ngor. The soundtrack by Anders Nelsson and Alastair Monteith-Hodge is serviceable low-budget synth fare that’s largely secondary to the film’s lush visuals.
Produced by In-Gear Film Production Co, Ltd. who would later produce WKW’s Days of Being Wild and distributed by Golden Harvest, The Haunted Cop Shop is a superbly silly headed horror comedy full of jump scares, creepy lighting effects, absurd scenarios, bawdy sex comedy and a richly colorful visual palette thanks to Mr. Vampire cinematographer Peter Ngor. The soundtrack by Anders Nelsson and Alastair Monteith-Hodge is serviceable low-budget synth fare that’s largely secondary to the film’s lush visuals.
Jacky Cheung and Ricky Hui as the two main cop pals who are both boorish
rabble rousers trying to keep their heads above water and not get drawn into
the vampire’s lair while Billy Lau makes the thief a hilarious goon. The most striking figure in the saga of
course is the vampire itself played with gusto by Rico Chu including some time-honored
sight gags of appearing behind an unsuspecting character and waiting patiently
for the idiot victim to turn around and face his demise.
Effects heavy and with a sense of humor and sexiness traceable to the eventual Hong Kong master filmmaker’s own later work with Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love, The Haunted Cop Shop comes to 88 Films on a Region A Blu-ray disc 2K restored from the original camera negatives and presented in 1080p. Alongside the original Cantonese mono track is an audio commentary by Frank Djeng of the NY Asian Film Festival.
Effects heavy and with a sense of humor and sexiness traceable to the eventual Hong Kong master filmmaker’s own later work with Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love, The Haunted Cop Shop comes to 88 Films on a Region A Blu-ray disc 2K restored from the original camera negatives and presented in 1080p. Alongside the original Cantonese mono track is an audio commentary by Frank Djeng of the NY Asian Film Festival.
There’s a retrospective video essay from James Mudge, a collection of
alternate/extended shots from the Mandarin release version, an original
trailer, limited slipcover and reversible sleeve art replete with a foldable
reversible mini poster. Fans keen on the
period of Hong Kong horror comedy, director Jeffrey Lau’s comedy career and
Wong Kar Wai’s early screenwriting before finding his own path will most
certainly want to indulge in this limited special edition. Hopefully soon 88 Films follows this up with
the film’s sequel.
--Andrew Kotwicki