Import Corner: Hopping Mad: The Mr. Vampire Sequels (Eureka!) Blu-ray Review + 1080p Screenshots + Packaging Shots

Three years ago, Eureka! gave us the definitive blu-ray release of the Hong Kong horror/comedy/martial arts classic, Mr. Vampire. Now, they have given us "almost" all of the sequels that came along following the success of the original.

Studio: Eureka! Entertainment
Release Date: August 15th, 1986 (Mr. Vampire II) / December 17th, 1987 (Mr. Vampire III) / December 21st, 1988 (Mr. Vampire Saga 4) / July 26th, 1989 (Vampire vs Vampire)
Run Time: 1 hour 29 minutes 36 seconds (Mr. Vampire II) / 1 hour 32 minutes 47 seconds (Mr. Vampire III) / 1 hour 34 minutes 1 second (Mr. Vampire Saga 4) / 1 hour 27 minutes 35 seconds (Vampire vs Vampire)
Region Code: B (locked)

Disc Count: 2
Picture: 1080p (1.85:1 aspect ratio) (all films)
Sound: Cantonese LPCM 2.0 (all films) / Cantonese LPCM 2.0 (home video mix) (Vampire vs Vampire) / English LPCM 2.0 (Mr. Vampire II)
Subtitles: English (all films)
Slipcover: Yes
Digital Copy: No
Starring: Yuen Biao, Moon Lee, Lam Ching-ying, Billy Lau, Chung Fat, Agassi Wang, Bowie Wu (Mr. Vampire II) / Lam Ching-ying, Richard Ng, Billy Lau, David Lui, Pauline Wong, Chow Gam-kong, Tam Yat-ching, Hoh Kin-wai, Cheung Wing-cheung, Ka Lee, Sammo Hung, Wu Ma, Corey Yuen, Teddy Yip (Mr. Vampire III) / Anthony Chan, Wu Ma, Chin Kar-lok, Loletta Lee (Mr. Vampire Saga 4) / Lam Ching-ying, Chin Siu-ho, David Lui, Sandra Ng, Billy Lau, Maria Cordero (Vampire vs Vampire)
Written by Barry Wong (Mr. Vampire II) / Lo Wing-keung, Sze-to Cheuk-hon (Mr. Vampire III) / Lo Wing-keung (Mr. Vampire Saga 4) / Sam Chi-leung, Chan Kam-cheong, Sze Mei-yee (Vampire vs Vampire)
Directed by Ricky Lau (Mr. Vampire II and III, Mr Vampire Saga 4) / Lam Ching-ying (Vampire vs Vampire)
Rating: BBFC: 12 (Mr. Vampire II) / BBFC: 15 (strong bloody images, violence) (Mr. Vampire III) / BBFC: 12 (moderate injury detail, violence, threat, suicide, sexual harassment) (Mr. Vampire Saga 4) / BBFC: 15 (strong violence, injury detail) (Vampire vs Vampire)

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Poster

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What's It About?

In Mr Vampire II (aka Vampire Family) an archaeologist and his students unwittingly set free a family of hopping vampires who wreak havoc in 1980s Hong Kong. Mr. Vampire III returns to a period setting and sees Lam Ching-ying’s Taoist priest battle an evil witch (a brilliant performance by veteran actress Pauline Yuk-Wan Wong). Mr Vampire IV (aka Uncle Vampire) two feuding neighbours (a Taoist priest and a Buddhist monk) must join forces when their village is overrun by vampires. And finally in Vampire vs Vampire, Lam Ching-ying’s Taoist priest finds his jiangshi-fighting knowledge is of little help when he goes up against a European vampire.

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Video/Audio

The first two films in this collection, MR. VAMPIRE II and III, have been given brand new 2K restorations, while the other two films, MR. VAMPIRE SAGA IV and VAMPIRE vs VAMPIRE have been given "brand new HD restorations". Both MR. VAMPIRE II and III look great! Both films feature moderate to heavy film grain with each film looking very healthy. Hell, MR. VAMPIRE SAGA IV looks good as well, just not as good the first two films in the set. The fourth film in this set, VAMPIRE vs VAMPIRE looks pretty bad. It appears that this film, and only this film, was given the DNR treatment. Everyone has a waxy look to them and detail is all but scrubbed away. The film also has a hazy, soft look to it as well but a little bit of this would be due to how the film was shot, but the DNR doesn't help one bit. The film is still watchable but the problems with the picture make it a less desirable viewing than the other films in this set.

There is only one film with an English dub, MR VAMPIRE II and it sounds good. The Cantonese tracks for the films all sound hollow and flat but that is par for the course for Hong Kong films in the 80s.

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Extras/Packaging

Disc 1: Mr. Vampire II and Mr. Vampire III

Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng (Mr. Vampire II)

Audio Commentary by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema (Mr. Vampire III)

Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng and John Charles (Mr. Vampire III)

Taoist Cinema: The World of Mr. Vampire (11m 51s, HD, 1.78:1) with optional English subtitles

Mr. Vampire II Extended Scenes (6m 38s, HD, 1.85:1) 3 scenes in Cantonese with English subtitles

Mr. Vampire II Trailer (4m 12s, HD, 1.85:1) in Cantonese with English subtitles

Mr. Vampire III Trailer (3m 19s, HD, 1.85:1)

Disc 2: Mr. Vampire Saga IV and Vampire vs Vampire

Audio Commentary by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema (Mr. Vampire Saga IV)

Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng (Vampire vs Vampire)

Vampire Legacy (16m 44s, HD, 1.78:1) with optional English subtitles. The one thing that I don't like about this is that you have to watch with the English subtitles on in order to get the subtitles for the Chinese language portions. It's either all or nothing. I would have rather had just subtitles for the Chinese parts but I get that Eureka! wanted to be all inclusive and I am ok with that. If I have to watch something, in English, with subtitles to allow more people to watch something, I am all for that.

Mr. Vampire Saga IV Trailer (3m 46s, HD, 1.66:1) in Cantonese with English subtitles.

Vampire vs Vampire Trailer (2m 44s, HD, 1.85:1) in Cantonese with English subtitles.

Of course, the audio commentary tracks are all worth the listen. I learned so much about the industry and the filmmakers from these commentary tracks. I had so much fun with all of them. The deleted scenes for MR. VAMPIRE II are neat but the big video features are really interesting. The one that focuses on the Taoist aspects of the films and I found this incredibly interesting. The video about the rituals and whatnot that are featured in the films is fun as well, but a bit less interesting than the Taoist one.

HOPPING MADE: THE MR. VAMPIRE SEQUELS comes to us from Eureka! Entertainment and they have done a great job with the packaging. We get some wonderful original artwork from Darren Wheeling, who has worked with Eureka! before on their blu-ray releases of DUEL TO THE DEATH, The Anglea Mao Double Feature,and MR. VAMPIRE. The blu-ray case artwork features the original poster artwork from each of the four films in the set. Inside the case is a 24-page booklet with an essay from James Oliver about the films in the set. I am a little bit surprised by how thin the booklet is given the number of films in the set, but the essay is well written and gives all four films their own focus. Each disc (two) is given two films plus their special features.

Both discs are REGION B (locked)

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Overall

I love the original MR. VAMPIRE film and I was very much looking forward to this blu-ray set. I have to say that this set has lived up to my expectations. The second film is a bit too kid heavy but the third film makes up for that by going back to basics. The fourth and fifth (VAMPIRE vs VAMPIRE) are both fun in their own rights. Eureka has done a great job with this set. The only problem with this set is the transfer for VAMPIRE vs VAMPIRE. Outside of that, this is an incredible set that will make fans really happy.

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Extras/Menus