| Mr. Vampire IV | |||||||||||
| Native Name: |
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| Director: | Ricky Lau | ||||||||||
| Screenplay: | Lo Wing-keung | ||||||||||
| Music: | Stephen Shing | ||||||||||
| Distributor: | Golden Harvest | ||||||||||
| Runtime: | 96 minutes | ||||||||||
| Country: | Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Language: | Cantonese | ||||||||||
| Gross: | 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.
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.
| 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] |
| Release date | Country | Classifaction | Publisher | Format | Language | Subtitles | Notes | REF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Hong Kong | N/A | Deltamac (HK) | NTSC | Cantonese, Mandarin | English, Chinese | 2 VCDs | [5] | |
| 1 April 2000 | Hong Kong | N/A | Joy Sales (HK) | NTSC | Cantonese, Mandarin | English, Traditional Chinese | 2 VCDs | [6] |
| 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] |