Corpse Mania (1981)

Corpse Mania is one of those titles that makes me immediately think of those insane, bug-infested, gross-out, black magic movies that proliferated in Hong Kong during the early 80s; but although this film does have its fair share of creepy-crawlies, what the movie most closely resembles seems far less likely—a giallo!Just like those Italian murder mysteries, Corpse Mania features stylish cinematography that makes maximum use of vivid colours and strong lighting, a mysterious killer who keep his face well hidden (in this case wearing a scarf, dark glasses and a hat to disguise himself), red herrings aplenty, several bloody death scenes, and a silly ending in which the killer's true identity is finally revealed (along with the reason why they're making such a mess in the first place). As is common with this kind of fare, not everything makes perfect sense (particularly so with my version, in which the English subtitles were partially obscured), and sometimes the going is tough during the less lurid moments, but the film's creative visuals and a general willingness to offend make it reasonably entertaining nonsense nonetheless.During the course of his film, director Chih-Hung Kuei presents his viewers with not one, but two scenes of necrophilia (this is where we are treated to some delightful shots of completely naked dead women smothered in writhing maggots), a pretty cool decapitation, several gory knife attacks, and a body falling from a height and going splat on impact with the ground; there is also a well orchestrated moment of tension which sees a woman struggling to raise the alarm as she is gradually pulled beneath her bed, some inexplicably surreal behaviour from the necrophiliac, who rubs a corpse with a big furry glove before eventually getting jiggy with it, and this being a Shaw Brothers production, we even get a smattering of kung fu action.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

The name may suggest some grainy, low-budget 70's American slasher. Corpse Mania is an astonishing, transgressive Chinese giallo, the first I've ever seen. Without the Internet and the chain of companies that culminate in Netflix, I'd have never known about hundreds of excellent foreign films that never made it to US theaters. A few minutes into Corpse Mania and it's apparent that director Kuei Chih Hung and his writing partner On Szeto were heavily influenced by Mario Bava's Blood & Black Lace. The artistic cinematography highly evocative of Bava's genius with its deep blues and blood reds, fog-shrouded locations and creepy, decrepit large houses. The masked, behatted knife-wielding murderer brutally striking in operatic, shocking scenes that are pure Italian giallo. Kuei Chih Hung takes the basic plot (and look) of Black Lace and pushes it way--way--over the edge, changing the original's fashion house to a house of prostitution. While the police investigation in Black Lace was of minor importance to Bava, who was more interested in depicting his picturesque murders, the police investigation is the main thrust of CM, headed with grim determination and plodding authority by Yung Wong. In another alteration, the villain is not only insane, he's a necrophile, bringing sick hookers to his home. After the girls eventually die of their illnesses, he abuses them in graphic, revolting detail. (Warning: There are sickening scenes of maggots crawling all over their decomposing bodies.) The English subtitle translation of Cantonese is typically stilted but this is to be expected. Like Black Lace, there's several twist endings (that I never saw coming) and a final scene that depicts the bureaucratic approach to execution that exists to this day in China. Kuei Chih Hung created a little-known horror masterpiece that DVD has resurrected. Like Bava, his interest is style and surreality, not logic, common sense (why does a girl walk alone down dark alleys knowing a killer is after her?) plot details and reality. The fact that he got the Shaw Brothers to produce it is itself surprising.

Kwei Chi-Hung delivers a Hong Kong-style giallo in "Corpse Mania", possibly his most technically accomplished film. The "borrowed" soundtrack of Don Coscarelli's "Phantasm" (by Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave) sets the spooky tone as the camera prowls a smoky boulevard of the Shaw lot. A man is watched as he carries a sick woman into an abandoned building. Later, a terrible crime is discovered. Necrophilia is the featured paraphilia in this atmospheric horror pic. A well-meaning fiend is rescuing sick women from the streets by giving them a bed in his home and the requisite tender loving care (with benefits). When they die, he doesn't bother reporting them to the authorities. Instead, he romances them in death. This is merely the set-up for a horror pic that pushes beyond conventional genre boundaries. Less hysterical than the director's previous work and more controlled, it is a mood piece with a substantial plot. Although it is explicit at times and bloody (like any giallo), it definitely attempts something very different for Hong Kong horror and succeeds admirably.

This is what I read about it on the back of the vcd:"After a remarkable career directing crime thrillers, comedies, and action films, Kuei Chih-Hung spent his remaining time at Shaw Studio unleashing some of the nastiest horror films ever set in celluloid. A startling tale of a necrophilia serial murderer courtesan corpse, "Corpse Mania" could be called "outrageous" and "amazing", but never "politically correct"! Be warned: you may regret it, but you'll never forget it." To my surprise this turned out be a rather graphic Hong Kong giallo! I honestly enjoyed this one,especially as the movie offers some neat surprises.It's also pretty stylish.Corpse Mania is just waiting to be discovered by fans of the genre.