Am I Missing Something?

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Will this movie generate a revival of East-Asian horror hype? Or will it just be the one? In any case, Rigor Mortis shows us that they aren't out of ideas after The Ring, The Grudge, Shutter, One Missed Call, Dark Water and The Eye. The aesthetic has improved a lot and the storyline still is as crazy and imaginative as ever. The Chinese take on vampires is refreshing in an age were our imagery is dominated by Western mythology and fantasy. Maybe the plot had a bit more potential and sometimes the editing is the cause for some narrative confusion, but all in all this is a cool looking and entertaining movie that resembles the above mentioned films with the cinematographic style of the Russian movies Night Watch and Day Watch.

"Rigor Mortis" is a slow-paced but intriguing atmospheric horror movie that honours both classic supernatural Hongkong cinema from the eighties and nineties and Japanese horror cinema of the nineties and the early years of the new millennium. The movie uses mythological elements from both cultures. To dig all these elements, it's suggested to get informed about the mythological background and watch this movie multiple times. You will realize that each character in the movie represents a different kind of ghost from Chinese mythology for example. You might also realize that the strange tall people with the umbrellas that seem to have a random cameo appearance in this movie are actually soul collectors using their umbrellas as traps. You could also see that the cook and the priest are both Taoist priests but while one uses his powers to help people and fight demons, the other uses the same powers for his own selfish acts and helps to awake and strengthen the demons. As you can see, this movie is filled with many lovely little details. If you are looking for explicit gore or an extremely creepy experience, you are at the wrong address.Something that largely contributes to the atmosphere is the use of lights and shades, camera angles varying from wide angels to claustrophobic short cuts and many special effects that especially use colours very well. The CGI effects never look out of place and aren't overused as in many other contemporary Chinese films, especially action movies. In his directional debut, Juno Mak manages to keep the basis of solid traditional horror movies based on an atmospheric use of lights and sounds, on creepy settings in a dirty public housing tower with old- fashioned apartments and on a menacing score and more contemporary elements such as the use of vivid flashy colours contrasting with the dark settings, computer-animated demons that sometimes look exotically supernatural and at other times disturbingly realistic and slow-motion camera sequences that add a nightmarish touch to the movie.Apart of its detailed background and its consistent gloomy atmosphere, the movie can actually convince with some interesting characters. Each important character in this movie has a tragic tale to tell and some sort of development. Some of the background stories are actually quite touching and mostly deal with loss in one way or the other. The acting is calm, grounded and actually realistic and a welcome change if compared to the usual hysterically screaming teenagers. There is not really one outstanding acting performance but each actor and actress does an above average effort in this film.It's hard to talk about the plot itself as several individual fates and different stories end up leading to something bigger and a fatal last fight between some courageous apartment tenants and some evil creatures. The movie also contains some sort of twist or alternate story if you want to which is revealed in the last three minutes. This twist is nothing really surprising after all and maybe the only real weak point in here but you have to understand that what matters in this movie is not really the outcome of it but the way things unfold. The way between start and finish is much more intriguing than the short overture and the grand finale themselves.Now, if you care for atmospheric, mythological and slow-paced Asian horror cinema where you have to use your brain a little bit, this is definitely one of the most original movies in many years. If you are expecting the usual graphic shocker or scary supernatural film that solely wants to entertain, then you might actually dislike this film. Make sure to be familiar with Asian horror cinema before checking this movie out and you might enjoy your overall experience even more.

At first, I wasn't clear about what happened at the start, then, clarity formed closer to the end of the movie when parts of the plot started tying up, and finally, got confused again by the ending. I must confess that I initially thought the ending botched the entire movie, sort of anti-climatic (much like The Myth, when Jackie Chan refused to acknowledged his past, making the entire movie a scam)Then, I started reading about the main actor (Chin Siu-Ho's) real-life issues, and using his issues, relooked at the movie in its entirety, and finally, I understood the movie and how it ended. Bear in mind, that my interpretation is perhaps but 1 perspective of the movie. Someone else could have a different view. However, I must say that this movie is complicated so much so that anyone who goes to watch this without (1) an understanding of Chinese folklore, (2) understanding that the actor is acting as himself and (3) understanding a bit of the actor's past, may think the movie is really bad and would give a bad rating on IMDb.All said, here's my SPOILER ALERT. I will be commenting on the ending now.The ending seems to be an alternate reality, where every character has a different path, and the main lead died by hanging, without any ghosts, or vampires appearing. It seems pretty mundane, death is also mundane (no great sacrifice, no dying with a cause). And yet, that's where the gist of the ending is. Whereas in the 1st death, where the lead lay dying after a major combat with the vampire-ghost, the final scene was just a boring "he hung himself" When you looked into the real-life history of the main actor, he had issues, he was a rather successful actor in his hey-day, when vampire movies were extremely popular, and he had lots of movies to work on. Later, as interest in vampire movies die down, he began to have less work, having to work backstage, his career going downhill, and also his divorce with his wife. Chinese have a saying, that "Real-life is like a movie, and movie is like real-life", thus they can become murky and muddled up for an actor. The movie thus, in my view, is deliberately murky and muddled, with the majority of the movie reflecting upon the movie aspect of the actor's life, and the ending reflecting upon the real-life aspect of the actor's life, that despite how a movie can be dramatic, life is just mundane. Also, that the movie-aspect and the mundane-aspect of the movie seemingly happening at the same time (both started with his moving into the apartment, and both ending with him dying) reflects upon the double life an actor lives (the movie aspect, and the real-life aspect) In the end, his 1st death may be representative of his wanting to leave showbiz on a high note, and his final ending death may be representative of his willingness to accept reality, that leaving on a high note will not happen, and to let go of his past and look towards the future. I view the final scene, when his son came to identify his body, as a representation that he is putting his past to rest, and embracing his future with his family. Anyway, that's my interpretation. All in all, a movie with complexity, not just a pure horror movie. Quite a good one in my opinion, so 8/10 for me.

Rigor Mortis is not a horror movie that is eager to scare the pants out of people. As what the trailer suggests, it is a moody atmospheric horror movie that is borderline art-house. What may surprise audience is that it actually takes its time to develop the story.The story: It is quite straight-forward. A man moves into a spooky apartment in a 'washed- out' building. It is expected as spirits inhabit the apartment and things happen. Hold on before you think this will turn into a thrilling and scary ride. In fact, this favours slow-burning thrills and pace. It doesn't move in a break-neck pace but strangely the slow-burning pace will urge you to find out more. It builds up to a visually stunning climax where a fight with the vampire ensues. The stylish effects including the slo-mo and a few brief fight scenes enhance the movie, adding a flavour to it. The moody atmosphere of the movie is commendable.Overall: It is commendable that this breaks away from the other horror movies. Instead it is a bleak but stylish horror movie with a slower pace. Watch this movie without thinking too much and let the story reveal its truth in its own style. http://moreviewsed.blogspot.sg