Vampires vs Hopping Vampires: Mr Vampire Series and Hong Kong Vampire Hunters

Vampires are living dead creatures, but the Western version is very different from the Eastern version. Hopping vampires move around with their arms outstretched, wearing black robes with a mandarin-like square on the chest, indicating their status as civil servants of the Qing Dynasty. The birth of hopping vampire films coincided with a political period characterized by fear and uncertainty in Hong Kong, highlighting possible misalignments between Confucian and contemporary outlooks, multiculturalism and xenophobia, and mainstream religion and occultism. In The Mr. Vampire Series, Hong Kong vampire hunters must tread a fine line to maintain the right kind of apolitical correctness and mutual coexistence. As they neutralize threats from within and without, they also care for various human-friendly ghosts and vampires, emphasizing tolerance and vigilance in a world of “live and let live.”