A vampire returns to undeath at a police station in the entertaining diversion HAUNTED COP SHOP. The 1987Jeffrey Lau film is now on Blu-ray from 88 Films.
The Film
TW: Animal violence
Haunted Cop Shop, directed by Jeffrey Lau and written by Rosa’s Wong Kar-wai, is the kind of film that’s just dumb fun. Nothing great, often a bit cringe, cheap as hell. But still entertaining, a silly way to spend an afternoon. Jackie Chung and Ricky Hui are a pair of idiot cops working at a specific station. This station sits on the remains of a Japanese club during World War II. For… reasons?… a Japanese General, some sort of ghost-and-vampire mix, is brought into the world, causing chaos, and they have to take it down with help from a new boss played by Kitty Chan. new boss is female, so gird yourself to expect some groanworthy sexual humor, sliding nearly into assault levels.
Haunted Cop Shop has a ton of fun sequences. The petty criminal, who apparently has some sort of latent reason to resurrect the ghost/vampire, gets an extended sequence when the club’s ghost messes with him in a The Shining sort of way (almost replicating shots and lighting choices). While chasing the monsters, the trio runs into a kung-fu master and priest who not only helps with exposition, but also provides a central fight sequence with wonderful energy. I loved the super silly costuming and, at times, the giallo lighting. A few sequences take place in a really cool abandoned mansion, with some nice slapstick fumbling. And some of the makeup, aside from the stereotypical Count Dracula vampire styling for the General, looks pretty good.
Several diversions throw off the film, but they’re typical of Hong Kong comedy at the time, like a restaurant sequence involving eating a dog or the guys both trying to trick their boss. Weird, these tricks, where they both pretend to be the vampire, are when they know a vampire is hunting them. Why? Because idiots, so it gets a few laughs. And yes, unneeded, cringe, sexual-based “humor.”
Overall, Haunted Cop Shop is a madcap supernatural comedy, for better or worse (some of the “worse” elements are maybe just the differences in humor between the place and time, and now and here). It’s funny enough and has plenty of great moments. It’s a goofy way to spend 100 minutes with your brain off, relaxing with a beverage or two.
Written by Wong Kar-Wai, who would go on to Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love, and directed by Jeffrey Lau before a long career in directing and producing, including Kung Fu Hustle. It’s a nice jumping-off point for better work for everything and a solid hit on its own at the time of release.
The Packaging & Presentation
88 Films puts Haunted Cop Shot on a single disc. A shiny slipcover features the same image with a wordless back; it comes from a fold around a cardboard strip at the bottom. The clear case has a double-sided sleeve, with new art by Sean Longmore on one side and the original poster on the other. The art is also replicated as a small fold-out poster.
The new 2k transfer is wonderful, sharp, and colorful. The otherworldly look of the film pops with a ton of fun, using all the elements well. The Cantonese audio track sounds good too. With English subtitles
The Features
88 Films has a small but solid selection of features.
Commentary
Frank Djeng, as he often does, provides a good commentary. He works best with someone else, but he can fly solo, though that sometimes descends into IMDb live. Most of the details come in telling the who’s who of each person. He also discussed cultural details, reflecting on the Japanese/China history. He gets into similar films of the era, helping outsiders understand and find more humor.
Hauntings and Hollerings
James Mudge gives an appreciation of the film, its type, and the people involved. A solid look (25m)
Extended Scenes
A quick run through of scenes expanded in the Mandarin version. Often a little more blood or special effects. (38 seconds)>
Trailer
FOUR minutes of just about the whole film
Image Gallery
About 25 images of production photos that play as a 1m50s montage.
Final Thoughts
1987’s Haunted Cop Shop, directed by Jeffrey Lau, is a fun slapstick horror-comedy. It’s dumb but entertaining, knowing exactly what it is. THe transfer looks great and some solid features fill out the disc. A good one.