kungfuzombie

posts about #kungfuzombie more →
Kung-Fu Zombies Don't Shamble Or Run... They Hop!

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

GuardianOfChaos
11/09/09

In reply to Kung-Fu Zombies Don't Shamble Or Run... They Hop!
I love this movie. My favorite moment is when they ask how he can fight so well without overheating his body. "My Father Trained Me.....Like A Horse" Not as in trained really hard, but literally like a horse. #zombies
Reply

GuardianOfChaos was starred GuardianOfChaos was unstarred

fistrodisco
11/04/09

In reply to Kung-Fu Zombies Don't Shamble Or Run... They Hop!
It could be worse: they could hip hop!

(ducks and covers) #zombies
Reply

LittleDragon promoted this comment fistrodisco was starred fistrodisco was unstarred

PlaidNinja
11/04/09

In reply to Kung-Fu Zombies Don't Shamble Or Run... They Hop!
I think those are vampires. I learned recently that Chinese vampires hop:

[en.wikipedia.org]

Jiang Shi (traditional Chinese: or; pinyin: jiāngshī; literally "stiff corpse"), sometimes called Chinese vampires by Westerners (despite the fact that they might bear a closer resemblance to zombies), are reanimated corpses that hop around, killing living creatures to absorb life essence (气/氣qì) from their victims. #zombies
Reply

PlaidNinja was starred PlaidNinja was unstarred

Bob Lu
11/04/09

@PlaidNinja: I'd say for Chinese, traditionally zombies and viampires are pretty much the same thing. As reanimated corpses, Jiang Shi are like zombies. As blood, or "qi" suckers, they are like vampires.

And I must point out the fact that western zombie are translated as "Jiang Shi" in Chinese language, while vamires are translated as literally "blood sucking monster". #zombies
Reply

Bob Lu was starred Bob Lu was unstarred

PlaidNinja
11/04/09

@Bob Lu: Ah, ok. I have to be honest, I have no idea. My experience is limited to Wikipedia and half a film I happened to see on one of the Chinese channels. It was supposed to be martial arts/horror, but all the hopping turned out to be pretty damn funny. #zombies
Reply

PlaidNinja was starred PlaidNinja was unstarred

Bob Lu
11/04/09

@PlaidNinja: Yeah most of the Jiang Shi movies looks funny nowadays (although many of them are meant to be sort of funny. It is part of what Hong Kong movies were like).

Personally I will suggest "驅魔探長" (Magic Cop, or "驅魔警察" in Mainland China) if you want to see a little more modernized Jiang Shi movies. It's a 1990 movies so don't expect too much but it does incorporate already awesome Hong Kong style Kung-Fu fighting and well-developed Hong Kong style cop/detective movie with more stylish Chinese zombies (and zombie lords) nicely.

[www.youtube.com]
Here is part of the final scene of the movie, in which the detectives found the shrine of the zombie lord (who killed people, turn them into zombies and use them for drug trafficking) and defeated her. The zombie lord here is not fully your traditional Jiang Shi but you can still find some Jiang Shi characters. For example (at least in its true form) the Jiang Shi can't see living people, but can follow living thing's breath. So one of the ways to escape Jiang Shi is holding your breath.

[www.youtube.com]
And this is one of my favorite. There is no Kung-Fu fighting in this scene and little special effect, but when you figure out what's going on you really can feel the intense of the spiritual fight between the detective and the zombie lord. #zombies
Reply

Chuck promoted this comment Bob Lu was starred Bob Lu was unstarred

PlaidNinja
11/04/09

@Bob Lu: Wow, thanks! I'll check these out later tonight. #zombies
Reply

PlaidNinja was starred PlaidNinja was unstarred

Bob Lu
11/04/09

In reply to Kung-Fu Zombies Don't Shamble Or Run... They Hop!
Traditionally in China, when a person dies they/their family want the body be buried with the family. So if someone die in a place far from their home, someone else will have to transport the body. And if the place is a mountain area, it will be hard to transport it with a stretcher or in a coffin. So those who are in charge of transporting the bodies (very often Taoist priest, as shown in those Hong Kong zombie movies) will stick two bamboo sticks through each of the long sleeves of every dead body's clothing, make a string of standing, hand-stretching dead people. And priests will carry the bodies by carrying the ends of the banboo sticks on their shoulder. In the dark it looks like the dead people were jumping, leaded and followed by priests. That's how the legend of Chinese zombies come. #zombies
Reply

Chuck promoted this comment Bob Lu was starred Bob Lu was unstarred

Cal Hawks
11/04/09

In reply to Kung-Fu Zombies Don't Shamble Or Run... They Hop!
Anyone who likes this should also check out Mr. Vampire.

Zombies and Vampires are mostly the same in China, it would seem. #zombies
Reply

Cal Hawks was starred Cal Hawks was unstarred

Guang
11/04/09

@Cal Hawks: pretty much. There are a lot of these old Hong Kong "ghost" movies. The monsters hop with their hands stiffly in front of them, and poke holes in people with their hands as well as bite people. The way to stop them is to stick some kind of yellow Buddhist temple-paper on their forehead. #zombies
Reply

Guang was starred Guang was unstarred

Bob Lu
11/04/09

@Guang: The paper is more Taoist. It is sort of like written spell. Sometimes you can cast a spell with it (usually by burning it), sometimes you keep it as a charm. I actually have one in my car for good luck and another (with different spell) in my wallet as a protection against bad spirits. Can't say I believe these but since my family gave them to me I just keep them. #zombies
Reply

Chuck promoted this comment Bob Lu was starred Bob Lu was unstarred

Soldier_CLE says DON'T STOP AT THE STAR! REVOKE THE WHOLE DAMN THING, OWEN!!!
11/03/09

In reply to Kung-Fu Zombies Don't Shamble Or Run... They Hop!
It's only missing one thing:

River Tam #zombies
Reply

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

#kungfuzombie

io9

SUBSCRIBE TO io9

Kung-Fu Zombies Don't Shamble Or Run... They Hop!

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment