The Dead and the Deadly

1982 1h 39m CN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 27

ComedyHorrorFantasyAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Wah Li, known as Fat Boy to his friends, lives with his great-uncle the priest (Uncle). Together with his oddball friends Lai Li and Momo, Wah Li helps Uncle to run the local funeral services. When the body Ma Lun Chio is brought back to the village by a new wife and her "brother", Wai Li is suspicious. He sets out to find out how his friend died, but things are not what they seem.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Sammo Hung
Chu Wang-Lee / Fat Boy / Oaf
Wu Ma
Ma Lun-Cheung (Ma Lucho)
Lam Ching-Ying
Uncle Ko
Cherie Chung Cho-Hung
Siu Yuen
Hui Leung-Mei
Lee Yuet Ying
Chin Yuet-Sang
Chin Ba-Tat
To Siu-Ming
Scholar Yeung
Chang Ching-Po
Mayor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Wu Ma
Writers: Sammo Hung, Barry Wong Ping-Yiu
Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin
Countries: Hong Kong

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

44 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Cantonese, Mandarin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Mr. Vampire Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Wu Ma, shot by Ricky Lau. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Lai Siu-Tin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sammo Hung and Wu Ma and Lam Ching-Ying carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0084587 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Wu Ma directs. Ricky Lau behind the camera. Michael Lai Siu-Tin scores. Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Hong Kong. Dialogue in Cantonese, Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

144 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Cantonese, Mandarin.
3Part of the "Mr. Vampire Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Wu Ma, shot by Ricky Lau. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Michael Lai Siu-Tin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Sammo Hung and Wu Ma and Lam Ching-Ying carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0084587 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 27 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ricky Lau
Original score: Michael Lai Siu-Tin
Editing: Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung
Costume design: Chu Sheng-Shi
Makeup / hair: Simon Chan Kwok-Hong
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: CN
Certification (US): IIB
IMDB: The Dead and the Deadly (1982)

Part of

Mr. Vampire Collection

Mr Vampire is a 1985 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Ricky Lau and produced by Sammo Hung. The film's box office success led to the creation of a Mr. Vampire franchise, with the release of four sequels directed by Ricky Lau from 1986 to 1992, and subsequent similarly themed films with different directors released between 1987 and 1991. The film was released under the Chinese title 暫時停止呼吸 (literally: Hold Your Breath for a Moment) in Taiwan.