The movie kicks off with a professor (Chung Faat) and his two fumbling sidekicks coming across a family of vampires, who are being held at bay by Taoist talismen placed on their heads. The professor gets the bright idea to try and sell the vampires, but they get away after the talismen fall off their heads. The kid ends up being "adopted" by a pair of talkative chunky kids, and the parents going on to raise havoc on the streets of Hong Kong, with Taoist priest Lam Ching-Ying and his assistant Yuen Biao in hot pursuit.

On one hand, viewers might appreciate that the film-makers tried to do something different with the vampire genre, with the modern setting and more of an emphasis on family-friendly antics versus horror. The problem is that these different takes simply do not work. There was obviously a very low budget at work here, and as such, the modern setting is not used very well at all. One might get images of vampires rampaging around Hong Kong, but there's only one scene featuring that sort of the action, with most of the movie taking place in a couple of averagely boring indoor locations.

And as for the plot element involving the kid? Initially, it is a bit cute, but it goes on for far too long, going so far as to dominate the first half of the movie. By the time a musical montage (complete with sickly-sweet song seemingly ripped from a Cantonese version of a Kidz Bop album) played on the screen, it took all this reviewer's willpower to not hit the stop button and permanently end the misery.

The over-emphasis on what really should have just been a short sub-plot ends up making the actors look short-shrifted, Yuen Biao in particular. Did he piss off Sammo Hung enough to make him think it would be a good idea to make one of the movie's central action scenes take place in fake slow motion via a fight done under the influence of sedative? Again, it's a neat idea at first, but it is stretched out for far too long, and loses the viewer in the process.

There are a few bright spots present here. Some of the comedy actually works, such as a series of jokes about the fact that Lam Chin-Ying's character is named Lam Ching-Ying, and he starts listing off previous vampire movies as qualifications for him to be a vampire buster. Also, there are elements that focus on the vampire buster that are pretty fun. But it comes off as too little, too late to save the film as a whole. It's a testament to the popularity of the actors and the genre that several more Mr. Vampire movies were made after this -- but Part 2 is really just for completists only.

The Professor (Fat Chung) and his two bumbling assistants (aren't they all?) are excavating a dig site when they find the remains of a sifu (could it be Master Gau from Mr. Vampire?) locked in eternal combat with a vampire, having affixed a sacred scroll to the fiend's forehead at the moment of his own death. The Professor notes that the corpse shows no signs of decay and when his assistants find the bodies of a woman and child in the same condition (also with spells affixed to their foreheads) he knows he's got a potential goldmine on his hands. So with the Professor blinded by greed and his trusted assistants merely stupid, bad things are bound to happen.

Sure enough, no sooner do the corpses get back to the lab before the foolishness begins. While the Professor takes the child to an interested "collector," one of his assistants foolishly removes the woman's scroll to study it further only to have her come back to life and chase him around the Professor's labs. Spotting another scroll, he immediately grabs it and plants it on her forehead, paralyzing her. Unfortunately, the scroll he used was the only thing keeping the male vampire from waking up. Hilarity ensues, while the Professor inadvertently loses the child on the way to his buyer.

Lam Ching-Ying is finally brought in around the halfway mark as an acupuncturist that the Professor's assistant goes to looking for a cure for his injuries. Lam recognizes the wounds immediately as vampire bites and decides to follow him to locate the monsters and destroy them. He's accompanied by Jen (Yuen Biao), a reporter who wants to marry his daughter (played by Mr. Vampire's Moon Lee in a cameo). The two go to the lab and are about to go toe-to-toe with the ghouls when the assistant knocks over a bottle of ether causing everyone to move r-e-a-l-l-y - s-l-o-w-l-y, just like in that Bugs Bunny short, "Water, Water Every Hare," where the villainous scientist chases Bugs with an axe in slo-mo ("Coommme Baacckk heerre yoouu Raaabbiitt").

Meanwhile, the vampire kid has been taken in by a naïve girl and her fat little brother under the impression that he is an illegal immigrant. They hide him from their father and take him out to play with the neighborhood kids in a sequence reminiscent of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Eventually the father finds out and the child vampire calls on his undead parents for help. At this point the shit really hits the fan, as the vampire parents have been subdued and taken into police custody. As Lam and Jen break them out of the station in order to put them to rest for good, Junior's call for help awakens them and sends them on a rampage through the streets of Hong Kong for the final battle.

I can't believe how many things are wrong with this film and I'm not just talking about the modern day setting. Things began promising enough with the discovery of the vampires, especially with the wink and nod to Mr. Vampire. Everything just goes downhill so quickly, as the vampires are never, and I mean NEVER, scary, the physical comedy of the first is supplanted by tired shtick and cute kid humor and the few action sequences that are there end up hampered by poor execution. Still, Lam Ching-Ying's presence, however slight, goes a long way to make up for the film's shortcomings and paved the way for several more sequels and knock-offs.

Conclusion: After the amazing Mr. Vampire, this sequel is definitely a disappointment. Director Ricky Lau just tempered with his formula too much, not to mention the lack of star Lam Ching-Ying through much of the film. Even supporting actor Yuen Biao, considered by many to be one of HK's greatest action stars, isn't given that much to do. Apparently Mr. Vampire 3 puts the series back on track, but I'll go out on a limb and say this is still worth a Rental for the fans. Rent It.

REVIEW:
MR. VAMPIRE 2, which was produced by Bo Ho Films (Sammo Hung's production company, is an underrated classic. This film is actually better than the first one. The late, great Lam Ching Ying reprises his role from the first film while Yuen Biao stars in this classic.

The story is that of an archaeologist with two goons who find three vampire bodies (A man, woman and son) that they decide to steal and therefore make money. However, when the little one goes missing, everything goes wrong. Although I won't further explain the film's plot for you as to ruin it, I will explain why this film is better than MR. VAMPIRE.

First, Lam Ching Ying, of course gives a great performance. But the real surprise is the range of Yuen Biao's acting skills that would come to the fore in such classics as ON THE RUN and THE ICEMAN COMETH.

Since MR. VAMPIRE 2, unlike the first one, is set in the present day, this makes the jokes more accessible, but also the screenwriters including Wu Ma, make some poignant social commentary about the fear of loneliness, the disgusting treatment you get from others for being different to each other. And also (which is now a potent issue in some countries) about refugees being targeted. However, the social commentary does not dominate the film but is quietly integrated in the film, so repeated viewings are essential.

The acting in the film is tremendous by everyone, especially Yuen Biao and Lam Ching Ying; the direction by Ricky Lau is flawless, especially the way he integrates dark blue colors and the soundtrack will move you to tears and laughter. It is that good.

Since this film is less than 90 minutes long you will feel sadness that this film will have seemed to have flown past you but also happiness in watching such an underrated gem of a film. A classic of all time but also one of the most underrated. This film is way better than the first one.