by Joseph Davis, Contributing Writer
With October rolling around, I think it’s time once again for me to venture into the world of foreign language horror, whether I want to or not (spoiler alert: I would very much rather not), for Out of Market. This time around, I’m diving into the pit that is the 2013 Hong Kong horror movie Rigor Mortis. Admittedly, I probably would be fine not going out of my way to watch a genre I rarely enjoy, but I enjoy the theme of having the month of October devoted to horror and thrillers, and I’ll be more than happy to leave my comfort zone to bring a recommendation of a movie that would be worth getting a wider audience.
Author’s note: this movie at times depicts or alludes to scenes involving suicide, violence against women, rape, and harm coming to children. Viewer discretion is advised.
First off, I want to discuss how this movie works visually. I’m not the most vested in the horror genre, but for me, a movie that aims to scare and to creep you out has to nail its visual aspects perfectly. In this sense, Rigor Mortis does a fantastic job. From effects, to lighting, and the filter, along with the motion of the camera, this movie does exactly what it needs to do to set up the vibe needed for a truly creepy movie. With everything feeling washed out, the film already has an unnerving aspect to it that is amplified by the way the director and cinematographer play with the scenes and the camerawork. From scenes where the movement can be disorienting to others where part of the scene moves while others don’t, it provides the perfect setup for the action on the screen, from the beginning of the film to the bitter end.
Speaking of the action on the screen, I want to talk about that and the story next. To get me to buy into a movie like this, you need to give me something tangible to attach the elements of the rest of the movie to it. Rigor Mortis does this exceptionally well, while building a mystical feel. Some areas feel as if they’re inspired by martial arts, others you can feel the idea of magic that helped build the basis of the story. You have black magic, vampire hunters, and multiple personal goals that manage to blend multiple storylines into one near the end that feels perfect. The idea of someone trying to trap and banish evil, someone wanting to harness it for themselves, and those who want to bring someone back no matter the cost all combine excellently here. There are scenes that are rough to watch and that I honestly had to either look away or to skip, but overall the choices made regarding the monsters and demons in the storyline work for me.
Finally, I have one big criticism of this movie. I won’t go into much details here, both because of spoilers and because it deals with one of the above triggers, but I honestly feel like the ending of this movie makes the rest feel all for naught. I don’t need for my movies to have a good ending — even if it’s not a horror film I know that at times life doesn’t work that way — but when the first 98% of the film gets undercut by the last 2%, it knocks the film down a few pegs in the end. I firmly believe that there is a good ending that I can buy into more, but I can’t say the one given here is it.
Ultimately, even if I’m not a fan of the last few minutes of this movie, overall I will say I really enjoyed what it was doing for the majority of it runtime. It has a mystical air to it that I can’t help but feel myself get pulled into, wondering how it might surprise me next. It gives the film an air of authenticity, and the world building provided makes clear and perfect sense. The action scenes are fun, and the way the film is shot helps build the structure any good horror movie should have. There are some scenes that I feel can and would be triggering to some, but if you can or would prefer to skip past some of them, you’d still have a good time with this one.
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