Summer
is one of those hopping Chinese vampires, but she can be taught to walk. The
question is, can she be taught be human again? Tim Cheung is convinced she can,
but that puts him in a rather awkward spot as a trainee in Hong Kong’s super-secret
vampire-hunting agency. At least he has a natural immunity to vampires, but
they can still kill him the conventional way in Yan Pak-wing & Chiu
Sin-hang’s don’t-take-it-too-seriously Vampire
Cleanup Department (trailer
here),
which screens during the 2017 New York Asian Film Festival.
Instead
of a smart-dressing Men in Black-style outfit, the Vampire Cleanup Department
(VCD) is a top-secret subsidiary of the sanitation department. Members push
brooms by day and wear orange vests while on the job. Of course, that means
nobody questions their presence, even at the goriest crime scenes—nobody except
the dedicated police detective (a cameo appearance from NYAFF honoree Eric
Tsang), who gets an earful from Cheung when he tells the copper his story, in
media res.
Cheung
happened to stumble upon the VCD, including his hard-nosed Uncle Chau, in the
middle of a case, even getting a bite in the buttocks from their prey. Given
his immunity, the rest of the squad prevails upon Chu to let him join. After
all, it is a family tradition. In addition to Chau, Cheung’s late parents actually
died while in service with the VCD. However, one of his first duties is the
incineration of vampires immobilized by old Master Ginger’s paper amulets. Yet,
the sight of what look like tears running down Summer’s face spurs him to save
her undead life. Yes, she is cute, why do you ask? Keeping her safe will
require a lot of farcical scampering around, since he is housed in a shack
adjacent to VCD headquarters, but he is convinced she is one of the rare “human
type” vampires. There is also a decidedly more sinister and powerful vampire
afoot, but the film doesn’t show much interest in him until the climax.
VCD is cute and
affectionately knowing in its references to old school HK vampire comedies.
Most significantly, Chau is played by Chin Siu-ho of the Mr. Vampire franchise. However, the film has the attention span of
a ten-year-old who skipped their Ritalin in favor of a Red Bull. Aside from the
admittedly appealing romance the blossoms between Summer and Cheung, the
narrative skips around seemingly at random.
Still,
there are plenty of goofy gags that veteran cast-members Richard Ng and Yuen
Cheung-yan milk for all their worth. Yet, quite surprisingly, it is the paranormal
romance that works best, thanks in large to Lin Min-chen, who is quite a find
as Summer. You certainly can’t accuse Babyjohn Choi of being afraid of a little
physical comedy, but his put-upon Cheung gets a bit tiresome over time.
