I had to save reviewing Yu Chih Chieh’s comedic short film, The Last Jiangshi, for Ghost Month rather than earlier, because it’s appropriate. Just what this work explores is the clash of beliefs, and if this member of the living dead is to survive to today, Lao Li (Benyu Zhang) may no longer have blood to feast on. Instead, it’s whether he and Jie (Alex Zhong), a grad student, can survive as the ultimate odd couple!
There’s even a taoist priest waiting to pounce on the unlikely partnership, and banish the nightstalker to the other side! In what’s amusing is the sympathy that’s quickly generated. Li doesn’t like what he’s become. He just wants to live and understand this world.
And that’s what the kid brilliantly captures. Through some creative shots and a few amusing symbolic juxtapositions, we get to see how the mythology has changed. I had to shed a tear when it looked like Li was ready to accept his fate; to move on rather than live that cursed life. What’s revealed makes more sense to those who saw the 1985 Chinese horror comedy Mr. Vampire rather than coming in new. There are easter eggs to be found, and they are more apparent for those in the know. Even I had to hold off on giving this piece a proper treatment until I had a chance to find Ricky Lau’s work to confirm what I can recall.
Although Anthony Chan has aged significantly between roles, from the film to this, his presence was just one of those spot on casting choices that makes this work sing. It makes me wonder if there’s more to this film that meets the eye. Since Li isn’t dead yet, what more can he learn? Since this film inverts the whole stranger in a strange land trope in over its head, surely there must be more. And as for whether this work was meant to be like a found footage documentary, well, that’s just a detail I won’t spoil.
The Last Jiangshi feels more like a punk rock homage to the movie than the lore. Just whether we’re supposed to understand this character like Lestat de Lioncourt depends on me needing to interview this director so I can know what he’s been chasing. Since the tale ends on a melancholy note, my guess is that there is more story to tell, and let’s hope it’ll develop into a proper film!
4 Stars out of 5
The Last Jiangshi Trailer
