This episode is sponsorsed by Skillshare
There are two things parents have trouble talking to kids about
The beginning of life, sex
The end of life, death
Which explains why in most children's horror media
Death is usually not the focus
This is why Mr. Vampire is so peculiar
It's a 1985 action horror comedy about Jiangshi
Or, Chinese vampire zombies
Mythological creatures based on the legend of the body shepherd
Who makes a living by transporting corpses back to their home
For a proper burial
With death being front and center
It's a marvel this film manages to stay family friendly
Considering the film has imagery like this
And this
And I do mean family friendly
Unlike most kid's horror film
Which adults can still enjoy
Mr. Vampire appeals directly to both adults and children
That's the sort of horror you don't see very often
A horror film you can enjoy with your children?
What witchcraft is this?
Well, let's dive into Mr. Vampire
And take a look at
How to make a family horror film
Mr. Vampire tells the story of a Taoist priest and his two apprentices
On a job to relocate a corpse
A corpse that is showing signs of becoming a zombie
"It's growing!"
After a series of unfortunate mishandlings
The situation gets worse
And the entire village is affected
It's a fun horror experience
Akin to classics like The Blob
What's different from The Blob
Is that the main characters aren't 30 year old teenagers
They are adults
One of them is an uncle
As backward as it sounds
It's generally easier for kids to fantasize about being an adult
Than it is for an adult to put themselves in the shoes of a child
Especially in live action
An unfortunate culture that I hope would disappear soon
It is especially difficult on the adults and their egos
When the parents in children's horror are often idiots
Mr. Vampire, on that front
Features competent adults
Although not without flaws
There is a balance that must be maintained
The adults must also not be too "adult"
Bitter and cynical, like those you see in Man of Steel
A style often mistakenly referred to as "realistic"
Modern horror loves this quote-unquote "realism"
Even when the subject is anything but
When facing greater evil
The characters often exhibit their worst qualities
Selfish
Ignorance
weak
It's worth pointing out that these "realistic characters"
Are almost never realistic
They only feel that way
Because they are cynically written
As a commentary on the human condition
Such as fragility
It's the reason why Junji Ito's works feel "realistic"
Even though, more often than not
Both the characters and the scenarios are underdeveloped
Conversely, Children's horror often avoids scaring kids all together
Monster Squad is... pretty much just an adventure film
With a horror theme
In an effort to avoid traumatizing children
The film somehow becomes less scary than the original Jumanji
Mr. Vampire strikes a balance between the two
The characters are earnest
They are capable, but are children at heart
Relatable to both adults and kids
Kinda like...
Superman, actually
They may be scared
But they always find solutions to the ever worsening situation
They are hopeful, and active
And that changes the tone of the film
My theory is that
Many children can handle jump scares pretty well
And if they can't
Looking away is usually enough
Children can understand that there is no monster
Parents can reassure them
What traumatizes children is not the scare
It's the despair
The suffocating helplessness in adult horror
People being murdered with no one there to help
It invokes the feeling of being alone in the dark
A feeling that every child is familiar with
Mr. Vampire takes that to heart
It's never afraid of showing scary imagery
But while the monster is terrifying
The humans are always fighting against it
Knowing that there's always something you can do
Is not only reassuring to children
But may be a lesson many cynical adults should learn, too
Do you want to learn how to herd zombies?
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And build your own fantasy
But what about death?
It's scary
It's real
It's something that we are all helpless against
And it's jumping around in the movie
Well...
Making a lot of assumptions here
Much like sex ed
Education with regards to death is difficult
And very lacking in most parts of the world
Most kids' horror just avoids both
Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark
Great as they are
Usually focus on the monsters
Rather than death
And much like sex
It feels very scary
If the subject remains taboo
The forbidden nature is perhaps what makes death
The main attraction in so many films
Namely, the Friday the 13th movies
And the later Saw movies
It's like pornography
Its taboo statues makes it more trilling to watch
On this, Mr. Vampire talks about death rather openly
A big part of the movie is set inside a mortuary
A cliche horror setting
But in the film
Outside of its opening scene
The mortuary is never depicted as a scary place
In fact, as the film progresses
It becomes one of the most familiar and safe location
Quite a reversal
The film also shows a lot of bodies
Being a zombie movie and all
But outside of the evil vampires
None of the corpses are depicted as scary
It even shows the good vampires
Fighting against the bad vampire
Which signifies that
Death is not scary
It is evil that is scary
Additionally, the film shows a lot of rituals
Surrounding the culture of death
But unlike witchcrafts in your usual horror movies
The rituals are actually kinda cool
I wonder if any kids want to be a mortician after seeing this movie
The Taoist magic is used to show the solemn nature of death
How death is an important part of our culture
With many rules and traditions that must be respected
"Calling all ghosts and vampires! Dinner Time!"
In this film
Death is dignified
It demands a lot of respect
And it can be sad to those who are affected by it
But otherwise
Death is seen as nothing more than a natural part of life
The main thrill of the film came from the action
And funny but nevertheless well crafted suspense
In some way, the film is a lot more respectable than it appears
Certainly more tasteful than the cheap thrill offered
By a lot of slasher films
Now, I don't mean to shame on horror films from the west
Are You Afraid of the Dark is honestly amazing
And makes me jealous I didn't grow up with it
What I'm criticising is the culture surrounding the media divide
Between children and adults
A divide that is especially deep in the horror culture
Adults are too high and mighty to watch a children's horror
Even when the adult horror they watch
are often less cerebral than a teen novel
But it wasn't always like this
"I am... Dracula"
Gothic horrors made by Universal from the 20s to the 40s
Are all family friendly
Even if it's not aimed at a young audience
Even if the films contain critique on the human nature
"Now I know what it feels like to be god"
They are always fantasy films with a good lesson
That children can understand and enjoy
But as cinema progresses
And as horror films push the envelope further and farther
It also becomes very jaded
So many films chase after sensationalism
Even the well crafted ones
Don't always have a strong moral lesson
That's a shame
Because a good horror movie
Enjoyed by the entire family, together
Can be a great conversation starter
Moral lessons about hubris
About how power corrupts
About death
Are carefully crafted by many artists
To serve as a jumping off point
For parents to teach their kids
I think, as adults
We should get off our high horses
And start learning with our children
Mr. Rogers
He has this one episode
Where he talks, very openly, to kids
About the assassination of RFK
In it, the show explains to children
What assassination means
And how people are coping about this event
"I plead for your protection..."
"And support"
"Of your young children"
It's one of the most emotional momentIn all of children's media
And even as an adult
It's really hard to watch
But also as an adult
I learn so much from a children's show
"I'm so proud of you, François"
Ultimately, I think
It's not just horror films that have become sensationalized
But as adults
We forgot how to be hopeful
We love the savagery the greed on display
In movies like Parasite
We look at the Sam Raimi Spider-Man
And think its upbeat charm as cheesy
That's not to say cynical films are bad
I like Parasite enough
But we don't have to be so bitter all the time
Mr. Vampire may not be any high class entertainment
But under its pulp-y genre and premise
The film has a good message
A hopeful message
It doesn't chase after cheap thrills
Characters do good
To make the world a better place
It's a simple lesson
But a lesson children need
And a lesson adults often forget
A lesson I forgot all the time
So, if you want to have a spooky fun time
Give Mr. Vampire a try
Open your heart
And let it lift your spirit
There is a lot we can still learn
As a family
Together