88 Films Blu-ray Synopsis: After a brave Hong Kong lawman is killed in a shootout, his body is reanimated by a Frankenstein style bolt of lightning. Provided he gets ‘Crank’-style regular jolts of electricity, he continues to fight crime as an invulnerable zombie cop… Perennial Cantonese movie tough guy Shing Fui-on (‘The Killer’) gets a lead of his own in this Hong Kong version of ‘Dead Heat’, with a supporting cast including Gloria Yip (‘The Story of Ricky’) and Pauline Wong (‘Mr. Vampire’). ‘The Blue Jean Monster’ blends gross out horror, comedy and action in a unique Hong Kong take on the cinematic undead! (96 Mins)

​

Fortune Star Legendary Collection VCD Synopsis: Joe, a police officer, has a happy life with his wife, who's pregnant. But one day when he gets a tip that a bank is about to be robbed, he rushes to it but killed. The hostage Gucci then holds the loot. Joe becomes a vampire when a black cat jumps on his body and he is hit by lightning. Not until he is sent to the hospital when he passed out, does he notice he's dead and needs electric recharge to be alive. In order to keep his wife from being sad, he doesn't tell her the truth. Even when his best friend Fung and Gucci find it out, he asks them to keep in secret. To get back the loot, the robbers seize both Gucci and Joe's wife, forcing Joe to bring the loot to exchange them. Along with Fung, Joe goes to rescue Gucci and his wife, while his wife delivers a baby. After a severe fight against the robbers, Joe finally wins but drops down as he runs out of his electric power. (96 Mins) 

​

Views: Arriving on screens over 30 years ago, The Blue Jean Monster proves to be something of a rarity from the golden days of Hong Kong cinema giving fans the chance to see the late-great Shing Fui On as the heroic leading man. Holding it's place as having one of the oddest titles of any Hong Kong movie, The Blue Jean Monster blends gross-out horror with daft comedy and solid action sequences, and tells the story of a cop who gets gunned down and crushed after a shoot-out with some serious gangsters. But when he is magically brought back to life during a lightning storm, albeit with new monstrous abilities and a little help from a cat, Shing sets out to seek revenge on those who took him down while trying to figure out if he's still human or not, and stick around long enough to see the birth of his first child! Offering elements of Dead Heat, Robocop, Frankenstein, and even Crank to some degree, The Blue Jean Monster was the second directorial effort by the often forgotten Ivan Lai after Danny Lee's Thank You Sir. From here, Lai would go on to direct Erotic Ghost Story 3, Daughter Of Darkness 1 & 2, Ancient Chinese Whorehouse, The Imp, King Of Debt Collecting Agent, and Troublesome Night 9, among others with Yuen Biao's poorly received Boxer's Story being his last. Loved by many, this wild Hong Kong flick has garnered somewhat of a cult following since its release, making over 2.5 million HKD in its opening week, and still proving to be as entertaining today as it was over 30 years ago – finding a new lease of life and HD restoration via this Blu-ray release from 88 Films...

​

Known as Big Silly Head to many, Shing Fui On was unusually tall by Chinese standards which helped him to come across even more intimidating in many of his roles as a villain. Although he worked as an extra at the Shaw Brothers studio from his mid-teens, Shing would make his debut in Lo Wei's Back Alley Princess in the late 70s. From there, the likeable and hugely enjoyable actor went onto star in almost 240 films before his death in 2007 at the age of 54 due to cancer, flexing his acting chops between hardcore gangster thrillers to romcoms, and martial arts epics to nonsensical comedies. It would be fair to say that fans would always take notice when Shing appeared on screen, catching him in hit films such as A Better Tomorrow, Legacy Of Rage, Rich & Famous, Prison On Fire, Dragons Forever, Tiger On The Beat, Just Heroes, God Of Gamblers, An Eternal Combat, Ebola Syndrome, A Rascal's Tale and so much more – working with Ivan Lai on a number of his other aforementioned titles. As one of the busiest men in the business at that time, it's worth noting that The Blue Jean Monster was only one of 22 films he would star in that year alongside films such as Angel Force, An Eternal Combat, My Flying Wife, Red Shield, Queen Of The Underworld, and A Rascal's Tale to name but a few. Here, as the titular character of the show, Shing is a joy to watch as the tough cop with a heart who only wants to please his pregnant wife, yet often finds himself in unfortunate situations as well as having to deal with his new-found powers while trying to find the very men that took him down.

​

Shing is joined by a fun cast of co-stars including the wonderful Pauline Wong as his wife Chu, delivering another great performance that eventually sees her pulled into the action that sends her into labor. Although she returned to the scene in 2011 for a role in The Fortune Buddies, Wong would initially spent a decade in the business, sharing the screen with her co-star a number of times and going on to star in almost 40 movies including Philip Chan's dark thriller Night Caller followed by an award winning role in Love With The Perfect Stranger, Rich & Famous 1 & 2, Spiritual Love, Long Arm Of The Law 2, The Spooky Family, and The Peacock King which would see her star alongside the beautiful Gloria Yip – who also joins her here again as the mischievous Gucci. Although she had only been on the scene for a few years already, Yip had already gained quite a following having starred in the aforementioned Peacock King and its sequel Saga Of The Phoenix, as well as Michael Hui's Chicken & Duck Talk, Jackie Chan's Miracles, and others. While still going today, her filmography is certainly not as vast as most Hong Kong stars of the same era with Yip going on to star in films such as Saiviour Of The Soul, Story Of Ricky, The Cat, Pink Bomb, Flying Dagger, and The Gods Must Be Funny In China – returning to work with director Ivan Lai one more time in the aforementioned Boxer's Story alongside Yuen Biao.

​

The underrated Tse Wai Kit, who had also starred alongside Shing in Thank You Sir, Don't Fool Me, and the fantastic triad drama A Rascal's Tale, co-stars as the oddly named Power Steering – a muse of Shing's character whose cheekiness often causes problems between the married couple when he moves in and eventually hitches up with Gloria. Making his debut only a few years earlier in Lawrence Lau's Gangs and Ringo Lam's highly praised School On Fire, Tse went on to carve a career over the next ten years often cast as a comedic punk or small time triad in films such as A Moment Of Romance 1 & 2, Against All, Fight Back To School, Gangs '92, Mad Mad Ghost, Madam City Hunter, and others. Prolific Japanese actor Kunimura Jun, star of over 200 titles including hit films such as The Wailing, Kill Bill, Kate, Black Rain, Hard Boiled, Ichi The Killer, Treasure Hunt, and Godzilla Final Wars – appears as the relentless gang boss who initially puts a bullet in Shing, then later kidnaps his wife to torture while she births their child. While this would be his second Hong Kong movie in 1991 alongside Au Revoir Mon Amour, Jun would go on to star alongside Chow Yun Fat in Hard Boiled and Treasure Hunt, as well as other Hong Kong titles such as Somebody Up There Likes Me, Colour Of Pain, John Woo's poorly received Manhunt, and The Incredible Truth for Sam Leong who, incidentally, would work as the assistant director here on The Blue Jean Monster. While a host of other recognisable faces grace the screen throughout the story, viewers will no doubt relish in seeing the busty Amy Yip cameo as Death Rays – the jovial sex worker who really gets to milk her role.

​

Presented by the prolific Chua Lam and produced by Jonathan Chow under the Golden Harvest banner, the duo behind films such as the Erotic Ghost Story Trilogy and Story Of Ricky among many others, The Blue Jean Monster may well be remembered for its wilder moments of gross humour and shocking monster madness, but it also benefits from some great moments of action courtesy of action choreographers Paul Wong, from the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, and Shaw Brothers legend Philip Kwok. Car stunt supremo Bruce Law provides the car chase and vehicle action, while the talented Ridley Tsui and Kong Long both assist. Between them, the team create a host of exciting shoot-outs, car chases, and more that oozes the the Hong Kong action of yesteryear and is sure to keep even the most die hard fans happy with what's on offer. And while it'll never be rated as one of the greatest, it's fair to say that The Blue Jean Monster is a hugely enjoyable rarity that sums up just what made Hong Kong cinema so interesting to many!

​

Overall: Hilariously gross and wonderfully entertaining, The Blue Jean Monster is a lot of fun and a great showcase for its late star, Shing Fui On!

 

88 Films Blu-ray Extras: Interview with Sam Leong, Trailer

​

Get your copy HERE

​

Watch my unboxing video for the 88 Films Blu-ray release HERE