Ever wonder why no Chinese zombie movies?

[Eyebiter]

Apparently the Communist Chinese government bans both skeletons and the undead from popular culture. Strange...

[EvilNed]

Paranormal activities of any kind are not permitted in films made in China (excluding Hong Kong). That doesn't mean that these films aren't MADE, however. Alot of independent films are made in China and then distributed via the pirate market, which is banging in China. Anyway, their reasoning for this is: Paranormal stuff doesn't exist. And thus it shouldn't be portrayed in films, since it's silly.

[Adolf Kitler]

Doesn't China also have a ban on movies like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" for the same reasons, since it's impossible for cartoons and human beings to interact? What a strange people, that they can't grasp the concept and appeal of fantasy.

[Khardis]

Apparently the Communist Chinese government bans both skeletons and the undead from popular culture. Strange... This is true from what I have heard also, but I did see a Hong Kong zombie flick from the 80s once. It was hilarious. They hop.

[Chakobsa]

This is true from what I have heard also, but I did see a Hong Kong zombie flick from the 80s once. It was hilarious. They hop. I may be wrong, Khardis, but I think the hopping thing is authentic Chinese folklore. Weird at any rate.

[axlish]

Bio-Zombie was a Hong Kong production, I think... Yes, the dead hop in Chinese fokelore, and they have made their way into many a kung fu comdedy.

[_liam_]

YES! i saw that film, with the lines of hopping zombies, like a funeral procession. my god what was that, i remember coming in late one night completely mashed and being very confused by the whole thing. what the hell was it called? they must have banned it fairly recently, there were loads in the 80s, like ren xia ren/the dead and the deadly, which is one of the weirdest films ever. i think dawg recently mentioned something about an asian zombie movie that ties SARS into it all.

[EvilNed]

Hong Kong has nothing to do with China. They work under a diffrent censorship system. Hong Kong can make movies that China will ban, but they'll still be allowed in Hong Kong. Paranormal activities in films has probably been banned in China since after the culturual revolution when the film industry started up again.

[Dawg]

When 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' came out, they thought it was fairly stupid because of the martial arts and jumping and running across walls. They don't seem to have a concept of fantasy art at all, that is far sure. Dawg

[RMH16]

Kyonsi are referred to as hopping corpses, vampires, ghosts, or zombies, The terms seem to be interchangable. They also only travel in straight lines! Look at the houses from period films and you will see a small step (about 6 to 10 inches) followed by a sharp left turn at the entrance. This was to keep out the dead! I have seen a few Zombie movies from HK. From IMDB. Biozombie Driecter by Wilson Yip "Hong Kong's answer to George Romero's Dawn Of The Dead. A soft drink tainted with bio-chemicals has the power to turn people into flesh-eating zombies. A man drinks from the bottle, and wanders into the night. As two young VCD sellers (Woody Invincible and Crazy Bee) from a local mall are returning to the mall with their bosses' car, they hit the man. Unsure of what to do, they bring the man back to the mall with them. The mall closes, and soon there are zombies everywhere! A small group of mall employees must bond together to try and fight their way out."

[EvilNed]

When 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' came out, they thought it was fairly stupid because of the martial arts and jumping and running across walls. Actually, the WuXia genre (to which Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon belongs) is an old genre that originated in the 60's in Hong Kong. I've seen WuXia films from that time where they fly around and fight each other in bamboo forests. CTHD just revitalized it. And it should be noted that CTHD is actually a part-chinese film. As is Hero. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon wasn't a big success in China because it was overhyped. It was promised to be something it wasn't. It was supposed to be true to all the old WuXia traditions, but broke alot of them since it also had to appeal to western audiences (Western money was in the funding). Hero is hated in China because it portrays Qin Shi Huang as a good guy. It only shows positive sides of his conquests. It's like making a film about Hitler where they portray his conquests as something good, and then omit all the bad things he comitted.

[FoodFight]

Here's another question. "Why don't zombies EAT the Chinese?" Because an hour later they'd be hungry again. Sorry.

[capncnut]

Here's another question. "Why don't zombies EAT the Chinese?" Because an hour later they'd be hungry again. Sorry. I guess that would make Americans the ultimate prey then. Statistically.