Normally there’s no good reason to go shopping the day after Christmas. The stores are packed with people desperately trying to return all the gifts that didn’t fit their bodies or lifestyles. But you’ll want to be the first in line when the mall doors open to snag a copy of The Blue Jean Monster. The Hong Kong film from 1991 should have been a serious cult hit 30 years ago. American studio executives didn’t think a movie about a cop who comes back from the dead to catch his killers and patch things up with his pregnant wife would attract an audience. They were so wrong. The Blue Jean Monster is addictively good.
Inspector Joe (Prison on Fire‘s Shing Fui-On) takes his pregnant wife Chu (Love With the Perfect Stranger‘s Pauline Wong) to the temple to pray for the impending birth of their child. He fixates on twins while she panics at have to pop out two babies at once. Before they can do too much, Joe gets a lead from his chief stoolie Power Steering (School on Fire‘s Tse Wai-Kit) that a serious mobster crime is about to go down. He shows up late for a ruthless and bloody bank robbery. Power’s somewhat girlfriend (Story of Ricky‘s Gloria Yip) gets kidnapped. Joe goes in full pursuit in his car. The gangsters’ van wrecks in a construction site. Joe looks like he’s busted them except he’s buried under debris and shot up. He slowly dies with the regret that he won’t be able to meet his baby. As darkness arrives, he’s resurrected by a magical cat and a lightning strike. He doesn’t know that he’s dead as he heads home after a rough day. This isn’t a strictly serious film. There are comedic moments including his wife thinking he’s fallen out of love with her. At one point she senses that Joe and Power Steering are secret lovers. She’s upset that her husband can’t find a better man. Later she gets talked by a friend to hire a hooker since she does have a fear that hooking up will give the baby a flat nose. Joe doesn’t want anything to do with the hooker. He wants to find the men who killed him. He also has to come up with wild ways to jolt his body with large amounts of electricity to keep on moving. Will he be able to live long enough to see his baby delivered?
It would be easy to think you’re watching different movies cut together. There’s a domestic comedy, a violent cop flick and a supernatural horror sharing the screen. The movie feels natural thanks to actor Shin Fui-On. He steps up to give a performance that shines on all three levels. His resume is full of great films including John Woo’s The Killer and A Better Tomorrow, but he often plays characters that are one note. He gives more here. He brings both a toughness to his cop with the confusion of dealing with a pregnant wife. We also get the tortured soul when he realizes that he’s undead. How is he going to break the news to his wife that she’s already a widow? Shin Fui-On is equally deft shooting out with the gangsters as his comic encounter with the hooker in his bedroom. He shines as his body decays. He does wear blue jeans in the movie.
The Blue Jean Monster is a twisted joy that you’ll want to see during the week before New Year’s Eve. Don’t save this for your 2024 resolutions. Even with so much weirdness and electricity on the screen, Shin Fui-On keeps us grounded to enjoy an exciting and inventive film. You’ll be ready to use your gift card on the day after Christmas for a vintage present from Hong Kong.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The transfer brings out the undead details Inspector Joe’s decaying body. The Audio is Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Mono. The track is clean so you only hear the crackles of electricity going into Joe. The movie is subtitled in English.
Man Made Monsters (20:27) interviews assistant director Sam Leong. He was involved in the process from the start so he gives more than tales from the sets. He talks about working with director Ivan Lai as compared to Sammo Hung. The biggest thing is how in Hong Kong at the time, the real meetings with studio executives took place during meals. The office meetings were just to formalize the arrangement. He admits the basic idea of an undead cop came from the Treat Williams flick Dead Heat. Ivan Lai had the film written for Shing Fui-On since they were pals. The budget was so low that the studio didn’t have a problem with the supporting actor taking the lead. The film did well on its original release in Asia and Europe.
Original Hong Kong Trailer (2:57) sells the excitement of the action scenes and a copy who is undead.
Stills Gallery (4:25) includes the poster, press photos, behind the scenes shots and photos of the actresses.
Double Sided Poster that is suitable for framing.
88 Films present The Blue Jean Monster. Directed by Ivan Lai. Screenplay by Ng Gam-Hung. Starring Shing Fui-On, Pauline Wong, Gloria Yip, Tse Wai-Kit, Amy Yip and Amy Wu. Running Time: 96 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: December 26, 2023.
