Who Cares (1989) User Reviews

Who cares!

[coltras35 · 5/10 · 3 January 2023]

A bunch of idiot grave robbers awaken a hopping vampire by stealing the bead that kept it dormant. A team of (mostly) female cops- headed by Sibelle Hui- investigating an antique smuggling ring come into contact with the stolen bead and, eventually, the undead ghoul.

A rather odd mix of horror-fantasy and girl with guns genre, and to be honest, it's quite bonkers. The vampire-ghost is quite creepy looking and has this strange hopping motion ( guess it makes a change from gliding), and though it has its scary moments, some good fights, it can be a bit tedious and doesn't quite know what it wants to be - a comedy or a dark horror? Still, it's distracting enough, at least for a one time watch, but just don't expect a masterpiece.

Genre mix

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 19 March 2023]

WHO CARES is an odd little mix of thriller and horror film and another that's never even got a DVD release, as far as I know, which means we're stuck watching VHS copies. In part it feels like a spin-off of the female lead action genre which offered such films as OPERATION PINK SQUAD and THE INSPECTOR WEARS SKIRTS, with Sibelle Hu leading a mostly female police squad in the hunt for antique robbers. Hu is on form here and Kara Wai is part of the squad, but they're up against Dick Wei as the big bad, and the great news is that he gets way more screen time than usual with plenty of fight scenes. The other part of the film is a traditional hopping vampire flick with lots of wacky moments and creative battles against the undead. It's not perfect, but it offers a bit of everything.

Who Cares! (1991)

[horseboxingkiller · 23 January 2022]

A group of grave-robbers steal a mysterious pearl from a mausoleum, which inadvertently resurrects a mischievous and relentless, hopping vampire.

Mr. Yiang (Dick Wei) is a wealthy antiques dealer with an interest in buying the pearl for $500,000. Upon delivering the goods, the grave-robbers prove to be a nuisance to Yiang, who asks his business partner Charlie (Charlie Cho) to arrange for them to be bumped off. However, the vampire is still at large and intent in getting its family heirloom back at any cost. Sibelle Hu is Sergeant Wang in charge of the case with her team of detectives including Kara Hui and Wong Ging-Jan.

It's difficult for Who Cares! To go wrong with such a great, talented cast and just the right blend of comedy, supernatural and bone-crunching action. The choreography is crisp, with numerous brief but hard-hitting fights most notably between Kara Hui vs. Dick Wei and Dan Mintz towards the end of the film. Sophia Crawford is sadly wasted and would have been a great opportunity for some female vs. Female scenes against Sibelle or Kara. Relatively unknown (to me) Wong Ging-Jan also impresses with a nice physique and a few cool moves. The lovely Chan Wing-Chi is also under-used as one of Mr. Yiang's house-maids.

The supernatural shenanigans are fairly familiar but still fun, including a humorous scene where the vampire's hand appears in a bowl of noodles that Dick Wei is slurping away at. A close quarters battle inside a small apartment between the vampire and the ladies is also well done and quite effective.

Who Cares! Doesn't score any major points for originality but if you don't mind the mish-mash of genres and alternating comedy and violence (which, let's face it, is part and parcel of most Hong Kong films from this era!) then this is a superior example of the ghost/action genre. Sibelle Hu, Kara Hui and Dick Wei all get a decent amount of screen time too, so if you're a fan of any of them, then Who Cares! Is a must.

(Note: The Taiwan Long Shong VHS release is identical in content to the HK Star LD, except it's Mandarin dubbed and has the added bonus of English subtitles)

4 out of 5

Review source: Star Entertainment, Laserdisc (Hong Kong) (Cantonese language)

A blundering Hong Kong horror comedy.

[OllieSuave-007 · 3/10 · 29 October 2022]

Hong Kong pop culture is popular with its comedy ghost and vampire horror comedies, especially those released in the 1980s and 1990s. They contain a good mixture of scares and laughs, with an excellent cast of characters. However, many of those movies lost steam by the late 80s and 90s, and this one is among them.

This movie is about a group of female cops who do battle with Hong Kong Triad members, who indirectly resurrected a hopping vampire while trying to steal a valuable pearl from its coffin.

The gangsters were portrayed as bumbling idiots and the cops acted like they were running around in circles without a clue what they're looking for. It appears there wasn't much effort put into the plot, as the story goes back and forth between the criminal element to the vampire element in a quick and messy way. It was somewhat amusing, though, to watch the people fight with the vampire. The acting wasn't too horrible - nice to see veteran Hong Kong actresses Sibelle Hu and Kara Hui in a horror comedy.

But, in the words of the English title of this film - Who Cares? It won't hurt to give this one a pass.

Grade D-