Mr. Vampire

In Republican-era China, Master Kau earns a living as a Taoist priest who performs magic to control spirits and vampires. He and his inept students, Man-choi and Chau-sang, live in a large house protected by talismans and amulets.

During the rites to rebury Yam's deceased father, Kau discovers the body remains intact rather than decayed, revealing that it has become a vampire. He decides to move the body to his house for further study and containment.

At Kau's house, Choi and Sang line the coffin with enchanted ink to safeguard the vampire. They forget to line the bottom, so the coffin breaks open and the vampire escapes. It heads straight for Yam's home and savagely kills Yam's son before vanishing by dawn.

After the breakout, Wai, an inept police inspector, arrests Kau, accusing him of murder. Yam's body is placed in a makeshift morgue near the jailhouse. Choi stays at Yam's house to guard Ting, while Sang rushes to help his master.

Kau and Sang confront the reawakened vampire at Yam's house and manage to kill it after a fierce struggle. Wai realizes he framed Kau in error and begins to question his actions and the consequences of his investigation.

With the vampire gone, it raids Yam's house again and Kau and Sang wound it, forcing a retreat. Choi is left critically wounded by the assault. To protect Ting, Kau invites her to stay at his house.

The next morning, Kau examines Choi's wounds and admits that he himself may become a vampire. He cautions Sang about the danger and reiterates the need to keep Ting safe.

He plans to have Choi fed glutinous rice to counter the venom, but the plan hinges on the rice. During the rice purchase, a shady merchant deliberately mixes different kinds of rice; Sang unknowingly buys it.

Sang is lured to the spirit's house by a mysterious woman who is revealed to be a spirit, and they sleep together for the night. Sang begins to fall under her spell and drift from Kau.

Kau follows Sang to the spirit's house and a chase ensues. The spirit transforms into a ghoul and attempts to kill Kau, but Kau's talismans restrain her. She bewitches Sang to turn on his master, but Sang's pleas break the spell and she escapes.

That night Kau ties Sang to a chair and prepares to capture the spirit. The spirit arrives at their house and Choi suddenly turns into a vampire and attacks Sang. Kau restrains Choi and, moved by Sang's pleas, decides to spare the spirit rather than kill her; she escapes.

Over the next few days, Kau tends to Choi's injuries, gradually returning him to humanity. Wai brings news that the vampire is active again, spurring Kau to investigate.

The vampire invades Kau's place in near-demonic form and targets Ting and Wai. Kau and Sang divert its attention while Four Eyes, another Taoist priest, arrives by coincidence to help. They finally destroy the vampire by burning it alive.

With the threat eliminated, Kau's house settles into a tense calm and Ting is safe once more. The surviving friends reflect on the ordeal as life returns to a fragile normality.