Rigor Mortis(2013)
2013 · Juno Mak · 105 min
When a former actor moves into an apartment building with the intention of commiting suicide, he is saved by a Taoist priest who used to specialize in hunting Chinese hopping vampires: or Jiāngshī. Elsewhere in the building, a woman turns to a specialist in black magic to bring her husband back to life.
Horror · Action · Drama
6.1207 votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
4/5
Stays with you
How Rigor Mortis scares
It opens slow and heavy, more like a sad drama about grief and loneliness before it slides into full-blown supernatural horror with hopping vampires and black magic. The pace stays deliberate and moody throughout, favoring thick atmosphere, shadowy hallways, and unsettling stillness over quick scares. When violence does hit, it's sudden and physical, mixing old-school vampire-hunting action with real dread underneath. This one sits with you after it ends, feeling more like a mournful ghost story than a fun scare ride.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Rigor Mortis rates psychological 4/5, visceral 3/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 4/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 3 of 5
- Lingering: 4 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 15 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 10 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 70 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A moody, melancholic slow-build that gradually thickens with dread before erupting into a chaotic, action-heavy final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 4.
How scary is Rigor Mortis?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Rigor Mortis rates 4/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and genuinely disturbing. Expect it to stay with you for days.
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