Corpse Mania (also known as Gui hun) is a Hong Kong horror-thriller film from 1981 directed by Kuei Chih-Hung, one of the most well-known names in Hong Kong horror. This film contains elements of both psychological thriller and gore, as it reflects on obsession, crime, and the supernatural in equal measure.
Hong Kong has the center stage here too, Corpse Mania follows a policeman who looks into a number of almost ritualistic serial murders where the sexual organs have been removed and are placed in certain positions. The murders appear to have been taken up by a person who has an imagination so barren that he gets his jollies setting out reminders of the dead people whereby showing perverse contempt towards the bodies. To this day, during the course of the inquiry, the policeman learns a lot of despicable things about the criminal, including his fixation with the corpses.
The picture is distinguished by its elegant direction, concentrating on morbid visuals and the atmosphere with Kuei Chih-Hung’s storytelling mastery. Utilizing his strength in psychotic horror, Chih-Hung plays with plots of detective and supernatural horrors making the film a nail bitter. Corpse Mania also explores societal taboos and the psychology of the characters as it argues through the actions of the characters.
For those who are fans of older Hong Kong horror films, Corpse Mania may be regarded as a cult classic. How it combines gore and psychological elements makes the film stand out in this genre.