# Magic Cop (驱魔警察)
**Magic Cop** (驅魔警察) is a 1990 Hong Kong supernatural action comedy directed by Stephen Tung Wai (董瑋) in which a retired police officer trained in Taoist magic investigates a drug ring that uses reanimated corpses as couriers.[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/magic-cop) It stars Lam Ching-Ying (林正英) as Uncle Feng, with Wilson Lam, Michael Miu, Wong Mei-Wa, Wu Ma, Michiko Nishiwaki, and Billy Chow in supporting roles.[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/magic-cop) The film is often known by the alternate title **Mr. Vampire 5**, although it is not an official entry in the [Mr. Vampire](https://www.edgepedia.org/mr-vampire) series and contains none of that series' signature hopping vampires.[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 驅魔警察 (Qu mo jing cha, roughly "Exorcised Devil Policeman"); English title Magic Cop; alternate title Mr. Vampire 5[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/) |
| Director / debut | Stephen Tung Wai's directorial debut[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/) |
| Release | 2 November 1990 in Hong Kong[3](https://kungfutube.info/23180) |
| Box office | HK$3,645,216 in Hong Kong, ranked 105th for the year[3](https://kungfutube.info/23180) |
| Running time | About 87 to 88 minutes; a longer Taiwanese cut runs 93 minutes 57 seconds[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/magic-cop-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yotiwmtc) • [5](https://www.genregrinder.com/post/magic-cop-blu-ray-review) |
| Lead cast | Lam Ching-Ying (Uncle Feng), Wilson Lam, Michael Miu, Wong Mei-Wa, Wu Ma, Michiko Nishiwaki (the Sorceress), Billy Chow[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/magic-cop) |
| Ratings | IMDb 6.9/10 from about 1,000 users; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 71% from a single review[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098150/ratings/) • [7](https://wwe.rfhthjmb.dns-dynamic.net/m/magic_cop) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and plot
Uncle Feng is a retired police officer living a quiet life on Tung Ping Chau, an outlying island of Hong Kong. An elderly neighbor asks him to travel to the city with his niece Lin to identify and return the body of her daughter, a flight attendant killed by police who suspected her of drug smuggling.[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/) The investigation reveals something outside standard police expertise: a Japanese sorceress (Michiko Nishiwaki) is using black magic to reanimate the dead and employ the corpses as untraceable drug couriers.[8](https://filmblitz.org/magic-cop-1990/)
Feng, a Taoist master as well as a veteran cop, is called in to help, working with two younger, skeptical officers, Detective Lam (Wilson Lam) and Sergeant No. 2237 ([Michael Miu](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-miu)).[8](https://filmblitz.org/magic-cop-1990/) The film builds toward magical duels between Feng and the sorceress, including a sequence in which the two control other people like puppets, and a finale against the sorceress and her servant (Billy Chow).[9](https://www.doblu.com/2024/01/09/magic-cop-blu-ray-review/) Set pieces include a morgue sequence in which Feng breathes fire, and the opening and closing scenes use practical effects involving bulging walls and fire.[8](https://filmblitz.org/magic-cop-1990/) • [2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/)
The [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) describes the film as a supernatural comedy crime story in which a former officer rejoins the force to investigate a drug ring that employs ghosts and vampires, with content advice noting bodies frozen and revived, a supernatural being catching fire and exploding, and prolonged fight scenes.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/magic-cop-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yotiwmtc)
## Production
**Origins.** Stephen Tung Wei and Lam Ching-Ying had trained at the same [Chinese opera](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-opera) school and acted together in the [Sammo Hung](https://www.edgepedia.org/sammo-hung) production *Hocus Pocus* (1984). During that shoot, Lam spoke of plans to start his own production company, and Tung joined the venture.[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/) Magic Cop was the company's first production, and it also proved to be its last.[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/) The pair intended to build on Lam's fame as the star of *Mr. Vampire* (1985) and its sequels by making another supernatural comedy action film in the jiangshi (hopping vampire) mold, and the film gave Tung his first directing job.[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/) Lam Ching-Ying is also credited as action director, alongside Chou Kam-Kong, Siu Hau, and Lee Chi-Kit.[3](https://kungfutube.info/23180)
The screenplay is credited to Tsang Kan-cheung and Sam Chi-Leung (Shen Chi-Leung).[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/) • [10](https://baike.sogou.com/m/fullLemma?g_ut=3&lid=267929) The production companies were Movie Impact Ltd (藝能影業), with filming by Millifame Productions; the film later entered the Media Asia Film library.[11](https://www.hkfact.com/movie/7352) Because it was a debut production for a new company, the film was relatively low budget, which reviewers note did not prevent elaborate practical effects.[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/)
## Genre context
Magic Cop belongs to the jiangshi cycle that followed the success of Ricky Lau's *Mr. Vampire* (1985), a subgenre mixing horror, comedy, and martial arts and drawing on [Chinese folklore](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-folklore), with the Taoist priest or master figure as its central professional.[12](https://repository.eduhk.hk/en/publications/professionalism-and-the-body-in-hong-kong-jiangshi-films-from-mr--4/) The film updates the formula by moving the Taoist master into a modern police setting: Feng applies traditional magic to a contemporary drug investigation, while his younger colleagues represent the modern, skeptical outlook.[9](https://www.doblu.com/2024/01/09/magic-cop-blu-ray-review/) Reviewers note that although the film carries the alternate title Mr. Vampire 5 and Lam's familiar Taoist-master persona, it contains no hopping vampires; one critic describes it as having every element of a hopping-vampire film except the vampires themselves.[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/) • [13](https://letterboxd.com/film/magic-cop/) In Japan it was released on video as 新・霊幻道士 風水捜査編, without a theatrical run.[3](https://kungfutube.info/23180)
## Reception and box office
The film earned HK$3,645,216 at the Hong Kong box office, ranking 105th for the year, well below the takings of the Mr. Vampire films.[3](https://kungfutube.info/23180) • [2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/) It nonetheless remained popular with genre fans and has been treated by some as spiritually part of the Mr. Vampire franchise.[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/) On IMDb it holds a weighted rating of 6.9/10 from about 1,000 users, with an unweighted mean of 7.0.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098150/ratings/) Rotten Tomatoes lists a 71% Tomatometer from a single critics' review, by Douglas Davidson of Elements of Madness, who called it wild, wacky, hilarious, and action-packed.[7](https://wwe.rfhthjmb.dns-dynamic.net/m/magic_cop) Later reviews have been favorable: Film Blitz rated it B− and praised its combination of cop thriller, black comedy, and occult movie, while DoBlu gave the film 4/5 and highlighted the Taoist duel set pieces.[8](https://filmblitz.org/magic-cop-1990/) • [9](https://www.doblu.com/2024/01/09/magic-cop-blu-ray-review/)
Lam Ching-Ying, the genre star at the film's center, died of liver cancer on 8 November 1997 at age 44.[14](https://m.tvspielfilm.de/kino/filmarchiv/film/magic-cop%2C1327172%2CApplicationMovie.html) • [15](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/Chinese/LAM-Ching-ying_c.pdf)
## Home video and censorship
The British label 88 Films released Magic Cop on Blu-ray in 2023, its Blu-ray debut, in a 1.85:1 high-definition transfer with four audio options: the original [Cantonese](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantonese) mono mix, a Cantonese home video mix, and English dubs in 2.0 and 5.1.[9](https://www.doblu.com/2024/01/09/magic-cop-blu-ray-review/) The limited edition includes an audio commentary by Hong Kong film experts Frank Djeng and Marc Walkow, an interview with director Stephen Tung Wei, and the longer Taiwanese cut with an alternate score, presented in standard definition from VHS-era elements.[2](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/)
Censorship history is documented by the BBFC. The film was first classified for UK cinema in February 1991, and a 1995 video version ran 83 minutes 16 seconds after cuts.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/magic-cop-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yotiwmtc) For the 2023 home entertainment classification, compulsory cuts were required to remove a sequence of animal cruelty involving a cat, in accordance with BBFC policy and the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937; the US release of the disc presents both cuts uncensored, while the UK release carries the edit.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/magic-cop-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yotiwmtc) • [5](https://www.genregrinder.com/post/magic-cop-blu-ray-review) The 2023 classified version runs 87 minutes 49 seconds.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/magic-cop-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yotiwmtc)
In the United States, the film is available on streaming services including Hi-YAH, The Roku Channel, Plex, and Tubi, and on disc from Amazon and [Barnes & Noble](https://www.edgepedia.org/barnes-and-noble).[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/magic-cop)
## References
1. [Magic Cop streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/magic-cop)
2. [Magic Cop – 88 Films, Blueprint: Review (David Brook, 27 June 2023)](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/06/magic-cop-88-films/)
3. [新・霊幻道士 風水捜査編／驅魔警察（1990）, KUNGFU TUBE](https://kungfutube.info/23180)
4. [MAGIC COP, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/magic-cop-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yotiwmtc)
5. [Magic Cop Blu-ray Review, Genre Grinder (Gabe Powers, 27 July 2023)](https://www.genregrinder.com/post/magic-cop-blu-ray-review)
6. [Magic Cop (1990) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098150/ratings/)
7. [Magic Cop, Rotten Tomatoes](https://wwe.rfhthjmb.dns-dynamic.net/m/magic_cop)
8. [Magic Cop (1990), Film Blitz (Jim McLennan, 14 June 2020)](https://filmblitz.org/magic-cop-1990/)
9. [Magic Cop Blu-ray Review, DoBlu (Christopher Zabel, 9 January 2024)](https://www.doblu.com/2024/01/09/magic-cop-blu-ray-review/)
10. [《驱魔警察》, 搜狗百科](https://baike.sogou.com/m/fullLemma?g_ut=3&lid=267929)
11. [驱魔警察, HKFACT](https://www.hkfact.com/movie/7352)
12. [Professionalism and the body in Hong Kong jiangshi films: From Mr. Vampire to Tsui Hark's vampire hunters, EdUHK Research Repository (Kwan Wai Eric Yu)](https://repository.eduhk.hk/en/publications/professionalism-and-the-body-in-hong-kong-jiangshi-films-from-mr--4/)
13. [Magic Cop (1990), Letterboxd reviews](https://letterboxd.com/film/magic-cop/)
14. [Magic Cop, TVSpielfilm film archive](https://m.tvspielfilm.de/kino/filmarchiv/film/magic-cop%2C1327172%2CApplicationMovie.html)
15. [香港影人小傳檢索：林正英, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/Chinese/LAM-Ching-ying_c.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Comedy horror films › 20th-century comedy horror films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license