Thanks to the relentless promotion by netizens in Hong Kong, "The Mr. Vampire" has instantly garnered the attention of tens of thousands of netizens on the mainland with its premise of scaring audiences into hospitals and even to death.
After hitting the trending lists on the three major social media platforms, it quickly became a sensation online.
From the creation of its topic community to its appearance on the trending list, the entire process took less than three hours.
The popularity of the three trending topics on the hot search list has exceeded five million, with comment counts reaching over a million.
Excluding the posts from Hong Kong netizens, over two million comments came from mainland netizens.
A casual glance at the comment section of any trending topic reveals that although the mainland netizens' comments differ, their general sentiment is the same.
"A movie that sent tens of thousands of people to the hospital, is that true? Aren't those Hong Kong folks bragging?"
"Scaring people to the point of mental breakdown, could this 'The Mr. Vampire' really be that terrifying? In my life, I've never seen a horror movie that could make me tremble with fear."
"Scaring people into hospitals, or causing mental breakdowns, are somewhat understandable, as some people are indeed timid. But scaring people to death? That's pure BS."
"Are these trending topics just a special promotion by Hong Kong film companies to attract box office revenue?"
"Agreed +1."
The skeptical attitude of mainland netizens mirrored the sentiments of Hong Kong netizens when the film was first released.
No one believed that watching a movie could actually send someone to the hospital, and they all assumed it was a promotional stunt by the film companies.
Upon seeing the comments from mainland netizens.
Hong Kong netizens, who had personally experienced it, quickly responded.
"Brothers from the mainland, I also thought it was a publicity stunt by those flops in the film industry at first, but after I was sent to the hospital after watching the movie, I realized it wasn't a stunt, it was the truth!"
"Dudes from the mainland, it's not a publicity stunt by the film companies. Let me put it this way: if I were to rewatch 'The Mr. Vampire,' I'd probably get a heart attack from being scared."
"Scaring people to death was indeed our exaggeration, but scaring people into hospitals, or causing mental breakdowns, that's not something we made up."
"If mainland netizens don't believe us, you can go to the 'The Mr. Vampire' topic community to see for yourselves. There's plenty of evidence there to prove we're not exaggerating."
Hong Kong netizens responded and began to drive traffic to the topic community.
Initially, the "The Mr. Vampire" topic community had only over two hundred thousand followers.
However, with the enthusiastic promotion by Hong Kong netizens, the follower count surpassed two million in just ten minutes, and it continued to climb rapidly at a rate of thousands per minute.
When mainland netizens saw the photos and videos, as well as the medical records shared by Hong Kong netizens in the topic community, they were all stunned.
Suddenly, the number of comments in the topic community skyrocketed.
"My God, they actually went to the hospital after watching a movie. I thought it was bullshit."
"I just saw a brother post his medical record, and a video of him receiving treatment on the spot. He really went to the psychiatric department after watching the movie, and his mental state was abnormal. Is this movie that brutal!"
"Going to the doctor is considered good. I just saw someone who fainted on the spot after watching the movie and had to be given emergency treatment by medical personnel."
"The vehicles parked outside the cinema weren't private cars, but ambulances. This is truly eye-opening!"
"Am I a pervert, or do I have psychological problems? Seeing 'The Mr. Vampire' send people to the hospital has suddenly made me want to go watch it."
The topic community was filled with various medical records of Hong Kong audiences seeking medical attention after watching the movie.
There were also real-life evidence of audience members being rushed to the hospital by ambulance and receiving on-site medical care.
The overwhelming amount of evidence shocked millions of mainland netizens.
Who would have thought that a movie could cause such horrifying news of audiences being sent to the hospital?
By 8 PM, "The Mr. Vampire" was still trending, holding a respectable ninth position.
The "The Mr. Vampire" topic community had become the number one trending topic of the day.
Its follower and comment counts far surpassed those of the second-ranked topic by five to six times.
Its popularity exceeded ten million within a single day.
As "The Mr. Vampire" exploded in popularity on social media, netizens began searching for the movie on various video websites and search engines.
However, after a thorough search, besides two to three minutes of pirated recordings and some photos taken inside cinemas, there was no complete version of the film available.
Many netizens with a strong sense of curiosity, and fans of horror movies, were deeply disappointed.
This group of people flooded the topic community with messages, urging Hong Kong netizens to release a pirated version to satisfy their curiosity.
However, the attitude of Hong Kong netizens was unified: they refused to comply.
After all, China placed great importance on combating piracy, and being caught could result in a sentence of three to five years, if not ten.
As the number of searches for the movie "The Mr. Vampire" reached millions, major video websites quickly took notice.
Responsible individuals at these websites, upon encountering a foreign film with over a million searches, began investigating the entire incident.
After learning about the whole story, even the employees of the video websites were curious.
Just how terrifying could a film be to send tens of thousands of viewers to the hospital after watching it?
If not for the evidence online, they would have dismissed it as exaggeration by the film companies.
However, since netizens were so keenly interested in this film, the website executives began contacting their connections in Hong Kong to find channels and secure the first-hand copyright.
After all, reaching millions of searches in just a few hours meant that if it were available on their websites, it would undoubtedly bring in massive traffic.
The actions of the video websites soon reached the ears of cinema companies.
After understanding the situation, they immediately leveraged their upper-level and commercial connections to secure the theatrical distribution rights first.
After a night of inquiries, the production company behind "The Mr. Vampire" finally surfaced: Feihong Pictures from Kyoto.
Upon receiving the news, Mr. Wang, from Vanke Cinemas, directly called Gao Fei.
When the call was connected, Wang He promised Gao Fei the greatest benefits, such as box office splits, if "The Mr. Vampire" were to be screened in Vanke Cinemas.
However, upon learning why the movie was only released in Hong Kong, Wang Gongzi's enthusiasm was immediately extinguished.
As for other video websites, cinema companies, and so on, they practically bombarded Gao Fei and Jin Qiqi's phones.
After all, for a film that had not yet been released on the mainland to have such a massive search volume, whoever obtained the first-hand copyright would be the biggest winner.
When they contacted Gao Fei and Jin Qiqi and learned the truth, everyone, like Wang He, came with high hopes and left in disappointment.
Gao Fei, whose phone was constantly ringing, logged into Feihong Pictures' social media account to respond to the movie "The Mr. Vampire."
"Hello everyone, I am Gao Fei. I will be taking up a little of your time tonight.
Due to the fact that the movie 'The Mr. Vampire' produced by our company could not pass the censorship, the copyright of the film has been sold to a film company in Hong Kong.
Thank you for your anticipation of this film. We will continue to produce better, higher-quality films in the future."
The statement was published on Feihong Pictures' social media account, and Gao Fei himself personally logged in to respond.
Industries under Yuanfei Studio and Feiteng Investment Company reposted it from their accounts.
Video websites and cinema companies that were vying for the copyright also reposted the statement, serving as a response to netizens.
As "The Mr. Vampire" was currently a hot topic online, the statement quickly trended.
Upon seeing the statement personally issued by Gao Fei, netizens were very disappointed.
In the comment section of Feihong Pictures' social media announcement:
"Brother Gao, disappointment best describes my feelings right now."
"Comrade Xiao Gao, as your fan, I am also a horror movie enthusiast. I am deeply saddened that I cannot see a movie that sends people to the hospital.
"As a black fan, and a die-hard fan of horror movies, Gao Fei, please, I beg you, find a way to release the movie on the mainland. As long as it can be released, I promise not to criticize you for a month."
"I just searched for some information about 'The Mr. Vampire.' Gao Fei, you are also the chief screenwriter of the film. It seems your talent has not diminished, and you have not run out of ideas."
"I never expected that you, Gao Fei, are also a horror movie enthusiast. We horror movie fans are joining your fan base."
"Although we can't see the movie, the fact that even a film created by Gao Fei cannot pass censorship on the mainland can give us an idea of how terrifying this movie is."
"Hong Kong, as a cultural hub in Asia, can screen any film, but a movie that can scare people into the hospital is truly the first I've ever seen. It's no wonder the movie couldn't pass censorship and be released; it's understandable."
The comment section contained remarks not only from fans but also from black fans and passers-by.
Everyone expressed their regret for not being able to see the movie "The Mr. Vampire."
While they couldn't see the movie, it indirectly indicated one thing.
This movie was indeed terrifying!
Otherwise, given Gao Fei's status, the General Administration of Press and Publication would not have bent the rules for him.
....
Hong Kong Grand Pacific Hotel.
Gao Fei sat in front of his computer, reading the comments on the announcement statement. He replied to every comment, whether from fans, passers-by, or black fans.
Meanwhile, Jin Qiqi, sitting on the sofa and also looking at her computer, had not yet shaken off a certain psychological shadow and had been staying in the same suite with Gao Fei, which had two bedrooms.
Noticing that mainland netizens were searching for the source of "The Mr. Vampire," and for its topic community and trending topics, she couldn't help but shift her gaze to Gao Fei.
Without needing to guess, she knew that the sudden surge in popularity of "The Mr. Vampire" on the mainland was definitely related to Gao Fei.
After reading the trending news on the three major platforms and the netizens' comments, Jin Qiqi curiously asked, "Boss, you've indeed generated a lot of traffic by having Hong Kong netizens promote the movie on the mainland internet.
But looking at the comments, most people are just regretting that the movie couldn't be released on the mainland.
It doesn't seem like anyone is willing to travel all the way to Hong Kong just to watch a movie. It seems your plan has fallen through."