Vampire Hunters (2003) User Reviews

Better Than People Give It Credit

[TheNaughtyLibrarian · 6/10 · 22 November 2006]

In a number of forums I've seen this film mercilessly trashed, and I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps it's having Tsui Hark's name attached to it, thus giving people the wrong idea about the film as they go into it. While I don't think it's the best film ever made by any stretch of the imagination, Vampire Hunters does serve it's purpose. I was entertained thoroughly, startled a few times, laughed a few times, and spent a great deal of my viewing time in suspense. The one thing you can say about this film is that it's definitely not slow moving!

While it does suffer from the lack of in depth characterization that seems to be the downfall of many martial arts films, in general I found the acting to be up to par -provided you watch the film subtitled as opposed to dubbed. The wooden voice acting of the English translators is highly reminiscent of the hilarious goofy bad dubbing of 70s martial arts flicks, and really detracts from the genuine scariness of the vampire scenes.

And those vampires! Yikes! Spitting acidic gas, sucking your blood through the air, covered in maggots.... Truly makes ol' Bela seem like a puddytat! It's interesting to see the differences between Eastern and Western vampire mythos.

The movie itself is beautifully and imaginatively lensed, the director of photography should be proud. The camera-work zooms and jumps during the right moments and steps back and slows down to take in grandeur. The fight scenes are excitingly filmed, and the effects are no worse than any other film I've seen lately. Not the best, but everything moves quickly enough that you don't really notice.

All in all, I got what I wanted; escapist, exciting, engaging fun that made me forget about the rest of the world for an hour and a half. And after all, isn't that what a movie is supposed to be? They can't all be caviar, sometimes I really just want popcorn.

Crazy hopping vampires strike back

[AwesomeWolf · 5/10 · 24 April 2005]

Version: English dub

If like me, you possess an awesome-sense (like Spider-Man's Spider-sense, only it detects awesomeness instead of danger), you should ignore all the negative for 'Vampire Hunters' and listen to me instead. It isn't an awesome movie, but how can a movie with zombies, vampires, and kung-fu not be somewhat entertaining?

In 17th century China, zombies and vampires roamed the lands, feeding on the unsuspecting. A group of martial artists / vampire hunters find themselves employed by a very rich - and very insane - old man who has kept everyone of his relatives preserved in wax and not buried. Apparently it is his family's tradition. So, having generations of potential zombies in your cellar may not be the smartest idea ever, but it takes two to tango. In this case, a thief wants the old-man's treasure and hires a zombie-wrangler to re-animate the waxed up relatives in order to sneak into the mansion and steal the treasure. It's up to the kung-fu fighting vampire hunters to save the day (or night).

'Vampire Hunters' ends up being a more serious version of 'Mr. Vampire'. I don't think I've seen any other HK vampire movie that actually tried to be serious instead of an action / comedy. Unfortunately, the concept of 'serious' is my arch-nemesis.

I'd forgive the seriousness if the action was good. I would have expected a better action movie from Tsui Hark, but what am I gonna do? Complain some more? Sure! The action is okay, but poorly edited. Thankfully there is enough to keep someone like me entertained. The special effects aren't all that good, but I've never been one to care about bad special effects.

'Vampire Hunters' is a decent action movie, but really only for anyone interesting in Hong Kong vampire / action movies - 5/10

Offers nothing new to the genre... but is passable entertainment.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 11 June 2006]

When four hunters of the undead -- -Thunder, Wind, Rain and Lightning- -- are separated from their master during a battle with a King Vampire, they continue their hunt for the bloodsucker, using a magical Taoist compass to lead the way. Eventually they arrive at the home of Master Jiang, who is celebrating the marriage of his son to the beautiful Sasa.

When the groom turns up dead the next day, having been bitten by a snake, the foursome are employed to find the reptile. Master Jiang informs Sasa that she need never be parted from her husband, because the family tradition is to preserve dead relatives with wax and store them in vaults below the house; she can visit him anytime she likes!! Meanwhile, it transpires that Sasa had been married off by her brother just so that she might be able to find the whereabouts of a hoard of gold hidden somewhere in the house and pass the information on to him.

With that plan scuppered, Sasa's brother employs a 'zombie wrangler' to reanimate the waxy corpses under the house. With Master Jiang busy rounding up the zombies, he hopes to search the place for the hidden loot.

Unfortunately, for everyone involved, the King Vampire shows up at the end to cause additional mayhem and chaos and it is up to the four heroes to save the day.

Whilst this is no classic of the genre -- the plot is far too messy -- it does contain many elements which will prove to be of fun to fans of 80s Hong Kong vampire movies: the martial arts are of a reasonable standard, with some impressive swordplay and a bit of nifty wire-work, there is some fairly cheesy gore, and the reanimated bodies do the old hopping routine we all know and love. Best of all is the King Vampire, who has supernatural powers that enable him to suck blood at a distance and fire flames from his mouth.

My main gripe with this film is that everything is just too dark. I found myself straining to see what was going on for most of the running time. I can ignore some dodgy CGI and iffy make-up effects, but I'd like to be able to see what the hell is going on.

Despite the advances in film technology, Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters remains an average production that does nothing to improve on the films that it emulates. Don't watch this with expectations too high, and you might find yourself enjoying it.

Awesome if you like the Hong Kong 'hopping vampire' genre.

[Alpha Denshi · 23 June 2003]

OK, let me start off by saying that if I hadn't read the other user comments for this film, I wouldn't have taken the time to write this, as I'm busy and if I commented on every film I liked, I'd never get any work done. I read the comments here, in The LA Weekly and on other internet sites- and they were, to sum up, some of the stupidest, snobbiest HK film reviews I've EVER read. Do not, repeat: DO NOT believe the hype.

Now, unlike alot of other Hong Kong film fans, I don't care for contemporary action films with cops, drug busts, car chases, etc. I DO like old school 70's Kung Fu; ala Chang Cheh and Liu Chia Liang. I also really like the Hopping zombie/ghost/vampire sub-genre of HK 'horror'. Now, in case you aren't familiar with these- they feature 'vampires' and 'zombies' that return from the grave (Usually due to some sort of improper burial) and hop about (Or in the case in Vampire Hunters- fly about). They are usually opposed by priests- Taoist priests- who use Taoist magic to defeat them. The seminal film in this genre is the mid-eighties comedy/horror masterpiece 'Mr. Vampire'.

Now, Tsui Hark's 'Vampire Hunters' plays alot like a much more serious version of Mr. Vampire- basically, the comedic elements usually found in these films are almost non existant in 'Vampire Hunters'. This alone makes it one of the only HK vampire films to play like 'action horror' instead of 'horror comedy'.

Now, this distinction alone makes Vampire Hunters worth a look.

So ask yourself: Do you want just a good, action packed film? The kind of film you're going to want to hold up to The best 1980s and 90s John Wu stuff? Maybe Ang Lee's 'Crouching Tiger'? Or even non-HK action like James Cameron's Terminator 2? Well if you just want great action, there's like, A THOUSAND good action films out there, ok? If you want something more, something you just DON'T SEE anywhere else- something like, Oh, I dunno... maybe... CHINESE VAMPIRES versus TAOIST WARRIOR PRIESTS???

Well, check out Tsui Hark's 'Vampire Hunters'. It's merely a decent 'action' film and not the best edited, paced, well written or anything else kind of film out there.

But, the sum of it's parts simply does not equate the fun action/horror fantasy of the whole. So- if you're a 'norm' who thought Erin Brokavich or maybe the Ocean's 11 remake was good, well stay FAR AWAY from Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters, it's not for you, you won't get it, understand it's appeal or be able to appreciate it.

If you're the kind of person who likes the idea of a Mr. Vampire/Chinese Ghost Story double bill, well, strap yourself in- cause Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters will satisfy your desire to escape from reality for an hour and a half or so.

The mixture doesn't work

[Vartiainen · 5/10 · 18 July 2015]

The Era of Vampires is an interesting idea. Take the typical wuxia martial arts film and add a horror element in the form of vampires. On the surface this sounds great. Extraordinary fighting visuals with dark and supernatural tone. The inborn grace and elegance of vampires seems like an excellent fit for wuxia.

Unfortunately we end up getting very little of that. Partly because the vampire they end up going with is radically different from a typical Western vampire. It's more of a force of nature, an unstoppable monster that rips into pieces everything standing in its way, visually more of a zombie lord than an aristocratic vampire. And it is utterly terrifying. I actually really like this take on one of the oldest monsters in our collective mythic lore. Fantastic horror villain, even if it means that the fights are not as grandeur as they would have otherwise been.

What really fails this movie is the lackadaisical nature of the script. You don't really identify with any of the characters, the side plots are either clichéd or have nothing to do with the other plots, the backstory is convoluted and the world building doesn't really work. Plus the whole film is shot way too dark. Oftentimes you have problems making out what's happening, making the fight scenes even less stellar.

That being said, there are some good fights and as stated, the vampire is very impressive. Making this a film that's fine to check out if you're really into wuxia or you want to see a radically different take on vampires. It's not really a good film, but it has its upsides.

Sadly cut

[movieman_kev · 5/10 · 9 May 2005]

Master Mao Shan is separated from his four best warriors, Wid, Thunder, Rain, and Lightning, during the midst of a battle with the undead. So they decide to go undercover as servants in order to search for a vampire who they believe is nearby. That's the main plot, but there's many sub-plots and a tad too many characters. But the action scenes are pretty good. And while this is among my least favorite Tsui Hark films, that's more a statement of how much I enjoy his movies than an indictment of this one. Truth be told, I'm kinda hesitantly reviewing this title as the Tristar version is cut by numerous minutes, making the ending more optimistic, so if you ever pick up the un-edited version get in touch with me to tell me how different it is. And if I ever see the original version I,of course, will revise my review accordingly.

My Grade: C-

DVD Extras: Trailers for "Cowboy Bebop", "National Security", and "Time and Tide"

Almost there, but not

[jem_my · 5/10 · 30 March 2006]

I felt that this movie could have been better if i had focus more on the scares, however this is much of a neutral film, which is not that scary, nor frightening.

The people focus are not that much, and the scare effects could have been better, but seeing that the film director is Hark Tsui, his films are usually made more for plot rather than characters.

Somehow, i keep remembering the name of this film back in my mind, because it gives me the creeps sometimes when trying to remember it.

However if you don't understand Asian (chinese) horror creatures, then its not really worth watching it.

-Alright film to watch / can be creepy-

A somewhat different vampire movie

[monkey__tail · 7/10 · 8 September 2003]

I think Vampire Hunters is a pretty good movie. Although it isn't breaking new ground, for most american viewers it will seem a little odd that the vampires in the movie are more corpse like than you expect to see, but in most if not all accounts of vampirism in the middle ages and earlier periods vampires were refered to as animated corpses, not strikingly beautiful creatures with tragic stories. So if you're looking to see a decent horror movie will "realistic" vampires, this would be worth seeing. Two top notch performances in the film are those of Anya, who plays a young widow, and Zou Na, who plays a servant.

ok, its bad, but isn't that the point??

[ddelwood · 5/10 · 21 March 2004]

let's be honest, when you pick up a dubbed/subtitled cantonese vampire flick, you probably aren't expecting to find a diamond in the rough. my friends and i got exactly what we expected and laughed through the whole thing (ok, some parts were seen at 4x). the music - horrible. the sets - sort of interesting since they were other-culture-ish. the acting - terrible. the dialogue - beautifully terrible. in fact its substrate such as this which really hones down my 'terrible chinese dialogue shtick' that makes me so popular at parties.

oh and the vampire - yikes. we're talking bundle of sticks glued together. worse than 4th grade halloweeen stuff.

overall - great movie since its so bad....

That guy does NOT get it, disregard that warning!

[isfahani · 7/10 · 14 May 2005]

It's obvious that the person with the negative view either expects a 'kung fu' film and didn't get it, or more likely never saw MR VAMPIRE...

In order to enjoy this film I should think a little background on both Chinese mysticism and Hopping Zombie films are in order.

I won't do either of the honors, but instead refer you to the Illuminated Lantern website where you can get at least a primer on both.

AFA the film goes, I gave it a 7 out of 10 as it's a little disjointed, and lacks the flow of any really good Hopping Zombie film. But hey, at least someone whipped one of these out in the 00's, ten years after the genre died out. Kudos to Tsui Hark for that!

Slick vampire hunting mayhem with a certain generic feel

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 25 November 2017]

TSUI HARK'S VAMPIRE HUNTERS is very much a film of the 2000s, an update of the classic MR VAMPIRE genre of filmmaking but updated to the new millennium with slick visuals, heaps of dry ice, and some basic computer effects to depict the movement of the undead. The light storyline has a bunch of vampire hunters touring around and battling evil, but these guys are a bland and faceless group, with only the reliable Lam Suet standing out. The story itself is barely discernible, although there's plenty of corpse-hopping mayhem staged throughout. I found it all a little slight and irrelevant, lacking the character of the '80s productions, and failing to impress in the action stakes. Cast-wise, the best actors are the old-timers in support: Rongguang Yu as an ally, Shaw Brothers legend Chen Kuan Tai as a corpse master who gets way too little screen time.

You were trying to watch this movie the wrong way...

[benchilada · 8/10 · 23 September 2003]

Good heavens. Why must every Hong Kong film since CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON be compared to it? That's like comparing Tim Burton's ED WOOD to Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE because they're both in black-and-white! They're both great movies, but it's ridiculous to stand them next to each other because they're so vastly different. To me, Tsui Hark constructed a BRILLIANT homage to the "hopping corpse," and "demon" movies of the 1980's and early 1990's while adding some great kung-fu sequences. I see hints of SWORDSMAN, I feel bits of MR. VAMPIRE, I hear parts of IRON MONKEY, I smell A CHINESE GHOST STORY, and it's all done quite well. Wu-shu, taoist warriors, hopping corpses, a creepy nod to HOUSE OF WAX, and silly jokes? Great fun to me! Art-house, said one reviewer? Don't know what art films YOU'VE been watching lately. This movie didn't try anything tremendously fancy or new, it took a lot of things we've seen before and turned out a movie that was more than the sum of its parts. Bad humor? Different humor. Hong Kong humor is usually quite different than American humor...I'm sure a lot of people missed when RAIN, CLOUD, THUNDER, and LIGHTNING (ridiculously stereotypical "hero" names) were renamed "Kung," "Hei," "Fat," and "Choi." Put those four words together and it says "Happy New Year" in Cantonese. Amazingly funny to us? Probably not. Good for a lengthy chuckle for chinese native? Definitely. Low-budget? Again, have we been so spoiled by movie producers throwing vast wads of cash at American films -- often to cover the fact that a movie is BAD -- that we can't appreciate a film that doesn't try to overachieve, but does what it can with what it has? How quickly people forget CLERKS, EL MARIACHI, etc. But then again, DESPERADO was so much better than EL MARIACHI, yes? Because it had BIG EXPLOSIONS and SEX! It's time people set CROUCHING TIGER up on its own shelf and stop comparing it to movies it bears no similarities to. Wanna say that Zhang Yimou's HERO was an overblown attempt to recreate CT,HD? Go for it, you'll be right. Wanna miss the fun of VAMPIRE HUNTERS entirely by refusing to watch it as its own film? Your choice, and ultimately, your loss.

Failed attempt at arthouse-ifying the classic Chinese vampire horror-comedy genre

[eddax · 6/10 · 20 June 2003]

At the onset, I didn't know whether this movie was in English or Chinese and whether it was a U.S. production or a Hong Kong one. After all, the DVD didn't come with a Chinese title and the opening credits were in English. In selecting language, I opted for Cantonese and the words seemed to match the mouths so I guess it is a Hong Kong production.

As the movie progressed, I realized what veteran Hong Kong director/writer/producer/actor Tsui Hark (who writes and produces here) was trying to do with Vampire Hunters. Most likely, he wanted to break into the western market by introducing one of the Hong Kong movie industry's most beloved genres - the campy vampire horror comedies, just as how Ang Lee brought the classic kung-fu movie to the West with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Ultimately, Hark fails in his attempt to arthouse-isfy his movie, and Hunters doesn't even come close to the opulence of Crouching Tiger. It runs like a drama, but throws in gratuitous scare scenes that aren't scary, and tries to instill humor that isn't humorous. The villains look to be the typical caricatures that are the villains of period horror-comedies but they carry themselves with a seriousness that doesn't match their looks. The special effects, while certainly more ample and advanced than the vampire movies of old, are largely overdone and blatantly unrealistic. Who knew Chinese vampires had vision similar to those nocturnal creatures in Pitch Black?

To clarify, Vampire Hunters isn't bad, it just doesn't rise much above the average Chinese vampire flick despite Hark's efforts. It does have some things going for it like excellent cinematography, competent kung-fu displays, and a cool, creepy plotline about the Waxmaster, who has taken to preserving his deceased relations in, well, wax.

Plenty of action but not really my thing

[Stevieboy666 · 5/10 · 4 February 2019]

Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters. Picked this English dubbed version up cheap on DVD. I do like some of the classic Asian horror movies but combining it with martial arts and over the top action has never greatly appealed to me. But I have no doubt that fans of such movies will show far greater appreciation for this one. There's non stop action throughout and the zombie/vampire make ups are pretty good, they reminded me of the maggot invested walking dead from bygone Italian horror cinema. But hopping vampires just aren't my thing.

Muddled and dull

[Wizard-8 · 16 October 2003]

Before the movie was over (and before checking out the entry for the movie on this site), I had a strong suspicion that the Columbia/Tri-Star DVD of this movie I was watching was cut down from a longer print. After all, the same studio had butchered "Who Am I" a few years earlier. And a check of the "Alternate versions" link confirmed this for me. This cut played like a book missing its first few chapters, making it difficult for a long time to piece who was who and what the situation was. I also suspect some character development was cut out, since there is really nothing differentiating the four heroes from each other. Columbia/Tri-Star... STOP CUTTING HONG KONG FILMS!

However, I must admit that even if the missing footage was put back in, the movie wouldn't be that much better. It's a pretty dull affair. The action scenes aren't very impressive in what they depict, and are sometimes edited in an incomprehensible way. The vampire villain looks unbelievably cheesy - in fact, despite the expensive use of CGI for a few effects, the movie looks like it was made on a tight budget. There's a sterility in the air, a stiffness that suggests the filmmakers weren't able to let loose and fill the movie with wonders and wackiness.

Just bad

[supernamek14 · 1/10 · 26 January 2004]

When I first saw this movie at the video store, I thought, wow cool bunch of monks kill vampires. But this was just plain awful. Bad directing, bad effects and the worst script in the world. You would think that the fighting scenes would be good but... no. I must say if your even thinking about watching this movie, your already doing the bad thing. Trust me, this isn't worth paying for, and even if they paid you to watch it please don't, you'll thank me later.

ZOMBIES INTO VAMPIRES???

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 24 June 2019]

I don't know if this tale is based of Chinese folklore or if they just screwed up trying to copy American horror film. Zombies can become vampires if they eat enough human flesh. You can recover from a zombie bite, but will turn into a vampire if bitten. The zombies are waxed cover so there is no decay. And rather than drag a leg behind them, they bounce up and down as if they are on a pogo stick. The vampire engages the vampire hunters with typical anti-gravity martial art moves.

There are 4 guys, their master and a girl and none of it is good. The translation was hip. Now the idea this is "destined to become a martial arts/horror classic" has somehow slipped under the radar for 10 years.

No nudity, sex, or swearing. Fairly kid safe.

Classic, traditional Chinese horror.

[FiendishDramaturgy · 1/10 · 27 October 2003]

In a word? BAD. This has all the elements of a badly done "B" movie; ie: poorly developed characters, horrific cinematography, deplorable cacophonic soundtrack, and terrible over-dramatized acting.

The CGI used does not even begin to redeem this detestable smack-fest of sugar-coated zombies/vampires/whatevers, the main monster looks like something an 8 year old put together for the front porch on Halloween, and the four main characters are totally indistinguishable from one another.

The American version of this movie was cut, so it's possible we lost the character development on the cutting room floor, but honestly, even if we hadn't, I seriously doubt this movie would be worth watching.

There is only ONE good element. The sets. The sets are nicely done, and that is literally the single enjoyable aspect of this entire production.

Do yourself a favor and do something...no...do ANYthing else.

It rates a 0.0/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Think Bride with White Hair + Vampires

[kevin_robbins · 6/10 · 30 July 2021]

Vampire Hunters (2002) is a movie I recently rewatched on Tubi. The storyline for this picture centers around a group that hunts zombies across the Chinese countryside. When their master is kidnapped they will fight their way through a hoard of zombies to rescue him. This movie is directed by Wellson Chin (Street Kids) and stars Ken Chang (Kill Zone), Michael Man-Kin Chow (Kung Phooey), Chunhua Ji (Seven Swordsman) and Anya (Naked Weapon). The storyline for this picture is fun and has some of the famous hopping zombies. I liked the sword fights, action scenes, use of CGI and ooze to show the transformations; however, there's an overuse of sped up film and strings/ropes to make flying characters in this for my liking. The settings and props are excellent and so is the final vampire (he had pretty cool powers). Overall this movie was slightly above average and only worth viewing if you're also a fan of martial arts films (think Bride with White Hair + Vampires). I'd score this a 5.5/10.

Bad in any language

[thebludgeon · 2/10 · 9 January 2005]

This movie fails on many levels. The plot is non-sensical, the heroes aren't heroic, the humor is humorless, nothing is really explained. Maybe it's a Chinese thing, but the dead becoming zombies becoming vampires? Vampires that suck blood like a Hoover? Why can't wax zombies move their legs independently? The "Vampire Hunters" seem to be only "Vampire Finders" as they run away whenever confronted! Parts of the movie look like poor send ups of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. I am glad I am part of a movie club and didn't pay good money to rent this. Save yourself some time and aggravation and put this back on the shelf and move on.

And then...

[continuumx · 6/10 · 7 March 2023]

I saw this as Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters which is apparently an edited version.

This is what I call an And Then movie. They are traveling through a forest. And then there's a graveyard. And then there's a vampire. And then everything explodes. And then they are at a house. And then there's a bride. And then there's some bandits. And so forth. The movie jumps around erratically. Things just happen. Kung fu fights break out now and then. There are too many characters and subplots all tripping over each other. Part of this may be because of the editing but I have noticed the same thing in other Tsui Hark movies like Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. There are too many subplots and characters to the detriment of focus and coherence.

It's sort of an homage to the Jiangshi movies of the 80s and 90s and sort of isn't. It's like an attempt to do a more serious, artsy version of those movies without wacky stuff like a kid swallowing an egg, getting possessed and then pooping out another kid. There's much more of a serious horror tone with much grislier kills. I'm not sure this entirely works.

This is decently entertaining. It's not the most coherent thing but it's never boring. That saved it from a lower rating.

Not Good at all

[ThatsGoodInnit · 1/10 · 10 February 2006]

This Film truly is awful, i bought it expecting a good HongKong Zombie-Vampire flick! great stunts wild & fast! but what you've got here is wild & utterly ridiculous! The Zombies/Vampires are like Cardboard cutouts, fake stiff dummies with NO movement whatsoever! apart from the occasional clutch of the hand! the effects are poor! really pour! the zombies don't even bite the neck from what i saw, i managed half hour & that was painful enough, really 1 of the worst vampire genre movies, & possibly the worst film i own. Avoid like the plague! Poor acting! poor film, don't be fooled by the trailer either! Not even worth a vote, my opinion, for Vampire films the Dusk Til Down trilogy(Mainly The First), and for Zombies, Resident Evil 1&2, and Dawn of the Dead(Remake Starring Ving Rhames).

Really enjoyable and cheesy vampire kung-fu effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 9/10 · 17 October 2016]

In the 17th century China, a group of warriors attempting to find the vampire that abducted their master find themselves caught in a feud with their new hosts whose enemy raised an army of vampires to destroy them and must fight them together in order to save themselves.

This here was quite the fun if slightly flawed effort. Like the vast majority of Hong Kong vampire efforts, the fact that there's such an endless array of high-quality martial arts scenes in here is the biggest attribute to this one, keeping the film charging along at a frantic pace for the majority of the film. The opening assault on the main vampires' grave, which includes plenty of the usual aerial martial arts-based acrobatics as they lure the creature out of the tomb and combat it while it drains their life-force and brings about the explosive final part of the confrontation where they steal away the body into the forest gives this a fantastic opening, a later encounter where the looters find the creatures out in the woods and get torn to pieces is another gruesome highlight and the hand-to- hand fighting in the dojo where he finds that his opponents are the reanimated creatures is a lot of fun and gives this a great deal of action to run throughout here. Other great battles come from the resurrected vampires' attack on the small village as their hopping through the streets causes a great deal of destruction, and the fine follow-up confrontation in the woods is a lot of fun with the atmospheric location and raging thunderstorm providing plenty of set-up for the masterful hand-to-hand combat within and giving this all a great deal to like about it and sets up the ending confrontation with the master controller at his temple which is a wholly spectacular fight generating plenty of stand-out wire-fu tactics to bring about a fantastic and engaging sense of energy within the scene while utilizing plenty of inventive and unique tactics to combat the creature. Alongside this great set of action- packed horror set-pieces, there's other great traditional hand-to- hand and sword-fighting tactics throughout here which results in plenty of fantastic action in the set-pieces for a thoroughly frenetic and high-energy effort. Still, there's more than enough straightforward horror elements to work here, mainly centering around the rotting zombie-like look of the vampires filled with demonic visages and even maggots falling off their faces which makes for a rather fun and chilling-looking villain that really makes this appropriate which lets the scenes of them hopping around the villages casting plenty of shadows makes for some really suspenseful moments. Coupled with the nice gore in the bloody kills, these here give this one plenty to really enjoy and is enough to overcome the flaw here. The only real thing that holds this back is the fact that there's just not a whole lot of coherence in the story about what's going on, as there's just not a great deal of logic in why they're coming out or why they're targeting the family and as a result it makes the first half seem somewhat slow and uncoordinated. Otherwise there's quite a lot to like here.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Language and Brief Nudity.

Giving away the farm right from the start

[toclement · 3/10 · 19 October 2002]

Although Tsui Hark did not direct this film, he did produce it and he wrote the screenplay. And "Era of Vampire" reminded me a lot of Hark's last film, "Time and Tide". The two films had nothing in common in terms of plot, but both movies tried to cover up their weak scripts with frenetic action sequences, cacaphonic noise, and Baz-Luhrmannesque editing.

The film starts off interestingly enough, diving right into an action sequence involving the first of many appearances of the monster, in this case it is a vampire/zombie. Rule #1 broken: in a horror flick, never show the monster, and certainly don't show it in the first 5 minutes of your movie. I guess he might have been able to get away with breaking this rule, had the monster become increasingly frightening over the course of the film. But in fact, the action from the first sequence was not only as thrilling as the rest that followed, but it was also far superior to the anti-climactic final showdown.

Director, Wellson Chin, also does a good job of putting over the human characters after the initial opening battle. In particular, a scene that brings one of the four warriors face-to-face (literally) with his love interest was very cleverly executed.

But after these two initial scenes, the film steadily goes downhill. The story meanders about, providing little fodder for suspense, thrill or engagement. Each action scene seems like a repetition of the ones that preceded it. By the time you get to the final showdown, you've lost alot of interest. And instead of re-engage the audience with a finale that brings in something new, we're treated to just another scene, like all the others. You get the sense that the film is trying to appeal to the West, capitalizing on the success of the flying martial artists in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". But unlike action films from Hollywood, this film's final showdown is a huge, anti-climactic letdown.

Where most films save their best for last, "The Era of Vampire" gave it all away in the first 15 minutes. Unfortunately, they forgot they had another 90 minutes to fill. 3/10

Crap

[Grapple Man · 21 August 2003]

This is THE worst movie I have EVER seen! It is SOOOOO bad I felt compelled to write this message: DON'T EVER SEE THIS FILM! IT IS SO DREADFUL YOU FEEL STUPID FOR HAVING WATCHED IT! PLEASE DO NOT SEE THIS FILM

Seriously, the most pointless piece of crap I have ever seen, the story didn't make much sense, the effects were D-grade, they were that bad and the fighting has nothing on a B-grade Hong Kong action flick. Absolutely terrible.