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Movie Review by The Undertaker
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07.06.03
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Are you up to speed on Chinese vampires and zombies? If not, Vampire Hunters from Tsui Hark is a great way to start. Seeing another cultures take on the same kind of monsters and legends we're already familiar with makes for some kind of fun! If you're really burned out on and sick of the whole goth type vampire shit then get your hands on some of these wild Asian films. Vampire Hunters smokes with great FX and awesome martial arts and swordplay action. The vampires here start out as nasty looking hopping zombies, then turn to vampires after feeding. All these creatures look gross as shit, no cutey pies or suave Euro-types here folks. Rotted, maggoty, flying vampires that are full of magical powers assault our five brave warriors throughout the movie. The basic plot here deals with Wind, Rain, Thunder, Lightning, and their master, five vampire hunting warriors out to stop a king vampire that has recently awakened in the form of a dead general. Their initial fight is a loss for the good guys, as the vampire leaves them shocked and awed. The master gets separated from the boys and the search for both leader and vampire king is on. There are plenty of little side stories here to keep you looking 'til the rotting hoppers hit the screen again. The four warriors get a job at the house of a rich old man trying to catch some crazy snake that's sneaking around his huge home. Two of the crew finds chicks to fall in love with. The old man, Jiang, just happens to preserve all his dead relatives in wax, pretty much giving his greatest enemy all the ammo he needs to try and make a plan to steal his gold. The enemy's sister was sold to Jiang's son to pay off gambling debts and he is still pissed, so he hires a magic zombie wrangler to turn all old Jiang's dead kin into zombies so he can sneak in and steal both gold and sister. The whole shit backfires though as the vampire king shows up killing both the old man and his enemy, taking control of the zombies and leaving the whole place in ruin.. The vampire hunters fight off and escape the king then track him down for one last battle. The last twenty minutes here really kick ass! I liked the little magic compass the hunters use to find the supernatural fiends. The way the vampires fight is definitely a welcome change of pace from what I'm used to seeing. These things blow magic smoke and flame, suck the blood from victims five feet away, flying like hawks, and fight like tigers. They hate water and sunlight, but seem to be able to take one hell of a beating and keep fighting. This film has it all! Sick of shitty indie vampire shit that all looks the same? Hop on over and rent this sucker sometime.
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Rating: nan out of 10.0 - 0 votes cast total
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