Tsui Hark’s high gloss re-Vamped horror production opera opens as if viewed through a pair of old cardboard 3D glasses , colourfully enhanced with a designer Mario Bava label. The setting is Seventeenth Century rural China where Zombies roam , feeding upon human flesh and transforming them into Vampires !. A handful of skilled warriors dare to challenge these demons of the dark , lest they too fall foul to this unholy Chinese Die Nasty.

A fearless master armed with a flawless sword to despatch evil , and a wispy moustache to fend off the flies from his encounters with rotting corpses , relentlessly seeks out the King Vampire with his trusted disciples. His four companion scholars are named Wind , Rain , Thunder and Lightening. Neither sons of Odin nor sons of bitches , but brothers in arms against the hand of evil. Drawn together in the face of manifested malevolence they first encounter the Vampiric crown wearer in the mist enshrouded setting of a recently defiled graveyard. In a battle beyond the grave the hideous Zombiefied Vampire rises up in a fight sequence that lays waste to the band of fighters to the cause. The creature sucks their life blood from a distance like an inhuman syringe , receiving a life giving high of sustenance and substance to its un-dead form. Displayed with well used CGI enhancement to graphically show the blood sucked with vacuum from the eyes , nose and mouth of hapless victims and then bodily dispensing by carcass ripping Zombie talons. The bone crunching snap of rag doll humans thrown around to be impaled upon tree branches is gloriously imbued with crisp Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

This is like sitting back with the opening sequence of those old Hammer Dracula films , where Count Dracula is seen being dispatched once more as a rehash from the previous cinematic opening , prior to his resurrection for the duration to follow. Here the Van Helsing Chinese Master is feared lost within the battle , and the King Vampire disembodies all except the four valiant disciples who live to fight another day.

The scene is set for the would be saviours of the people living in the surrounding rural environment to locate their lost master , and to reunite against the scourge of the land. Armed with the remote control possibilities of original language setting and optional subtitles or a pleasingly well done English dubbed option , movie rental patrons and film purchasers alike will have Fun with ‘ Vampire Hunters ’. There is good natured humour to be found in the English dubbed translation as exemplified with the typecasting of a band of horse riding desperados , whose bandit leader is very funnily blessed with a Mexican dialect tongue. The thought of him delivering the line ‘Hey vampire gringo’ is never far from the forefront of any Sergio Leone , Italian spaghetti western loving fans mind. Indeed with equal bursts of story telling and acrobatic sword fighting scenes there is more than the occasional nod to the holster wearing , gun slinging days of the Old West.

Producer Tsui Hark’s credentials here are clear to see as his influences are taken from past classy performers ‘ Once Upon A Time In China ’ and the ‘ Mister Vampire ’ series. Wire work fighting sequences blended with those technicians of the hopping vampire variety dance side by side amidst a Shaw Brothers inspired scenic back lot. Armed only with their wits and generational honed martial arts skills as well as the talisman of invisibility against the evil when dowsed in water , the intrepid band of the hand head toward the inevitable final showdown. The Vampire death breath squares off against the brothers of virtue in a climatic clash of Good versus Evil.

This energetic conclusion to a basically very enjoyable slice of Fun is like stumbling upon one of those late night TV station channels showing those bizarre players that you tune into half way through , and end up staying transfixed with till the end. The result is that die hard resolution to then seek out the film at all costs to watch the whole movie from start to finish. Like a far less serious horror adaption of a certain Ang Lee major box office player , look upon this then as ‘ Crunching Vampire , Hideous Zombie ’.

The good news here is that ‘ Vampire Hunters ’ is now readily available on home formats , but just for Old School discoverers its like walking in on ‘ Mothra vs Godzilla ’ meets ‘ The Evil Dead ’. So go get yourself rubber suited up and join us for the most ferociously Fun Vampire Fu flick this side of another Stephen King quote.

Presentation : Widescreen Aspect Ratio Aprox 1:77:1
Release : Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment
Coding : NTSC Region 1
Sound : Dolby Digital 5.1
Extras : Trailers / English Language / English Subtitles