Four Nights in Fear Forest – review

Director: Mark Polonia

Release date: 2024*

Contains spoilers

*2024 according to IMDb, however the Blu-ray came out in 2025 and the copyright on the film says 2025

I’ve generally not held the work of the Polonia brothers in high regard, as pieces of cinema, they are definitely at the low-budget end of the spectrum. However, they have a place and a fandom and, I have to admit, I participated in the crowdsourcing of this film. The Blu-ray perk recently arrived and from there comes my review. It does need noting that there isn’t actually a vampire in this – rather an animatronic of Dracula (Jeff Kirkendall, Shadow Tracker: Vampire Hunter, The Temptress, 3 to Murder, Bloodlust & Sharkula).

animatronics

Animatronics is a good place to start as the film title clearly apes Five Nights at Feddy’s, and the plot apes the recent rash of AI gone bad/possessed animatronic slashers. What causes the four monster animatronics to go bad isn’t definitively explored. They are at a Haunt called Fear Forest (we get a lot of documentary guest comments on the place, too many perhaps) and there is a flashback scene to 1995 where there were a group of kids killed and that is put down to satanists but, whether they managed to have the animatronics possessed is debatable. They are noted for random (dangerous) movements beyond that, mention is made of the genius builder of them (and so it could be down to him) and we also get a lightning strike in the contemporary timeline that seems to bring them to life.

prisoners

The contemporary timeline sees Fear Forest shutting down and park owner Malachi Bones (also Jeff Kirkendall) is working with prisoner rehabilitation to remove the exhibits. To that end Emma Brown (Yolie Canales, also Sharkula) has brought a group of prisoners to the theme park and their four days at the park will end or knock time off their sentences. They are Serenity (Greta Volkova, Tales of Dracula), Luca (Tim Hatch, Terror of the Master, also 3 to Murder, Shadow Tracker: Vampire Hunter, The Temptress & Sharkula), Skylar (Jamie Morgan, also Sharkula) and Caleb (Michael Korotitsch, also The Temptress & Sharkula). Because of their prisoner status, and because Skylar plans on running, the threat of the killer animatronics does not come immediately to light.

Dracula

I’ve mentioned that Kirkendall also plays the Dracula animatronic but the others are also played by one or more of the central cast. So, Greta Volkova and Michael Korotitsch both play the Mummy, Jamie Morgan plays the Bride and Tim Hatch plays the wolfman. The animatronics look rubbish (replete with cheap Halloween masks) but, other than comments on the exquisite craftmanship, that doesn’t matter – you can imagine them in a cheap end Haunt. The film is pretty much a slasher and it is only the fact that it is styled after a vampire that gets it onto the TMtV radar.

Jeff Kirkendall as Malachi Bones

Now I mentioned the Polonia brothers’ films at the head of the review and, startlingly, this turned out to be one of the better ones that I've seen. It doesn’t make it good cinema but it flowed that bit better. There are issues that could have been avoided; Michael Korotitsch gave an admirable performance despite the awful fake facial hair, as a for instance. Talking about performances, Jeff Kirkendall gave a weird but deliberately understated performance as the odd Malachi Bones (and the reason he looks the same age as a video from 30-years before is addressed), which was perfectly suited to him and one of the best I've seen from him. There is a place for low budget filmmaking such as this, there is a market for it. If you are part of that market I suspect you’ll get a kick out of this. 3 out of 10 reflects a realistic score but the film remains ideal for that z-grade malarkey.

The imdb page is here.

On DVD @ Amazon US

Honourable Mention: Doctor Who: Journey into Terror

I have featured plenty of Doctor Who episodes on the blog, however this is by far the earliest being part of season 2 of the original Doctor Who and featuring William Hartnell as the Doctor. Directed by Richard Martin and airing in 1965, this was an episode in a 6 episode sequence called the Chase.

The Chase was bizarre in the humour it added into the series. We had stammering daleks who had trouble adding up, for instance, and a *comedic* Alabama resident in New York that was more Beverly Hillbillies than anything else.

the tardis

The basic premise was that the Doctor and his companions, Vicki (Maureen O'Brien), Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill), were being pursued by daleks who had created their own time machine that could track the Tardis. In this episode they land in what looks like a gothic monstrosity of a castle. We get a moment with a very crap bat and Vicki suggests it might be a vampire but the Doctor says nonsense, they are South American and the architecture looks European (referencing, of course, the natural bat).

Malcolm Rogers as Dracula

The women are too nervous to explore and so the Doctor and Ian go off alone – eventually finding themselves face to face with Frankenstein’s monster (John Maxim, Dracula, Prince of Darkness). Meanwhile, downstairs, Vicki and Barbara are approached by a man who states that he is Dracula (Malcolm Rogers, the Blood Beast Terror) – he vanishes almost as quickly as he appeared.

the monster

Of course the daleks show up and we get the joy of seeing the Frankenstein Monster grappling with a dalek and Dracula being shot at, to no avail… except they aren’t real. The Doctor has a theory that they have landed outside of time and space and that the place is a construct born of the fears from the minds of humanity. Ian thinks there is a simpler solution and there is – it is a haunted house attraction and the monsters are (I guess) animatronic. It is nice to see the Doctor being wrong, even if he never gets to know this.

Dracula meets a dalek

The monsters are on set so fleetingly that I felt an Honourable Mention was the way forward on this. Plus the episode is actually part of a larger sequence and really shouldn’t be watched in isolation (and the sequence is the form of the DVD release). So, an animatronic vampire but it does have Dracula vs a dalek.

The episode's imdb page is here.

Honourable Mention: Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters

This was a Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies portmanteau compilation from 1988, with some original cartoons including the wraparound and some classic cartoons (with a few lines altered to fit in with the premise). According to the Wikipedia page it was the last Loony Tunes project to see Mel Blanc (Galaxy Goof-Ups: Vampire of Space, The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Space Vampire & The Munsters) provide the voices of the characters.

in the cabaret bar

Before the main Quackbusters cartoon there is an unconnected cartoon starring Daffy (Mel Blanc) called “Night of the Living Duck”, which neatly ties in genre fandom by having Daffy – a sci-fi and horror geek, reading comics, looking for a copy of the next edition and (after a bang on the head) dreaming of being the star of the show at a monster cabaret bar. Worth mentioning because of the poster in his room of Dracula as well as several vampire characters in the audience, both a Dracula-esque vampire with two vampire brides and a similar male vampire sat on his own. The main monster focus is a Godzilla type creature.

vampire teeth

In the main feature Daffy is a failed salesman whose last ditch business venture is selling novelty joke props out of a suitcase. He notices a news report that suggests the billionaire J.P. Cubish (Mel Blanc) is dying and has offered a million dollars to anyone who can make him laugh before he dies. Daffy, having eventually got past the butler (Mel Blanc) does indeed make him laugh and suffers weeks of having pies thrown in his face until Cubish dies leaving his entire fortune to Daffy. The proviso is that he must be honest in business affairs and serve the community.

from Transylvania 6-5000

This isn’t likely to happen but Cunish’s ghost keeps making money vanish until he agrees. His idea, however, is to become a paranormalist in order that he might rid the world of ghosts (like Cubish). To that end he hires a reluctant Bugs Bunny (Mel Blanc) and an eager Porky Pig (Mel Blanc) (who has Sylvester (Mel Blanc) with him). This provides the wraparound for the horror themed cartoons. Though vampires are mentioned quite often (including Daffy wearing vampire teeth to test the mettle of his employees) the only actual encounter is the old classic Transylvania 6-5000, which has been the focus of a previous honourable mention.

The imdb page is here.

Demontown 3 – review

Director: Randall Zisk

First aired: 2002

Contains spoilers

Demontown was a short lived TV series originally entitled Glory Days. Scandinavian DVD releases of the series are split into three feature length ‘films’, each made by stitching two episodes together. One of the episodes that make up this feature was an episode entitled “the Lost Girls” and has a vampire related storyline.

So, the first thing to note is that, from a vampire genre point of view, you can ignore the first half of this, which involves a serial killer coming to the town of Glory and a couple of the lead characters becoming targeted.

Sonya Salomaa as Rosalind

The second half starts with writer turned reporter Mike Dolan (Eddie Cahill) and local Sheriff Rudy Dunlop (Jay R. Ferguson) in a bar bemoaning their lots in life. Mike has writer’s block and fears he will never write a second novel, Rudy is not making it with the ladies. He spouts a silly chat-up line and Mike promises to help him after a trip to the toilet. Whilst Mike is gone a woman, Rosalind (Sonya Salomaa, the Collector, Blood Angels), approaches him and uses his line. Then she hisses and reveals fangs.

Meghan Ory as Jade

The next day the two men are in the diner with pathologist Ellie (Poppy Montgomery) and Rudy mentions the fangs – though they are seen, by Ellie, as an externalisation of his own hang ups. Elsewhere teens Sara (Amy Stewart) and Zane (Ben Crowley) are fishing. He kisses her and she slaps him. Just then Rosalind and her two cohorts Jade (Meghan Ory, Vampire High & Sanctuary season 2) and Charla (Che Dorval) turn up. Jade makes insinuating noises towards Zane, mentioning that she appreciates his young, virgin blood. Sara gets a catch and it turns out to be a dead body.

out of the coffin

This then is the main story, an exsanguinated murder victim and, whilst the girls are suspects, I can safely say they have nothing to do with the murder itself. I won’t go into the murder part of the episode, as I won’t spoil it and it is not vampire based (despite the method of murder). It is, however, identical to another murder elsewhere and it was that murder that inspired the three girls to take on their vampire personas. Zane goes to meet Jade and is followed by Sara. They get to the house the girls are staying in and find three coffins. They open one and it is empty. Then the other two open revealing fanged and weird eyed Rosalind and Charla, a similarly made-up Jade comes through the door.

the jig is up

Back at the police station the girls come clean. They are studying fear responses for a college paper and this entire thing was an experiment – until the associated murder spoilt the experiment. They still pulled the stunt with Zane to try and salvage something. They were inspired by the other murder and felt that “vampires are allegorical counterpoints to a societal fear of mortality.” So, not vampires, nor those who believe themselves to be vampires. However it is an interesting thought that the vampire might be so embedded in culture and the subconscious that it could be used for such an experiment.

fake fangs and contact lenses

The trouble with scoring this is that I have only watched the two episodes on this DVD and so I am not bought into the series as a whole. That said I only score the vampire aspect as part of the genre but this was, in reality, background fluff. The murder itself was sold (sort of) as a vampire murder but in the end was nothing of the sort. 4 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

Murdoch Mysteries – Bloodlust – review

Director: Gail Harvey

First aired: 2011

Contains spoilers

In my quest for all things vampire I was informed, a little while ago, that a series called the Murdoch Mysteries was to air a vampire episode.

Now, to be fair, I had never seen the show and so didn’t know what to expect. I tuned in to UK channel alibi and, a little while down the line, we have the review. But it is caveated with the fact that this is the only episode of this series I have watched, I was unclear about regular character dynamics or even the setting – the accents befuddled me until, part way through, I realised it was set in Canada. I was also befuddled by the approximation of forensic techniques, given this was clearly set in the Victorian era, but I have been led to understand that this is a trade mark of the show.

run for her life

The show starts with a girl, Amy, running through the woods, she is covered with scratches and it seems as though she is being pursued. When she gets to a pond she stops and collapses face into the water. We see a man (Kyle Mac, Valemont) reflected behind her, though his features are indistinct. In the morning the girl is found and the police are called. She was a student at the Tepes school for girls (and we’ll get to that in a bit). Amy has a boot print on her back, indicating she was drowned.

puncture wounds

Detective Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) questions some of the girls but they reveal very little. He also finds Amy’s diary, which reveals that Amy had an admirer. Dr Julia Ogden (Helene Joy) has done an autopsy on the girl and her blood – what’s left of it as she was about three pints short – contained alcohol and opiates and she has two punctures on her neck.

Brittany Brostow as Laura

The uniformed copper called George (Jonny Harris) suggests that it is a vampire; a vile creature, a corpse which rises from the grave and drinks the blood of the living. This is in the new novel by Bram Stoker, ie Dracula. He claims that the vampire has a peculiar power over women. Murdoch is approached by pupil Arlene (Holly Deveaux), who suggests that Laura (Brittany Bristow) was also seeing the man. She and another girl have punctures on their throats and speak of meeting the vampire in the Tepes family mausoleum.

the 'vampire'

Of course, it isn’t a vampire but someone pretending. However that doesn’t stop the press running with a vampire story and nor does it stop George concocting a theory concerning the Tepes family, tying his theory into Vlad Ţepeş. Now, we know that we cannot get away from the idea that Stoker based Dracula on Ţepeş, despite the evidence that it isn’t the case. What irked me with this was, of course, that two and two of that theory had not been calculated to equal five until chronologically much later than the date of this story, indeed when the series was set there was little to no chance that such a conclusion would be drawn.

Yannick Bisson as Murdoch

That aside, it was ok as a murder mystery, with some nice twists and turns but I’m not sure about the series itself, it just wasn't my cup of tea. However, as always, these are marked as standalone vampire episodes and it was possible to watch with no prior series knowledge. No Sherlock Holmes but 5.5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: The Secret Serum

Directed by: unknown

First aired: 2010

Contains spoilers

This is another incarnation of Scooby-Doo (Frank Welker) and I have to admit that I have only watched the vampire episode. Thus, the fact that there were on-running arcs meant little to me. There is the mysterious figure Mr E, who seems to have his fingers in the pies of the gang’s mysteries. There is an estrangement between Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Velma (Mindy Cohn) – who were, it appears, an item. Plus Fred (Frank Welker) and Daphne (Grey DeLisle) seem to have issues, making the gang drift apart in different directions by the end of this – distractions; what we want is mystery solving not soap opera teen romance. For heaven’s sake we are watching a talking dog…

Daphne's mom & friend 

The rant isn’t really over. I am not sure about the art-style either, it didn’t sit right and I am unsure about setting the entire series in the town of Crystal Cove and having the parents of the gang around. In this episode we see Nan Blake (Kath Soucie) – Daphne’s mother, debutante and centre of the mystery – and Angie Dinkley (Frances Conroy) – Velma’s mother and owner of a spooky bookstore.

the vampire appears

Now, to get to the episode… Nan is hosting a charity auction (with an auctioneer based on David Dickinson (Tom Kenny)). The lot on offer is a spooky painting. No-one is bidding on it anyway, but then a vampire appears, terrorises the attendees and steals the painting. Just a thought… it's an auction, you want the painting, do you a) bid, it is literally down to single figures, b) dress up as a vampire and steal said painting, causing a huge furore whilst doing so? Answers on a postcard, to the ‘plot makes little sense competition’.

Scooby

So, there is a vampire in town and suspicion falls upon Nan. The next stolen object is a rare orchid from the botanical gardens. The gang are splitting into disparate units and clueless until a recipe from a tabloid magazine is literally pushed in their way by person unknown that shows that these are the first two ingredients of an eternal youth serum (the perversity of having a vampire – albeit a person in a mask – search for the ingredients for an eternal youth serum is commented on).

inverted vampire

The next ingredient is a rare French wine, cue A French stereotype moment followed by them failing to capture the vampire. Leaving them with one last chance to catch the fiend and unmask her… This wasn’t very good. Perhaps my dislike of the arc and characterisation (which was less characterisation and more soap standard rubbish) was born from coming to the show at the eleventh episode but really this cannot touch the Scooby-Doo of years gone by (or even some of the previous modern interpretations). 3 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

Kindaichi Shonen No Jikenbo – review

Director: Ikeda Kenji

Release date: 2005

Contains spoilers

This was another incarnation of Kindaichi Shonen No Jikenbo, this time as a TV special and live action. It was based on the Case of the Vampire Murder Legend and we have already looked at its anime variant here, which was later than this live action version but it needs noting that I saw the anime first.

The characters were changed around a little, altering the dynamics to a degree and further characters were added in and this expanded the story a little but, essentially, it was the same murder mystery and thus, if you have seen the case before, there was very little in the way of mystery.

Ueno Juri as Miyuki

In this Nanase Miyuki (Ueno Juri) is organising an athletics camp for a few of her schoolmates. Meanwhile Kindaichi Hajime (Kamenashi Kazuya), grandson of *the* famous detective, is in a mall chatting up a girl. This is interrupted by a security guard asking why they are not at school. The girl leaves and Hajime is about to when a police detective (Kato Masaya) comes along and they clash over Hajime’s use of slang. He is reported to the school for truancy and receives a three day suspension. Miyuki tries to get him to go to the camp – and the idea that her friend will be there (he pictures the friend as a pretty girl) persuades him.

Kamenashi Kazuya as Hajime

Miyuki is let down by all those who are meant to be going and Hajime doesn’t show up for the transport. However a regular guest, Negomo Junko, the detective who had the run in with Hajime and a third guest (who is a photographer) wait for the bus. The hotel, named Ruin, is near an abandoned village. When they get to the hotel they are shown round the dilapidated building and the guide, Minako Aoko, suggests that one piece of corridor has rotten floorboards and only those under 50 kilos should step there. A hand falls on Miyuki’s shoulder and she flips the owner in a Judo move that has him crashing through the rotten floor. It is Hajime, who cycled there. His misery is complete when he finds that Miyuki’s friend is male and that the detective is there.

Transylvanian wine

They are shown around the abandoned village. In the hospital they come across fashion designer Kaitani and doctor Futakami – who, for some reason, has a rifle. Back at the hotel they sit down to dinner. During dinner the wine, imported from Transylvania, is served and we meet another guest. The last guest, Hiro (Nakamura Shunsuke), arrives whilst the meal is ongoing, scaring Kaitani who is retiring to her room. After dinner Miyuki goes to take a bath whilst the others are told of the vampire legend.

Kato Rosa as Yuria

This begins with a Romanian family, years before, moving to the area. After a girl dies, seemingly wasting away, the locals blame the Romanians and burn their house down. Only the mother and father’s bodies are found and people start dying, allegedly at the hands of the son. Cut forward to fifteen years before our story starts and a family buy the hotel that was built on the site of the fire. The daughter, Yuria (Kato Rosa, Koishite Akuma), had an incurable heart condition and, when the bottom fell out of the economy and her parents killed themselves, was left alone with the hotel. The girl died but, just before, the villagers had seen her walking with the vampire. They found her body drained of blood and staked her.

the first death

The vampire starts appearing. We see it behind Miyuki as she prepares for her bath and she is grabbed. She comes round, tied and gagged, in a hotel bedroom. Kaitani is bound and gagged also. The vampire strangles Kaitani and then turns its attention onto Miyuki. When she comes around Kaitani is dead and both the dead woman and Miyuki have bite marks in the neck, it seems.

the vampire

The film has a total of three murders (compared to the anime’s one) and, rather than launching into an investigation, Hajime is reluctant to get involved. The film explains that he resents living in the shadow of his grandfather – even though he has inherited the detective skills. Actually it seems, at one point, more that he doesn’t want to fail the memory of his grandfather. Eventually, of course, he picks up the mantle.

moody shot

There is a quirky humour occasionally and some nicely moody shots. The main case itself is convoluted and rather flat if you already know the solution. The second murder adds a little more variety to proceedings but the third murder was a damp squib hardly dealt with.

This was okay but nothing too special.5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here

Kindaichi Case Files Special: The Case of the Vampire Legend Murder – review

Director: unknown

Release date: 2007

Contains spoilers

The Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo series has been a long running manga, and has spawned both anime and live action versions. This particular incarnation was one of two TV specials and was based on one of the manga case files.

It centres on Kindachi Hajime (Matsuno Taiki) a young man who seems a little lazy and slovenly but is in actual fact a genius and ace detective. In this he is travelling with Kenmochi Isamu (Kosugi Jurota) and Nanase Miyuki (Nakagawa Akiko).

crap bat bottle label

The start of the episode sees them having dinner in the Ruins hotel. Miyuki seems disgusted with his general manners and Isamu seems intent on getting drunk on the vampire wine (my interpretation of the crap bat on the bottle, anyway) that the hotel’s one staff member, Minato Aoko (Mitsuishi Kotono) brings up. Outside a stranger approaches through the rain.

the abandoned hospital

The episode then cuts back. The three are looking for a hot spring but apparently are lost and the rain is torrential. They reach a village that seems abandoned and take shelter at the front of an abandoned hospital. Just then a coach pulls up and offers them a lift. The driver is Hirakawa Toru (Nakao Ryusei), the owner of the ruins hotel, and his one passenger is Nekoma Junko (Higashi Saori), a journalist. As they pull away we see figures in the hospital.



Hiiro arrives

 At the hotel, which is dilapidated to say the least, we meet other guests. There is Futugami Ikuku, a doctor, and her companion Kaitani, who have come because of a letter sent to Ikuku. A last minute arrival comes in and scares Ikuku, he is the stranger we saw and is called Hiiro Keisuke (Ikeda Shuuichi). Miyuki goes to take a bath as Toru tells the tale of the vampire in the village.

the vampire

It seems that 100 years before a vampire came from Transylvania to Japan and killed at least one person. The family lived in the mansion that is now the hotel. Six years ago an incident occurred in the mansion again. The owner of the hotel died leaving his daughter who had a heart condition. She was admitted into the abandoned hospital to try to cure her. The villagers found her in the mansion, her neck bitten and staked her. Her body, they discovered, had been drained of blood.

Miyuki bound

The girl was called Yuria (Hisakawa Aya) and her portrait bears a striking resemblance to Miyuki. Miyuki, meanwhile, has been grabbed by the vampire and wakes bound in a room where she sees Ikuku on a bed and the vampire coming towards her, she passes out again. When she is found she has two punctures on her neck and Ikuku is dead. Everyone has an alibi and the phones are down. It’s up to Hajime to solve the crime…



bath of blood

 This was alright, given that I am not au fait with the series. We get a ruined, gothic hotel, a murder mystery, a bath of blood and a convoluted solution that I am not going to spoil. However, it isn’t the best anime I have ever seen and because it is the average length of an OVA – 45 minutes – it seems a little rushed in places.

All in all it deserves an above average 6 out of 10.

The Shadow Boxing – review

Director: Chia-Liang Liu

Release date: 1979

Contains spoilers

The Shadow Boxing was also known as Spiritual Boxer II but was only very loosely a sequel to the 1974 film. It was a Shaw Brothers’ production and the very start of the film has a voice over regarding corpse herders and the idea that in Xiangxi province, before transportation was invented, to return the corpse to its village corpse herders would use black magic to animate the body.

Clearly this animation makes them kyonsi but I will state at the head that we get very little in the way of classic Chinese vampire action – despite them being referred to as vampire through the film (at least on the subtitles I saw). These are pretty much under control – bar one as we shall see. You’ll also note that this did not have the Taoist trappings that were later placed within the typical kyonsi film.

Corpse preperation

At the head of the film the apprentice herder Fan Chun Yuen (Wong Yu) prepares a corpse for herding. We note the use of spell scrolls but a lot of the ritual trappings that would later be introduced are not yet to be found. The effect is that the rituals are almost minimalist, with hindsight. The mortuary has a total of eight bodies and Yuen has to find his master Chen Wu, (Chia Yung Liu), who is missing. Local girl Ah-Fei (Cecilia Wong) points him to a gambling house so long as he takes her with him (on the road that is).

transport only in odd numbers

In the gambling house the Master has been winning and this leads to a fight when Yuen gets there. The Master sits it out as Yuen fights with the Master calling instructions. His fight style is based on vampires and the Master calls moves. This sets up for the rest of the film as we learn that Yuen has a poor memory and cannot fight without the next move within the discipline being communicated to him. The Master reminds the apprentice that they cannot leave with eight corpses as it has to be an odd number.

Gordon Liu as the bald one

Back at the mortuary a new body of a bald man (Gordon Liu, Shaolin Vs Vampire, Shaolin Vs Evil Dead and Shaolin Vs Evil Dead: Ultimate Power) is brought in – making nine. The master leaves most of the preparation to Yuen, as he is a drunk. Ah-Fei reminds Yuen of his promise. She is being forced to marry and dislikes her future husband. Yuen says he cannot take her due to her female energy interacting badly with the vampires. The corpse herders get on their way but the bald vampire is acting up all the time. When they stop to eat Yuen is convinced he hears the corpse swallow.

bouncing down the road

After talking their way through a roadblock where the soldiers seem a little debauched and are looking for a fugitive, they reach an inn for the night. Yuen preps the corpses as the Master sneaks off to the local gambling house. During the night Yuen sees shadows moving outside his room and is convinced it is the bald vampire. Something gets in and… it is Ah-Fei, who has cut her hair, put men’s clothes on and run away from home.

cooking up a plan

In the morning Yuen has to get the Master who has won big and is being attacked by the house owners for the money. A massive fight ensues, which ends when the guard captain from the roadblock enters and realises who the master is. He gets his money but has fractured his leg. Ah-Fei is recruited and she and Yuen have to deliver the corpses. There are comedy moments with regards Ah-Fei and her reactions, untrained, to the animated dead but the moments aren’t as in your face as later kyonsi movie comedies might have taken the joke.

A villain killed for vengeance

You probably will have guessed that the bald vampire is not actually dead and is the fugitive – using the idea of corpse herding to pass roadblocks undetected. He is actually a police officer who discovered corruption between the head of his ranks and a local crime boss. Refusing to be bribed he was framed and looks to clear his name. The same, we discover, happened to the Master twenty years before hence being drunk and gambling.

fight sequence

I am no expert on martial arts movies but the main fights, in the gambling houses and as the film climaxes seemed rather impressive to me. There is a scene where they lose a corpse and fake it being returned to the family (with Yuen masquerading as the corpse) that would be replicated years later in films such as the Musical Vampire. The cinematography looked lovely compared to some of the low budget films that would follow.

more action

I really enjoyed this for the change of pace. There was a seriousness to the film and crispness to the photography that leant it a different atmosphere from many of the kyonsi films that would follow. Also I liked the fact that they were there, controlled and the main plot of the film was focused elsewhere, it was again a nice change of pace.

6.5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.


spiritual boxer 2 on Amazon US