Honourable Mentions: 3-D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy

The Sex and zen films are Chinese softcore flicks that stand on the cusp of falling into the adult categorisation but, certainly in this case, actually fall on the side of bedroom farce (to a point). This outing was released in 2011 and was directed by Christopher Sun, watched in 2-D it was one of those releases where you could see shots gratuitously set up for 3-D that perhaps didn’t translate as well directorially without that technology.

This was based loosely on the 17th century Chinese novel The Carnal Prayer Mat and it was Leila who suggested that there is a vampire aspect to the film – which there is.

The film itself follows the scholar Wei Yangsheng (Hiro Hayama), who is critical of the hedonistic goings on of the Prince of Ning (Tony Ho, Sifu Vs Vampire). He attends a meeting with his friend Dique (Kai-Man Tin), to meet his buddy’s prospective wife, Yuxiang (Leni Lan Crazybarby). However, Yangsheng and Yuxiang fall for each other and it is they who marry.

Hiro Hayama as Wei

She is rather passionless and he suffers from premature ejaculation (and is under-endowed it is later revealed) and so their sex life is unsatisfactory. Dique helps him gain entry into the Prince’s pleasure palace, but rather than uncover evidence to ruin the Prince he is quickly lost in the decadent lifestyle and introduced to a woman who can balance his energies enough to allow prolonged sexual congress. He ends up indebted to the Prince, agreeing to serve him for ten years, and divorced (though the two actually love each other).

Vonnie Lui as the Elder of Bliss

So, vampire? The Prince is expecting a visit from the fugitive known as the Elder of Bliss (Vonnie Lui). Yangsheng vocalises a perceived slight because he isn’t there and the Prince suggests a visiting woman entertain him. She has a strange snake-like piece of costuming wrapped around her leg but soon it becomes mobile and is revealed to be her ornate, carved genitalia, which she whips around as though it were a tentacle, both smashing a servant and lifting a cartwheel. It is then revealed that the Elder of Bliss is androgynous, though actually they seem to present as female with a male voice.

the teenage victims

The Elder retires back to their home, after the exertion of the demonstration, and Yangsheng follows desperate for the Elder to teach him some of their secrets. When he and his manservant enter the home there is a group of elderly people who call the Elder 'Godfather'. It transpires that they are all teenagers whom the Elder has fed upon, consuming their yang to boost their yin. The Elder agrees to help Yangsheng in return for a favour to be disclosed later (to which he foolishly agrees) and his servant, who will be used as food. When we see him next, he too is elderly.

servant is preyed upon

So, an energy vampire consuming one form of energy to boost another and causing premature aging in their victims. As for the film itself, it is softcore – we get nudity and simulated sex – with a thin story, a great cartoonish performance by Tony Ho and bedroom farce comedy – however the mood of the film darkens as it goes on and both rape and sexual violence replace the bedroom farce, making it uncomfortable as a watch later into the film. The Elder of Bliss is not in the film that much and so I’ve held this to honourable mention for what amounts to a fleeting visitation.

The imdb page is here.

On DVD @ Amazon US

On DVD @ Amazon UK