Hong tiao jing

The video box cover presents this flick as a hybrid of the martial arts and horror genres. Upon renting it, I figured that if it did not succeed as a horror flick (which was not likely anyway), that it would at least have some good martial arts sequences -- or vice versa. Well, it fails on all counts.

Basically a series of lame, crude comedy sketches. Bad dubbing. A ripoff.

An utterly confusing and inept blend of martial arts, horror and comedy that fails on all fronts, yet still manages to entertain (mostly through bizarre dialogue and crap effects). Sadly, a few wacky moments can't elevate this this anything more than barely-watchable.

I watched this with friends and we had a laugh at some scenes and also in trying to piece together our various interpretations of the plot, aided somewhat by the DVD blurb. Essentially, three roguish vagabonds/grave-robbers tumble into the midst of a situation involving a sorcerer who is killing off local virgins. In a fairly stock character arc, one man (Tony) goes from goofy fool to shaolin hero who must defeat the villain. A vampire also turns up to confuse matters.

My favourite moment was when a clearly taxidermied owl on a string was yanked off a branch to simulate flight. That's how bad and hokey this is.

Avoid. There are far better "bad" movies out there.

Just because Hong Kong schlock maestro Godfrey Ho is involved with a film doesn't preclude the possibility of enjoying it, but it's safe to say one has a fair idea of what to expect. Even if we give allowances for changes that might have been made in dubbing or re-editing for international markets, it becomes clear in watching 'Dragon against vampire,' very quickly, that this isn't one of the more upstanding titles he had a hand in. In every regard the writing is decidedly weak, crafting a rather flimsy vehicle for the gags and action, and the direction and editing come off as loose, scattered, and almost haphazard. These aspects are all no more than baseline perfunctory - so I suppose it's a good thing that the dire deficiencies kind of add to the charm of such a low-budget, low-grade feature.

Chopped up as it is, Ho nonetheless whipped up a solid, enjoyable story. Would that his scene writing or dialogue were as consistent or robust, or every notion herein, let alone filmmaker Lionel Leung's realization, or the hands of editor Wing-Chan Leung that shaped the whole. Basic connective threads between narrative elements are stunningly thin. There's earnest value in this, but it's almost as though all who had the most oversight in its creation were actively trying to convince us otherwise. Storytelling is troubled not just by the fundamental orchestration and arrangement of scenes, but also by a sense of comedy that mostly just relies on abject silliness over any real wit or intelligence. Entertainment thus flows as much from bewildered disbelief as from sincere engagement as every idea the movie has to communicate is approached very meagerly, and we as viewers are made to labor to extract any amusement. This is especially true since the martial arts action that one anticipates isn't as prominent here as one would hope, and generally limited to a select handful of moments.

I quite like Stephen Tsang's original music, somewhat discordant and off-kilter, though the sound design is imbalanced to the point that themes and music cues are grating on the ears. I admire the production design, costume design, effects, and other contributions from crew behind the scenes. Under the totality of circumstances it feels very difficult to meaningfully assess the acting, but the cast at least does their part. For what it's worth, those stunts and action scenes are splendidly coordinated, and look pretty swell. Very honestly, I did have a good time watching 'Dragon against vampire,' and I think it builds more strength as the length advances; there's a notable difference between the approximate first and second halves. Would that the same level of care and skill that this possesses at its best had been applied more evenly across the entirety of these ninety minutes; even within the last fraction of the runtime new plot points are introduced that are downright flummoxing.

When all is said and done I think this is worth watching in some measure, but given its significant faults it's something to sit with on a lazy, quiet night, and far from essential. For that matter, there are definitely many other Hong Kong action flicks that one should make a higher priority. Provided you can abide its deep imperfections there are surely worse ways to spend one's time than with 'Dragon against vampire.' I just wish the production had been pursued more mindfully in the first place, because a little bit more fastidious craftsmanship would have gone a long way.

Almost nothing is more hokey and dumb than this, but don't feel discouraged about seeing it, cause it's funnier than any comedy you'll ever find. It's just that bad. It begins with three idiots that slightly resemble the three stooges, but they are also grave robbers, and they're being chased by this evil vampire guy because one of them stole a golden swastika from some coffin( whose coffin this is, we never find out). From then on, you'll find every cliché in the book, with mind-controlling vampires, a possession scene thats totally ripped off of the Exorcist, and a crapload of dream sequences that seem to pop up over and over again, making you wonder if anything thats really happening in the movie is actually really happening, or is just another ridiculous dream. But don't forget what I said before. This movie is FUNNY! Go ahead and watch it.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Dragon Against Vampire; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 0.50 Direction: 0.75 Pace: 0.50 Acting: 1.00 Enjoyment: 0.50

TOTAL: 3.25 out of 10.00.

There's only one thing in Dragon Against Vampire that the movie gets right. The Vampire. However, this isn't your regular blood-sucker, being more of a sanguinarian warlock than a Count Dracula. And that notion leads to some darker veins of blood drinking.

Godfrey Ho, who scripted this Asian horror, needed to take the imagination that created the Vampire and utilise it in his other characters. Because it's here, the tale starts to falter. Even though the Vampire is a fresh take on the mythos, the blood-sucker's persona is weak, which is the case for everyone in the story. He should be a strong character, somebody to be feared. And though we hear the scared villages talking about the monster attacking the women. If they saw him, they wouldn't be afraid anymore. He doesn't possess the "Don't Mess With Me" air that's evident in most Vamps. He's powerful and unstoppable and should exude that confidence to make a good bad guy. And then you have inconsistencies in the narrative. The three principal individuals of the tale are grave robbers looking for quick wealth in the golden teeth of the dead. But when they come across a coffin lying in a hut in the forest, they're scared to open it. When the leader of the thieves finally lifts the lid, he shuts his eyes tight and pretends to look. This action is contrary to what we witnessed fifteen minutes previous as they open a coffin, unwrap the deceased, pry his jaws open to hunt for gold teeth, and pat down the rest of the corpse for jewellery. These lapses in continuity and lack of attention to detail hinder the story.

Additional to the weak storyline and uninteresting characters is the below-average cinematography of director Lionel Leung. The whole project has an amateur feel to it. The lighting is poor, especially in low-light scenes. His composition of shots is slightly off and a tad skewiff, which are exampled best in the fight and blood-drinking scenes. You can tell he's trying to shoot the segment engagingly and excitingly. Sadly they fall flat. But worst of all, for me, is the camera shakes. I loathe the style because it allows for poor skills to be permitted. Dragon Against Vampire came out years before the horrid Blair Witch Project, so the shakey style wasn't conventional and was considered unskilled. One or two segments are permittable because crap happens, but in Dragon, it's pretty constant.

The cast is the best thing about the whole picture - after the refreshened Vampire. The performers aren't brilliant, but they do the best with what they have, and you can't fault them for that. Regrettably, none shine through or are memorable, which should've been the case for the actors portraying, The Vampire, The Shaolin Master, and Tony, the hero.

I would love to see this story revamped for the modern day and incorporate more robust, credible, and relatable characters. The bare bones of a great story and entertaining movie are here. They just weren't maximised for their best effect and potential. Because of that, I can't recommend anybody to watch this film. It's too dull and uninteresting to warrant wasting an hour and a half of your precious time.

Miss? If you could please bring your knees together, you're letting a draft in, and there are no vampires in this joint. While you wait for a blood gulper to arrive, feel free to peruse my IMDb list - Absolute Horror to see where I rated Dragon Against Vampire.

Take Care & Stay Well.