Night Hunter

As far as video fodder goes, this movie is okay, with its mix of modern-days-vampires action and fights ; in a way, it can be viewed as a forerunner to Wesley Snipes' "Blade". In fact, with his long hair, black clothes and somber look (well, as far as a non-actor can convey), Don Wilson, looks very much loke Brandon Lee in "The Crow" ! From Crow to Dragon, there's only one

This is one of those films which (like most straight to video/DVD fodder!) sadly, unfortunately DOES NOT live up to its poster! I remember years ago in the late 1990s, seeing a VHS (yes that long ago!) copy of it in my local video rental store, picking it up, reading the cover and thinking (as other reviewers have already mentioned) that in this film Don Wilson had a similar look to that of Brandon Lee in The Crow. And that it sounded like quite a fun film and also a bit of a change for Don Wilson, I believe it's the only slightly Horror themed film he has appeared in. However I didn't bother renting it at the time (1998/99) and it wasn't until many years later (2013) that I actually saw the film when someone kindly uploaded it for free on Youtube (In fact most crappy straight to DVD/video films should be uploaded on Youtube, because they certainly aren't worth paying to see!). And when I eventually did see it I thought to myself "That was crap and it didn't live up to its poster" and furthermore "I'm glad I didn't pay to see that all those years ago in the video rental shop". Like most low budget, straight to DVD films, the film is hampered by budget limitations, poor acting and a lame script. And as everyone else has mentioned, I really do not understand that earthquake camera effect?! William C Martell, the man responsible for the poor script usually blames the failure of films he wrote on the cast and crew involved and never seems to take his fair share of the blame! He often claim that the cast and crew changed almost every word he wrote! Martell said that Don Wilson did not actually want to do a horror/vampire themed film and when he eventually agreed to it, he wanted to control every damn part of the film? Well that may be true but from the looks of things Martell probably wrote the script in a couple of weeks, if that? He really needed to spend more time on it and made sure he sold it to a better production company as well! Don Wilson claims that ALL of the films that he "starred" in "made money" by that I assume he means that they broke even? But I find that hard to believe, because more expensive Wilson films such as the Cybertracker films had a few million spent on them (from the look of them) and how does a film that did not get a cinema release make a few million to break even? They couldn't have made that much on video, because it's the films that were previously at the cinema that make the most on video, not a film that's been released straight to DVD/video and "stars" a cast of nobodies.

Every single fight scene (and there was a ton of them - this is a Don Wilson film) was ruined by shaking the camera. What's the point? Not only that, but most fight scenes included flickering the light intensity. And to insure complete dizziness a few scenes put the camera on a carousel to spin the action in a circle. It's crude, unpleasant and kills the film.

Otherwise this would have been a decent non traditional, vampire, time wasting film for people who may like hand to hand combat.

Jack Cutter (The Dragon) comes from a long line of vampire hunters. When he was just a kid, vampires attacked his family farmhouse. The Cutter family has a sacred book all about vampires and how to combat them. His family tells him "don't trust anyone", and he is sent off to be on his own. In 1995, now an adult, Cutter has tracked and killed every vampire in existence - except an elite underground club of nine multiracial vamps, led by the sinister Brit Bruno (Guest). Cutter teams up with Raimy Baker (Smith), a reporter for the "National Inquisitor". But can he get over his deep-seated trust issues? Can he avoid the cops and exterminate the last vampires on earth before the solar eclipse when they will gain maximum power? Will Jack live up to his nickname of "The Hunter"? Night Hunter is a Ring of Fire (1991) reunion of sorts, as Don The Dragon, Maria Ford, Ron Yuan and Vince Murdocco all return in front of the camera, and Rick Jacobson and Art Camacho behind it. However, there seems to have been a conscious effort to do something totally different and not repeat themselves. They succeeded in that, and it is a nice novelty to see Don in a different kind of role: a dark, horror-tinged storyline instead of a sunny, romantic one like Ring of Fire. Two sides of a coin I guess. Maria Ford is always welcome, and Melanie Smith will be instantly recognized by Seinfeld fans as Jerry's girlfriend in a story arc on that show.

Don doesn't say anything until 20 minutes into the movie, and his character and dress are very clearly influenced by The Crow (1994) and Brandon Lee. It's also one of the better Don performances we've seen, as his wooden delivery is hidden well by a character that doesn't talk much anyway. As this is a Corman production, and he is known for "borrowing" ideas popular at that time, the film also borrows the flamenco music of Desperado (1995) and some ideas from From Dusk Til Dawn (1996). Interestingly it predates Blade (1998) in the fact that it has Vampire POV and Ford's character is similar to Traci Lords'.

As far as the fights are concerned, it seems to be a mix of gunplay and martial arts, and highlighted by Don's punishing finishing moves and death blows. A positive for Night Hunter is that it seems to have created its own vampire rules and mythos. For example, vampires may come out during the day, especially if they wear special sunglasses. Vampires shoot guns, and there is a gunshot-cure serum. Notably, you can only kill them by breaking their neck. So that sets the stage for some violent moves. But there is a major downside...

You've heard of "shaky cam" but during the fight scenes, they seem to have initiated something we called "earthquake cam". The screen violently shakes, so much so you begin to feel ill. The attempt to be stylish is somewhat appreciated, but you can't sicken your audience by sticking the camera in one of those paint-shaking machines at the hardware store and not expect a reaction. If this was done to cover up the moves of the actors, there's no need for that as Don's moves are excellent. They really should have reined in the earthquake cam. And sometimes they added a strobe light on top of it! For a Don The Dragon movie with more of a professional sheen, and featuring Don in an unorthodox role, by all means try Night Hunter...but beware the earthquake cam.

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NIGHT HUNTER is a godawful foray into the action horror genre from martial arts specialist Don "The Dragon" Wilson. To say that it's a dud is an understatement; this is a film with absolutely terrible action choreography and direction, the nadir of which is the decision to shoot the fight scenes with what can only be described as an "earthquake cam", constantly trembling which makes the scenes unwatchable. Thankfully director Rick Jacobson has improved in recent years with his work on various episodes of the SPARTACUS TV series.

The plot is very light and features Wilson (who's made up as a goth, much like THE CROW) going after a vampire gang who were responsible for the death of his family. A seemingly innocent woman gets involved in the mess, and there's a lot of killing, although few special effects. However, this truly is one of the poorest-directed of all the B-movies I've sat through, and anybody who claims to enjoy this stuff must be a real glutton for punishment.