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Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters

Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters

List Price: $19.94
Your Price: $17.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: makes no sense
Review: This movie has no central point. It jumps back and forth between the war between humans and vampires and the race for the gold. And what do they mean by VAMPIRES? The monsters don't even look like blood suckers. They look like grotesque zombies, which supposed to turn into vampires after eating humans. Well, they ate plenty of flesh but did not turn into vampires.
I watched it untill the end hoping that it will get better but it didn't. Waste of time and money.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Hong Kong White Trash?
Review: This movie is shocking in every sense of the word. The hunters here are fighting the supposedly vampire king which looked like a piece of log. The whole time they were fighting the log, any rational human being can see that the log is dragged from here and there. Once in a while, we would have a close up of the the log's face and not that I'm disgusted with its maggot laden face but I was petrified by its lack of facial contortions. Oh, I just remembered, the vampire king is supposed to be dead. By the way, the make-up is appalling, all of us can see that the young actors are playing old guys who seem to defy gravity and wouldn't it be wonderful if we are blessed with such power and thus, we needn't hail a cab anymore? Watch out, Spiderman! The subplot about seeking gold in a freaky household sporadically threatened by snakes (one of them is king cobra - in that part of the world?) is way beyond logic. In fact, this whole movie is supposedly about entertainment, and the movie is allegedly claimed to be the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tiger genre. Trust me, this movie doesn't have the grace, the rhythm of the latter one that would inherently make it a modern classic. The special effects is C-quality as Robert Rodriquez dominates the B-quality section nowadays! In the Western world, Tsui Hark is famed as a Director but I really don't feel that one should use his signature name in vain especially with this inconsistency that tarnishes his previous accomplishments. Some of the actors here are charismatic and funny and thus, making it watchable. The fighting sequence set pieces are good in patches but not coherent. This movie holds such a great promise but it's been tainted by so many other Hollywood horror thriller flick with the most obvious one being the Predator?! I know what you are thinking. Well, watch this at your own peril. Don't say that you have not been owned.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: give me a break
Review: This movie sounds promising, but is pretty horrible.When I saw tsui harks name I grabbed it, dont make the same mistake.The story is weak,the effects are eeeeaaaaaakkkkkkk! but it does have one of the goofiest things ive ever seen in a movie....bouncing zombies.Buy your copy today!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Retro-Horror from Hong Kong
Review: This Tsui Hark produced movie is really a return to the early 90s. Here, after being separated from their master after a battle with a powerful vampire, a quartet of vampire hunters act as servants in a wealthy household where vampires are rumored to be. Someone unfamiliar with HK flicks should be aware that Eastern and Western vampires are not the same. Here the principal villain is darting mass of inhuman sores, sometimes flying through the air while at others tunneling underground (no romantic capes and bat transformations here). This one breathes the essence out of his victims. In addition, there are the hopping dead and plenty of wire-assisted acrobatics.

Though nowhere near the quality of the classic "Mr. Vampire," this one has some good qualities: a likeable cast, a decent dash of humor (one great joke about the re-naming of the heroes that might be missed out on anyone who doesn't know a Cantonese-speaking person), a well-sustained mood, good fights, and adequate effects. The plot is a bit overloaded with a subplot about gold and bandits, but at least the events keeps a viewer on his or her toes. Just don't expect a Western horror movie.

Oh, I should have already mentioned that there is an English dub track here, but I didn't sample it; I went with the original Cantonese track with English subtitles (removable). There are three extra trailers but not one for "Vampire Hunters." The image is a little soft but not distracting. I only went with three stars because it's not a very original flick, but someone new to HK cinema might get a little more out of it. Still recommended.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Can't believe Tsui Hark lent his name to this ...
Review: Tsui Hark is an amazing producer and director who has trained many a great action director such as John Woo. But this film? Ouch! Confusing plot. Stupid dialog. Laughable zombies (they hop). Maybe it was meant to be a comedy.

Check out the 'Once Upon A Time in China' set of DVDs with Jet Li for a better idea of what Tsui Hark is capable of and stay from this turkey! The HK equivalant of Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: OK film for a Tsui Hark directing
Review: Tsui Hark usually does a great job making movies. It was a little light on the action I might say. The plot was truly muffled and Tsui really doesnt use the traditional method of explaining zombies and vampires but actually mixes the two together. It kind of uses some western ideas of ghost horror and some asian cult horror. It sort of works but really doesnt make much sense. For example, these zombies feed off of humans to become vampires. It leaves you thinking what?! So now we have this odd illogical explaination down. Its time to move onto what happens. The rest of the movie focuses on a band of guys who are rather skilled and try to hunt these zombie/vampires down and kill them. The one they are after is the Vampire King and they fail on their attempt to kill him and the master gets split up from the the rest of the 4 main characters for at least a month or so and this leaves you in another what?! situation especially when the group is in the nearest city kind of hiding out and doing small jobs. The secondary plot is that there is of course more than meets the eye and the 4 main characters are working for a boss who is oddly enough embalms people who die including his family in wax. He has a lot of gold and is rather wealthy. During this time a woman is trying to marry the son of this wealthy man and mysteriously the son dies the night of the wedding and leaves the woman a widow. Of course one of the 4 main characters falls in love with her. THe secondary plot unfolds as to why the woman wanted to marry the son of the wealthy owner. The brother of the woman is only after the gold and wealth so he sadistically plots to own the wealth by inheariting it or by killing the man since he is the last living heir to the wealth. Of course the end is one big show down in a muffled fight scene with zombies vampires the brother who wants the gold and a mage who can control the bouncing dead zombies and of course the master and 4 main characters who dont care about the gold but want the Vampire King. Yes, I know you are thinking what the heck? Its that confusing and of course you wont understand this confusing plot until about 45 min into the movie.

This is not a terribly great effort by Tsui Hark but not a bad one either. At least he is making a lot more effort than John Woo in his ever declining film making.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: waste of money
Review: Watching Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters was a new and very enjoyable experience for me. I had never heard of Tsui Hark before, and I know next to nothing about Asian cinema, but the premise and previews of this movie intrigued me. I was especially interested in learning just what an Asian vampire might look like. I have since learned that Tsui Hark is one of the biggest names in Hong Kong cinema, and I know that some viewers of this film were quite disappointed in it, deeming it unworthy of the great Tsui Hark. For my part, I can't imagine how this movie would disappoint any horror or martial arts fan. I enjoyed it tremendously. Certainly, the plot is a little confusing, but the subtitles to the Cantonese dialogue are above average. The intense action is almost nonstop and blindingly fast, and the special effects are, in my opinion, quite impressive.

The story takes place in 17th century China, where zombies walk the earth; eventually, those feeding zombies turn into vampires. Only one brave wise man referred to only as Master and his four intrepid followers, who assume the names Lightning, Wind, Rain, and Thunder, have the skill and courage to hunt these vampires down and kill them. An intense confrontation with a Vampire King leaves the four men separated from the Master, yet they continue to hunt the undead on their own. Having detected the presence of a vampire with their compass (yes, compass) in a certain area, they end up serving in the court of a wealthy gentleman named Jiang whose efforts to propagate his family line take a turn for the worst when his son dies of a snakebite on the night of his marriage. The widowed bride, Sasa, is frightened by Jiang (who has the interesting hobby of preserving all dead members of his family in wax) and wants to return home to the brother who cruelly married her off for the sole purpose of getting his hands on Jiang's gold. The brother's continuing efforts to steal the gold culminate in the animation of all the waxed corpses in Jiang's house, which only complicates matters for the four heroes, for they have discovered and engaged in battle the powerful Vampire King.

I thought the special effects were pretty incredible in this movie, although many others seem to disagree. This did not look like a low-budget film to me at all. The Vampire King is a true monster, sporting a ravaged zombified face full of maggots and a disposition to match. The best thing about this vampire is the way in which he feeds. While he does suck the essence out of his victims, he never touches them; instead, he somehow inhales what he needs through the air, and the shots of blood being sucked out of a guy's eyes, nose, and mouth in this manner were pretty darn impressive to me. The vampire also flies, burrows underground with ease and great speed, and breathes fatally noxious fumes on to those who would foolishly challenge him. Then there are the martial arts scenes. I was amazed at the speed, power, and beauty of the fight scenes. The human beings, including old Jiang, are super-human in their abilities, moving in the blink of an eye, jumping to incredible heights, and engaging in amazing sword play. The numerous martial arts scenes are numerous and lightning fast; if you blink, you could miss a couple of fights - that's how quick these guys are.

The plot can be a little hard to follow, even with the excellent subtitles, but there is more than enough action to make up for the plot questions I had. I wasn't sure at first how to take the seemingly comical elements of the story, being unfamiliar with Asian culture, but it soon became clear that a measure of comedy was intentionally added to the plot. Several moments were indeed rather humorous, and I think the occasional moment of levity did much to strengthen the movie's entertainment value and to give the viewer a moment or two of relaxation in between all of the intense fight sequences.

I have to say that I enjoyed Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters tremendously; it offers a great new horror experience for those bogged down in Western horror's often formulaic offerings, makes the knife-wielding exploits of a Michael Myers look rather foolish, and delivers some really memorable moments of gory violence. If Tsui Hark fans are disappointed in this movie, then Hark's previous films must be unimaginably good.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An amazing, refreshingly exotic vampire movie
Review: Watching Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters was a new and very enjoyable experience for me. I had never heard of Tsui Hark before, and I know next to nothing about Asian cinema, but the premise and previews of this movie intrigued me. I was especially interested in learning just what an Asian vampire might look like. I have since learned that Tsui Hark is one of the biggest names in Hong Kong cinema, and I know that some viewers of this film were quite disappointed in it, deeming it unworthy of the great Tsui Hark. For my part, I can't imagine how this movie would disappoint any horror or martial arts fan. I enjoyed it tremendously. Certainly, the plot is a little confusing, but the subtitles to the Cantonese dialogue are above average. The intense action is almost nonstop and blindingly fast, and the special effects are, in my opinion, quite impressive.

The story takes place in 17th century China, where zombies walk the earth; eventually, those feeding zombies turn into vampires. Only one brave wise man referred to only as Master and his four intrepid followers, who assume the names Lightning, Wind, Rain, and Thunder, have the skill and courage to hunt these vampires down and kill them. An intense confrontation with a Vampire King leaves the four men separated from the Master, yet they continue to hunt the undead on their own. Having detected the presence of a vampire with their compass (yes, compass) in a certain area, they end up serving in the court of a wealthy gentleman named Jiang whose efforts to propagate his family line take a turn for the worst when his son dies of a snakebite on the night of his marriage. The widowed bride, Sasa, is frightened by Jiang (who has the interesting hobby of preserving all dead members of his family in wax) and wants to return home to the brother who cruelly married her off for the sole purpose of getting his hands on Jiang's gold. The brother's continuing efforts to steal the gold culminate in the animation of all the waxed corpses in Jiang's house, which only complicates matters for the four heroes, for they have discovered and engaged in battle the powerful Vampire King.

I thought the special effects were pretty incredible in this movie, although many others seem to disagree. This did not look like a low-budget film to me at all. The Vampire King is a true monster, sporting a ravaged zombified face full of maggots and a disposition to match. The best thing about this vampire is the way in which he feeds. While he does suck the essence out of his victims, he never touches them; instead, he somehow inhales what he needs through the air, and the shots of blood being sucked out of a guy's eyes, nose, and mouth in this manner were pretty darn impressive to me. The vampire also flies, burrows underground with ease and great speed, and breathes fatally noxious fumes on to those who would foolishly challenge him. Then there are the martial arts scenes. I was amazed at the speed, power, and beauty of the fight scenes. The human beings, including old Jiang, are super-human in their abilities, moving in the blink of an eye, jumping to incredible heights, and engaging in amazing sword play. The numerous martial arts scenes are numerous and lightning fast; if you blink, you could miss a couple of fights - that's how quick these guys are.

The plot can be a little hard to follow, even with the excellent subtitles, but there is more than enough action to make up for the plot questions I had. I wasn't sure at first how to take the seemingly comical elements of the story, being unfamiliar with Asian culture, but it soon became clear that a measure of comedy was intentionally added to the plot. Several moments were indeed rather humorous, and I think the occasional moment of levity did much to strengthen the movie's entertainment value and to give the viewer a moment or two of relaxation in between all of the intense fight sequences.

I have to say that I enjoyed Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters tremendously; it offers a great new horror experience for those bogged down in Western horror's often formulaic offerings, makes the knife-wielding exploits of a Michael Myers look rather foolish, and delivers some really memorable moments of gory violence. If Tsui Hark fans are disappointed in this movie, then Hark's previous films must be unimaginably good.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A stinker
Review: What a waste of film. Especially with a name like Tsui Hark appearing on the case. I wouldn't mind the illogical premise ( anyone who dies is a potential zombie<!?> which over time would transform into a vampire ), as long as it delivers on the action-- but unfortunatly, it exuberates an already silly plot, which in itself is jarring and lacking in direction. The narrative doesn't have the same charming aimlessness of say, Time & Tide, and features truly corny comic moments. The action is standard wire-fu, and it's compentantly done, though there's really nothing that stands out here. The monsters look like crap ( no, really ), and move like they've been out in the sun too long. Don't waste your time on this-- for some real good fun go get Vesus instead.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A stinker
Review: What a waste of film. Especially with a name like Tsui Hark appearing on the case. I wouldn't mind the illogical premise ( anyone who dies is a potential zombie which over time would transform into a vampire ), as long as it delivers on the action-- but unfortunatly, it exuberates an already silly plot, which in itself is jarring and lacking in direction. The narrative doesn't have the same charming aimlessness of say, Time & Tide, and features truly corny comic moments. The action is standard wire-fu, and it's compentantly done, though there's really nothing that stands out here. The monsters look like crap ( no, really ), and move like they've been out in the sun too long. Don't waste your time on this-- for some real good fun go get Vesus instead.


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