TSUI
HARK'S VAMPIRE HUNTERS ($25) is a movie that probably won’t be to
every taste, but I found this Hong Kong import to be a whole lot of fun.
This mix of supernatural horror and wire enhanced martial arts could be
described along the lines of THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES
meets CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, but perhaps without the art
house appeal of the latter. For those raised on American horror movies and
their European legends, some of the Chinese folklore contained in TSUI
HARK'S VAMPIRE HUNTERS needs to be explained. In china, the undead
creatures that stalk the landscape differ from their western counterparts,
with zombies giving rise something far worse- namely, vampires.
Set
in 17th century China, TSUI HARK'S VAMPIRE HUNTERS follows four
warriors named Wind, Thunder, Rain and Lightning, who combat the undead
alongside their wizened Master. After battling an extremely powerful
vampire, the four warriors are left on their own, when both the vampire
and their master vanish during the conflict. Continuing their mission on
their own, the four warriors track the evil supernatural forces to an
estate that is rumored to be the hiding place of a vast treasure.
Accepting jobs as servants, the four warriors remain undercover, while
keeping a watchful eye out for vampire activity. Shortly after accepting
their new positions, bodies literally begin to pile up around the estate,
not to mentions those that are being torn apart outside its walls.
Realizing that they’ve come to the right place, the warriors prepare for
the inevitable encounter with the vampire they have been hunting.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made TSUI HARK'S VAMPIRE HUNTERS
available on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been
enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. The image on the DVD is very
pleasing, as is the film element used for the transfer, which is
relatively free from blemishes. Sharpness and image detail are very good
for a Hong Kong production, maybe not up to the level of an American
"A" list movie, but still pretty darn impressive. There are some
mild weaknesses in a couple of the visual effect shots, but nothing really
worth complaining about. Colors are generally vibrant, especially the
reds, and are reproduced without any signs of noise or smearing. Blacks
appear pure, while the whites are crisp and stable. Darker scenes render
fairly good shadow detail and the picture produces a nice sense of depth.
Digital compression artifacts are always well camouflaged.
The
Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack is well mixed and fairly
aggressive. The surround channels are well deployed during the action
sequences and provide a nice sense of space during the quite moments.
Sound effects can be a bit exaggerated, but what would a martial arts film
be without out them. Voices have a nice sense of presence, although
judging intelligibility is beyond my abilities. The bass channel is very
solid and really serves to enhance the proceedings. An English dubbed 5.1
channel soundtrack is also provided and while it sounds similar to it
Cantonese counterpart- the English dialogue is totally laughable. A French
Dolby Surround track is also encoded onto the DVD, along with English,
French subtitles. The basic interactive menus allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as trailers for COWBOY
BEBOP, NATIONAL SECURITY and TIME AND TIDE.
The
horror/martial arts sub-genre isn’t exactly brimming with titles, so
audiences should consider themselves lucky whenever one of these odd
cross-pollinated films come their way. Personally, I found TSUI HARK'S
VAMPIRE HUNTERS to be a fun little title, but even I recognize that it
may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, if blood, gore and wire
enhanced martial arts is your idea of good time, TSUI HARK'S VAMPIRE
HUNTERS is probably a movie you’ll want to check out on DVD,
especially since Columbia TriStar’s disc looks and sounds really, really
good.
TSUI
HARK'S VAMPIRE HUNTERS ($25) is a movie that probably won’t be to
every taste, but I found this Hong Kong import to be a whole lot of fun.
This mix of supernatural horror and wire enhanced martial arts could be
described along the lines of THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES
meets CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, but perhaps without the art
house appeal of the latter. For those raised on American horror movies and
their European legends, some of the Chinese folklore contained in TSUI
HARK'S VAMPIRE HUNTERS needs to be explained. In china, the undead
creatures that stalk the landscape differ from their western counterparts,
with zombies giving rise something far worse- namely, vampires.
Set
in 17th century China, TSUI HARK'S VAMPIRE HUNTERS follows four
warriors named Wind, Thunder, Rain and Lightning, who combat the undead
alongside their wizened Master. After battling an extremely powerful
vampire, the four warriors are left on their own, when both the vampire
and their master vanish during the conflict. Continuing their mission on
their own, the four warriors track the evil supernatural forces to an
estate that is rumored to be the hiding place of a vast treasure.
Accepting jobs as servants, the four warriors remain undercover, while
keeping a watchful eye out for vampire activity. Shortly after accepting
their new positions, bodies literally begin to pile up around the estate,
not to mentions those that are being torn apart outside its walls.
Realizing that they’ve come to the right place, the warriors prepare for
the inevitable encounter with the vampire they have been hunting.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made TSUI HARK'S VAMPIRE HUNTERS
available on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been
enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. The image on the DVD is very
pleasing, as is the film element used for the transfer, which is
relatively free from blemishes. Sharpness and image detail are very good
for a Hong Kong production, maybe not up to the level of an American
"A" list movie, but still pretty darn impressive. There are some
mild weaknesses in a couple of the visual effect shots, but nothing really
worth complaining about. Colors are generally vibrant, especially the
reds, and are reproduced without any signs of noise or smearing. Blacks
appear pure, while the whites are crisp and stable. Darker scenes render
fairly good shadow detail and the picture produces a nice sense of depth.
Digital compression artifacts are always well camouflaged.
The
Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack is well mixed and fairly
aggressive. The surround channels are well deployed during the action
sequences and provide a nice sense of space during the quite moments.
Sound effects can be a bit exaggerated, but what would a martial arts film
be without out them. Voices have a nice sense of presence, although
judging intelligibility is beyond my abilities. The bass channel is very
solid and really serves to enhance the proceedings. An English dubbed 5.1
channel soundtrack is also provided and while it sounds similar to it
Cantonese counterpart- the English dialogue is totally laughable. A French
Dolby Surround track is also encoded onto the DVD, along with English,
French subtitles. The basic interactive menus allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as trailers for COWBOY
BEBOP, NATIONAL SECURITY and TIME AND TIDE.
The
horror/martial arts sub-genre isn’t exactly brimming with titles, so
audiences should consider themselves lucky whenever one of these odd
cross-pollinated films come their way. Personally, I found TSUI HARK'S
VAMPIRE HUNTERS to be a fun little title, but even I recognize that it
may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, if blood, gore and wire
enhanced martial arts is your idea of good time, TSUI HARK'S VAMPIRE
HUNTERS is probably a movie you’ll want to check out on DVD,
especially since Columbia TriStar’s disc looks and sounds really, really
good.
