4 Star

Bloody Lovely.

This hilarious comedy horror comes from the pen and direction of actor Jamie Luk (Love with the Perfect Stranger, Rumble in the Bronx, Robotrix) courtesy of Golden Harvest Presentation (My favourite intro music). Eureka Classics bring us the restored film on Blu-ray, so you can enjoy this 1990 fast-paced country hopping undead farce. Everything is over the top, but that is what makes the ninety-eight minutes pure fun. Highly recommended for any vampire fan.

 

Dr. Chiang Ta-Tsung (Bowie Lam, Hard Boiled, The Gutter (TV Series)) works at the Chun Wa Medical Center, but today his is travelling the country roads of the UK, when suddenly his car breaks down in the middle of
nowhere. He sets off down a footpath, and soon he comes to the front door of an old castle. He is ushered inside, where he is confronted by lots of men in the embrace of young women, but due to his naivety, he misses what is really going on in this historical brothel. He is soon surrounded by women trying to get him to go with them, but that is not what is on his mind, he is trying to get to the airport to catch a flight home into the arms of his long-term girlfriend May Chen (Sheila Chan, All’s Well, Ends Well, Outlaw Brothers). But when he sees a woman being assaulted by a man (he gets the wrong end of the stick) he steps in to help Alice (Ellen Chan, Lung Fung Restaurant, Fatal Love). Thankful for his help (not) she spots her boss The Count (Peter Kjær, The Power of Ninjitsu, Ninja: Silent Assassin) in the wings, who encourages her to go with Tsung. They have Tsung’s first night of passion, but comes at a painful climax. They exchange gifts, before parting ways, and he heads back to work in Hong Kong.

We find out that the Count is the head of a vampire coven, and he feeds off of each of the girls, but when he tries Alice’s he is in heaven he must have Tsung’s blood, and tells Alice to go and get Tsung’s blood for him.

Back at the Medical Center Tsung discards Alice’s gift before rushing into the surgical ward and work with his two friends K.K. (David Wu, The Bride with White Hair, Brotherhood of the Wolf) and Golden Triangle (Shek-Yin Lau, The Yuppie Fantasia, The marvellous cook), much to the annoyance of the director (James Wong, Once Upon a Time in China, A Chinese Ghost Story) who tells them they are behind on their quota for the month.

You only ever do minor operations, it’s all foreskins and piles!

Later he is at home with May, who notices that the talisman that she gave him (to keep him faithful) is missing, he makes his excuses, but May is always suspicious of Tsung, as she is saving herself for her wedding day. Whilst doing his laundry, she spots lipstick on his collar, and more painfully, blood on his smalls.

When a vampire feeds on a human, things start to change for the victim, be prepared for hilarity, as over-the-top comedy, special effects, and make-up make this a fun romp around the hospital wards. Great fun.

DOCTOR VAMPIRE (Eureka Classics) Limited Edition is available on Blu-ray