Vampire Hunters, Vampires and Hopping Zombies

No film captures 17th century China better than 2003's "Vampire Hunters" (aka "Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters" and "The Era of Vampires"). For those of you yearning for more elaboration from 1988's Robo Vampire , today's feature is for you. Both the hopping zombies and maggot infested vampire from "Vampire Hunters" are pulled out of Robo Vampire . Also, for all you academics out there, to fully understand the rise of this huge Asian superpower on the world stage, "Vampire Hunters" is a must see. More importantly, zombies that hop like bunnies are never a bad plot device. Oh yes, throw in lots of Kung Fu and we have a masterpiece.

Four warriors/vampire hunters (Ken Chang, Michael Man-Kin, Suet Lam, and Kwok-Kwan) are seeking bloodsuckers. These Kung Fu warriors have tracked a deadly vampire and set out to kill it. Uh oh, the vampire has created an army of zombies who hop like bunnies. Once these living dead fiends feed, they too will turn into vampires. The quartet track the monster to the Jiang kingdom where the young Jiang boy is about to wed the beautiful Sasa (Anya). The four get jobs at the kingdom castle-keep and wait for the arrival of the vampire.  During the night, the Jiang boy dies from a snake bite and now the sultry Sasa is a widow...vampire bait.

Double cross and political intrigue converge as Sasa's brother also heads to the kingdom to rob the Jiang's of all their gold. Her bro' has a dynamic plan for robbing the gold. He hires a zombie wrangler to re-animate all the dead Jiang relatives. These newly animated relatives will cause a diversion at Jiang's kingdom while he robs the gold. Now the four warriors must fight off two different zombie armies while attempting to kill the vampire...and also protect Sasa.  The nubile Sasa will be put through much peril but just may find another husband out of her warrior protectors.

The Kung Fu will flow as freely as the ooze, maggots, and decapitations in this film. Will 17th century China survive the undead onslaught? Will the widow Sasa find another husband during the macabre war which will be raged? A fitting companion to "Robo Vampire," "Vampire Hunters" is a lot of fun and more historically accurate than "Shogun." Enjoy this Hong Kong film and don't try any of the stunts shown during the battle scenes at home.