SusannahLegend of the Seven Golden Vampires
January 13th 2007 22:46
Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires on DVD
Directed by Roy Ward Baker.
Written by Don Houghton.
Starring: Peter Cushing, David Chiang, Szu Shih.
Hard to believe as it is now but once there was a time that vampires and kung-fu did not go together like Kate Beckinsale and an unnecessarily-tight body-suit. Nowadays it is practically a genre unto itself. Fang-fu, possibly.
But here it is…one of the few pairings between two legendary film studios – namely Hammer and the Shaw Brothers (of whom Tarantino is a fan).
Peter Cushing, at his most elegant and cadaverous, plays an aging Van Helsing. Many years have passed since his final encounter with that rather well-known creature of vampiric origin.He and his wet rag of a son, Leyland, learn of an isolated village in China that has experienced many decades of grief at the hands of the titular horrors. And very impressive vampires they are at that; what with their shiny gold masks, mummified-corpse aesthetic and bat-bling medallions. They also have a whole horde of living dead at their disposal. Banding together with a small army of Chinese brothers (plus one extremely kick-ass sister) and a young Eastern European widow, our heroes head off to confront this undead menace and free the village from its terrible curse. Little does Van Helsing know but his ancient nemesis awaits him in that village, in the guise of a crazed wandering monk.Yep, it’s a tripped-out fang-fu reworking of the Seven Samurai.
This oddball fright-movie contains many of the trappings of Hammer horror films (cheap-and-cheerful bloodshed, elements of high camp, grisly vampire decompositions, elaborately-lit and moderately unconvincing sets, a peppering of female nudity, and Peter Cushing). It also plays fair with its Asiatic context ( while these vampires are unlikely to be troubled by the sight of a crucifix a nice Buddha statue seems to do the trick, and their zombie horde kind-of hop about a bit). There’s even a kung-fu zoom or two.
The acting is all a bit variable…Peter Cushing is his usual excellent self and Szu Shih’s character Mai Kwei manages to be both delicate and fearsome. Julie Ege makes the most of her role despite being, for some reason, dressed as Bonnie Tyler. As Hsi Ching (the foremost of the many brothers) David Chiang provides good hair and some very tight fight moves. Robin Stewart as Leyland Van Helsing is…well, he’s a bit of a rubbish character basically, too hopeless to be truly likeable.
The fight sequences are lovely and beautifully choreographed. However, they seem a bit too few and far between and when they occur, seem to consist of everyone going at everyone else while Van Helsing and son hang back and look befuddled. The result is just a bit too jumbled to be fully successful: a one-on-one fight scene or two would have been appreciated.
As for the final confrontation between Van Helsing and Dracula…well, it’s not particularly exciting and is all over in a matter of seconds (both actors are of rather advanced years, I guess). That said - John Forbes-Robinson gives an entire platter of ham and cheese as the Count in his two brief scenes (in addition to wearing more make-up than the rest of the cast combined) and is thus, a delight to behold.
In the end, the film is enjoyable and a fine way to spend a rainy night in, but for a truly cool example of fang-fu I’d probably recommend Tsui Hark’s ‘Vampire Hunters’ instead.
Directed by Roy Ward Baker.
Written by Don Houghton.
Starring: Peter Cushing, David Chiang, Szu Shih.
Hard to believe as it is now but once there was a time that vampires and kung-fu did not go together like Kate Beckinsale and an unnecessarily-tight body-suit. Nowadays it is practically a genre unto itself. Fang-fu, possibly.
But here it is…one of the few pairings between two legendary film studios – namely Hammer and the Shaw Brothers (of whom Tarantino is a fan).
Peter Cushing, at his most elegant and cadaverous, plays an aging Van Helsing. Many years have passed since his final encounter with that rather well-known creature of vampiric origin.He and his wet rag of a son, Leyland, learn of an isolated village in China that has experienced many decades of grief at the hands of the titular horrors. And very impressive vampires they are at that; what with their shiny gold masks, mummified-corpse aesthetic and bat-bling medallions. They also have a whole horde of living dead at their disposal. Banding together with a small army of Chinese brothers (plus one extremely kick-ass sister) and a young Eastern European widow, our heroes head off to confront this undead menace and free the village from its terrible curse. Little does Van Helsing know but his ancient nemesis awaits him in that village, in the guise of a crazed wandering monk.Yep, it’s a tripped-out fang-fu reworking of the Seven Samurai.
This oddball fright-movie contains many of the trappings of Hammer horror films (cheap-and-cheerful bloodshed, elements of high camp, grisly vampire decompositions, elaborately-lit and moderately unconvincing sets, a peppering of female nudity, and Peter Cushing). It also plays fair with its Asiatic context ( while these vampires are unlikely to be troubled by the sight of a crucifix a nice Buddha statue seems to do the trick, and their zombie horde kind-of hop about a bit). There’s even a kung-fu zoom or two.
The acting is all a bit variable…Peter Cushing is his usual excellent self and Szu Shih’s character Mai Kwei manages to be both delicate and fearsome. Julie Ege makes the most of her role despite being, for some reason, dressed as Bonnie Tyler. As Hsi Ching (the foremost of the many brothers) David Chiang provides good hair and some very tight fight moves. Robin Stewart as Leyland Van Helsing is…well, he’s a bit of a rubbish character basically, too hopeless to be truly likeable.
The fight sequences are lovely and beautifully choreographed. However, they seem a bit too few and far between and when they occur, seem to consist of everyone going at everyone else while Van Helsing and son hang back and look befuddled. The result is just a bit too jumbled to be fully successful: a one-on-one fight scene or two would have been appreciated.
As for the final confrontation between Van Helsing and Dracula…well, it’s not particularly exciting and is all over in a matter of seconds (both actors are of rather advanced years, I guess). That said - John Forbes-Robinson gives an entire platter of ham and cheese as the Count in his two brief scenes (in addition to wearing more make-up than the rest of the cast combined) and is thus, a delight to behold.
In the end, the film is enjoyable and a fine way to spend a rainy night in, but for a truly cool example of fang-fu I’d probably recommend Tsui Hark’s ‘Vampire Hunters’ instead.
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