IT CAME FROM ASIAN CINEMA: THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (1974)

THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (1974)

In 1974, legendary Hammer Studios teamed up with the equally legendary Shaw Bothers Studios for this martial arts/horror mash-up, bringing Hammer’s gothic, vampire storytelling style together with the fast-paced martial arts action of a classic Shaw Brothers production!

Martial arts horror, also known as The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula in the United States, has Kah (Chan Shen), high priest of the 7 golden vampires, coming to Transylvania to beg Count Dracula himself (John Forbes-Robertson) for help in resurrecting the creatures he serves. Dracula betrays him and takes his form to return to China and bring the golden vampires back to life to serve his own sinister purposes instead. Lucky for us, Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is touring China to lecture about vampires! Soon he, his son Leyland (Robin Stewart), and a rich widow (Julie Ege) are teaming with martial arts warrior Hsi Ching (David Chiang) and his brothers and sister, to battle Dracula, the golden vampires and a vampire army.

Film is directed by Roy Ward Baker, with Chang Cheh directing the martial arts sequences, from a script by Don Houghton. The flick is a delightfully well-balanced mix of gothic Hammer style horror and Shaw Brothers martial arts period fantasy. The visuals are quite spooky, and the film embraces both Western and Eastern styles in its portrayal of the undead and their supernatural hijinks. There are grotesque walking corpses armed with swords and weapons, fog shrouded graveyards, spooky castles both European and Asian, and, of course, the fanged, golden masked villains of the title. There is quite a lot of bloodshed and a surprising amount of nudity from a host of nubile young Chinese woman who fall prey to the vile villains. Add to that some fast-paced martial arts battles and you have a very entertaining mash-up that, unfortunately, was poorly received critically and failed at the box office, despite combining two very popular types of movies at the time in the 70s. The flick is simply lots of fun and has some spooky and disturbing sequences mixed in with all the bloody martial arts action. Sure, a lot of the FX are cheesy by today’s standards, but that adds to its nostalgic charm and charm is something this entertaining flick has to spare!

Speaking of charming, the film has a splendid cast of both Eastern and Western actors. Peter Cushing is his usually scholarly and dignified self as Van Helsing, a role he played many times. Make no mistake, when faced with supernatural dangers, this dapper professor can kick vampire butt with the best of them. Cushing took every performance very seriously, yet still had fun with the role. Robin Stewart is a chip off the old block as Van Helsing’s son Leyland. Dashing and handsome, while at the same time, dangerous and full of fight, like his dad. Julie Ege is pretty and spunky as the rich widow Vanessa Buren, though is utilized more as a damsel in distress. John Forbes Robertson is fine as the briefly seen Dracula, though, to be honest, Christopher Lee would have been far more imposing in what amounts to as an extended cameo. Our Eastern heroes are good as well! David Chiang is a noble warrior as Hsi Ching, a descendant of another vampire slayer, and Shih Szu is cute yet quite formidable as Mai Kwei, Hsi Ching’s sister and a love interest for Leyland. Rounding out is a properly sinister Chan Shen as Kah/Dracula. A solid cast who all get the material!

Filmed entirely on location in Hong Kong, this is a fun martial arts/ horror mash-up whose initial failure is all the more disappointing when one sees how enjoyable it is. It has the perfect blend of horror and martial arts, along with a nice mix of Eastern and Western supernatural folklore. It looks great, with some very effective visuals, along with plenty of martial arts action and bloody horror film mayhem. Sure, it’s cheesy at times, but that adds to the overall 70s charm and nostalgia. A really fun, yet sadly one-time collaboration from Hammer and Shaw Brothers Studios! Currently available on a special edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory!

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 and 1/2 (out of 4) martial arts swords.

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TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: SCARS OF DRACULA (1970)

SCARS OF DRACULA (1970)

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Scars Of Dracula was released a scant six months after Taste The Blood Of Dracula and returns the action to Dracula’s home turf and presents possibly the most vicious incarnation of Lee’s Count under the direction of Roy Ward Baker, who directed quite a few memorable horrors, including the classic Quatermass And The Pit.

The film wastes no time resurrecting Dracula (Christopher Lee) in the very first scene. A vampire bat dribbles blood over his remains from the previous film, which are now laid out in his castle…possibly brought there by the returning Klove (now Patrick Troughton). Dracula too, wastes no time getting down to bloodsucking business and this earns him the wrath of the villagers, who set fire to his castle. Dracula survives and when the villagers return home, find every woman and child left behind in the local church, slaughtered by Dracula’s personal winged air force…a flock of vampire bats. That’ll learn ’em! Soon after, notorious philanderer Paul (Christopher Matthews) makes the mistake of bedding the Burgomaster’s (Bob Todd) daughter, Alice (Delia Lindsay), who denies her part was consensual upon discovery. Paul flees and winds up hiding out in Dracula’s castle, which, if you haven’t guessed, isn’t the best place to hide. After Paul has a dalliance…the boy never learns!… with Dracula’s mistress, Tania (Anouska Hempel)…his attempt at escape finds him trapped in Dracula’s crypt and…well, you can guess what happens next. Suffice to say Paul’s brother Simon (Dennis Waterman) and his beautiful fiancee, Sarah (Jenny Hanley) come searching for him and a showdown in Dracula’s castle is eminent…though when Klove falls for Sarah, Dracula may have an insurrection to deal with, as well as, the vengeful Simon!

Anthony Hinds writes again for new director Baker and the film is effective and fun and really ups the violence quota, which earned this series it’s first R rating in the U.S. It also shows Hinds running out of ideas as there is no explanation as to Klove’s return after being shot, assumedly to death, in Dracula: Price Of Darkness and no explanation to Dracula’s odd resurrection, other than possible loyalty from his winged comrades. It does give Lee a lot to do and gives the usually dignified Dracula a very nasty mean streak. After taking the action abroad in previous films, we are returned to Dracula’s home and that’s where a good portion of the action takes place. It does limit the scope a bit but, gives Dracula a large amount of screen time and who can argue with that? Baker directs with a more moderate pace and with the action restricted to the halls of Castle Dracula, it is on a smaller and less impressive scale. To balance things out, though, Baker does give the film some nice atmosphere, the sets are as vampire chic as always and the new level of violence adds a little shock element to the proceedings. New cinematographer Moray Grant gives the film a bit of a different look but, true to the gothic tone and James Bernard once again scores atmospherically. There is a little humor spliced here and there, too, which is a first in this series but, Baker contrasts it with some of the most violent scenes in a Hammer Dracula flick, up to this time. Film also has some nice charm and the Hammer ladies have their charms as well.

To say Lee is in top form, despite not wanting to play Dracula anymore, is an understatement. His Count is intimidating, downright nasty at times and still has a little sex appeal left for the ladies. It was cool to see Dracula commanding his legion of bats and climbing castle walls straight out of Stoker’s book…elements this series hadn’t tapped into much, previously. The rest of the cast are all solid in their roles including Troughton taking over the part of Klove, Waterman as our valiant hero, with Hanley, Hempel, Lindsay and Wendy Hamilton as beer wench Julie, all filling their parts and corsets quite effectively.

Another fun entry in a series that, up to this point, has kept a standard of quality even with the formula wearing a bit thin by now and it’s star not being completely committed to the role. It’s one of the nastier entries, though, also the first to have some outright humor in the proceedings. Roy Ward Baker does a solid job directing and creates a moody and sometimes very violent horror and gave us one more quality chapter before the series started to really show signs of running out of gas.

-MonsterZero NJ

3 fangs.