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Starring
:
Lam
Ching Ying
Chin
Siu Ho
Lui
Fong
Sandra
Ng
Billy
Lau
Action
:
Stephen
Tung Wai
Lam
Ching Ying
Lee
Chi Git
Producer
:
Chua
Lam
Director
:
Lam
Ching Ying
|
VAMPIRE
VS. VAMPIRE (1989)
A.K.A.
- Vampire Versus Vampire; One Eyebrowed Priest
Reviewed
by Tony Ryan
By
the time this addition to the comedy horror genre came along,
Lam Ching Ying was so typecast in the role that we all knew
exactly what to expect before we watched it. The main
difference here is that Lam himself directs the feature, and
it is interesting to see his take on the 'Mr.
Vampire' series he became so synonymous with.
As
ever, Lam is a Taoist priest with a couple of wayward students
providing a little comedy relief, and the story follows the
usual predictable pattern of their simple lives being
disrupted when an evil Vampire, Ghoul, Zombie (insert your own
creature here) arrives to cause havoc. In this case, it is the
novelty value of a Western style Dracula being released to
unleash the kind of nightly terror they hadn't experienced
before!
Although
its title does not begin with 'Mr. Vampire', it may as well
do, and is certainly one of the better sequels to the
unsurpassed original. The addition of a different villain to
the usual HK supernatural film is refreshing as it opens up
new avenues for both the comedy and action. Speaking of
action, this is predominantly handled by Stephen Tung, and
well executed by the underrated Chin Siu Ho. There are plenty
of set pieces and small amounts of good choreography on offer,
but as with the rest of the series it could not really be
classed as a kung fu flick. Nevertheless the knocks and falls
are of the usual 80's HK standard and I personally never grow
tired of watching them.
As
you can probably tell by my previous comedy horror reviews, I
love the genre and this is easily one of the better examples.
The peripheral cast all read like a who's who of HK cinema,
and it does not pretend to do anything other than offer 90
minutes of lightweight entertainment. Definitely recommended.
Rating:
 
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