Can Kung fu and horror mix well? The answer is an emphatic YES! This classic take on the mythos of vampirism takes a whole new meaning when in the hands of a kung fu director. Mixing elements of both exploitation and kung fu genres, this film mash up creates quite the compelling entry into the reviews of this site. Robo Vampire might be the best thing I’ve seen in a long time, and that’s saying a lot, because I see so much it’s ridiculous.
Vampires are the focal point of the film, as a heroin trade is relying heavily on the undead zombie like creatures to transport the drugs. But when law enforcement teams up with vigilantes a Robotic Vampire is created and he’s badass. Think of Robocop but Asian and less graphically and mechanically designed.
The film is quite interesting with a wide variety of different themes. The majority of the film is spent going through different spots where drugs are being transported, and then mixed in are fight scenes with either zombie vampires or robots. The martial arts is not great, the editing is poor, and the dubbing? Well the dubbing is not a whole lot better.
The movie is presented in Widescreen and the transfer is not half bad. There are some comical moments, and some random scenes of swimming in a pond or lake for no apparent reason. The movie really has a lackluster sense of plotting, and really gest tiring after a while. Despite the second act being laughable and even close to soft-core, the rest of the film has enough merit to mention.
The vampires, zombies and robotic elements create a unique spin on the classic vampire tale. Voodoo is introduced at one point, which is mixed with a magic set of kung fu weapons. The third act is confusing, and at one point the main characters are flying around, and just starting to throw out all the stops. I didn’t mind it, I liked being mindlessly entertained, and this film has a little bit of everything. It’s two movies with separate plots thrown together to make an interesting title somewhat feasible. I don’t know if I would recommend this film to everyone, but for my money, Robo Vampire is the best of both horror and kung fu…even if it does lack in the pacing, and editing, and well…plot. Who cares, I loved it.
P.S. Yes, I am well aware that this 1980's film is a complete rip off of Robo Cop, but do I care? Nope!
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