In the early 1970s, the Kung Fu movie craze started with the big box office takings for movies such as Enter the Dragon and King Boxer. Meanwhile, the British horror film company Hammer were falling on hard times with many of their releases performing poorly.
The company decided to cash in on the martial arts movie craze and made a co-production with the Shaw Brothers Studio in Hong Kong called The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires.
The film stars Hammer regular, the great Peter Cushing and upcoming Shaw Brothers star David Chiang who together with Scandinavian traveller Julie Edge are in China trying to warn of the spread of Vampires, but much to the dismay of Professor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing), none will believe his lectures.
But one such man (Chiang) does believe him and together with his brothers and sister, persuades Van Helsing to go to his ancestral village on Ping Kuei and destroy the Golden Vampires who terrorise the town.
Throughout their journey, the group encounter several unwanted attackers until they arrive at the golden vampires’ derelict temple, inhabited by Dracula himself. It is here, where Van Helsing and the brothers battle to the death with the undead.
It’s an entertaining, if cheesy horror story, enlivened by the unusual premise and the numerous action scenes. The fights were choreographed by Lau Kar Leung and Tong Gai and were very bloody and gory for the time with a wide range of weapons used.
Director Roy Ward Baker keeps things moving along quickly even if at the time of filming there were problems with language and communication. Dracula this time is played by John Forbes-Robinson who is no match for the iconic Christopher Lee who by then had refused to play the count again.
It is rumoured Shaw Brothers Studio demanded the fight scenes be reshot with director Chang Cheh to forge a longer version for Hong Kong audiences, but if this version does exist it has yet to be seen.
While not on the level of the classic Hammer Dracula films this is a lot of fun and there is a lot to enjoy in this mismash of genres.
The film has been released in the UK on Blu-ray by Signal One Entertainment and sadly it’s a very bare-bones release. The transfer is good if a little problematic in places but certainly a step up from the DVD.
No extras at all apart from a trailer which is sad as there was a BBC documentary called Fists of Fire which was filmed on the set of the movie and would make a great extra.
The film also got a Blu-ray release in the USA by Shout Factory which at least made some effort for the extras, and some interviews including a short one with David Chiang. Also included is the cut US version called 7 Brothers Meet Dracula which, to be honest, is not worth the time watching. The transfer appears to be very similar.
Overall it’s a good fun movie which fans of the Shaw Brothers and Hammer should get some enjoyment from.
7.5 out of 10
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