Although Tsui Hark did not direct this film, he did produce it and he wrote the screenplay. And "Era of Vampire" reminded me a lot of Hark's last film, "Time and Tide". The two films had nothing in common in terms of plot, but both movies tried to cover up their weak scripts with frenetic action sequences, cacaphonic noise, and Baz-Luhrmannesque editing.
The film starts off interestingly enough, diving right into an action sequence involving the first of many appearances of the monster, in this case it is a vampire/zombie. Rule #1 broken: in a horror flick, never show the monster, and certainly don't show it in the first 5 minutes of your movie. I guess he might have been able to get away with breaking this rule, had the monster become increasingly frightening over the course of the film. But in fact, the action from the first sequence was not only as thrilling as the rest that followed, but it was also far superior to the anti-climactic final showdown.
Director, Wellson Chin, also does a good job of putting over the human characters after the initial opening battle. In particular, a scene that brings one of the four warriors face-to-face (literally) with his love interest was very cleverly executed.
But after these two initial scenes, the film steadily goes downhill. The story meanders about, providing little fodder for suspense, thrill or engagement. Each action scene seems like a repetition of the ones that preceded it. By the time you get to the final showdown, you've lost alot of interest. And instead of re-engage the audience with a finale that brings in something new, we're treated to just another scene, like all the others. You get the sense that the film is trying to appeal to the West, capitalizing on the success of the flying martial artists in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". But unlike action films from Hollywood, this film's final showdown is a huge, anti-climactic letdown.
Where most films save their best for last, "The Era of Vampire" gave it all away in the first 15 minutes. Unfortunately, they forgot they had another 90 minutes to fill. 3/10
The film starts off interestingly enough, diving right into an action sequence involving the first of many appearances of the monster, in this case it is a vampire/zombie. Rule #1 broken: in a horror flick, never show the monster, and certainly don't show it in the first 5 minutes of your movie. I guess he might have been able to get away with breaking this rule, had the monster become increasingly frightening over the course of the film. But in fact, the action from the first sequence was not only as thrilling as the rest that followed, but it was also far superior to the anti-climactic final showdown.
Director, Wellson Chin, also does a good job of putting over the human characters after the initial opening battle. In particular, a scene that brings one of the four warriors face-to-face (literally) with his love interest was very cleverly executed.
But after these two initial scenes, the film steadily goes downhill. The story meanders about, providing little fodder for suspense, thrill or engagement. Each action scene seems like a repetition of the ones that preceded it. By the time you get to the final showdown, you've lost alot of interest. And instead of re-engage the audience with a finale that brings in something new, we're treated to just another scene, like all the others. You get the sense that the film is trying to appeal to the West, capitalizing on the success of the flying martial artists in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". But unlike action films from Hollywood, this film's final showdown is a huge, anti-climactic letdown.
Where most films save their best for last, "The Era of Vampire" gave it all away in the first 15 minutes. Unfortunately, they forgot they had another 90 minutes to fill. 3/10