The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires

Director(s) - Roy Ward Baker (Aslyum, The Monster Club) and Cheh Chang (Five Deadly Venoms, Kung Fu Invaders)
Starring - Peter Cushing (Horror of Dracula, The Satanic Rites of Dracula), David Chiang (A Slice of Death, The Revenge Ghost of the Tree), Julie Ege (The Mutations, The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins)
Release Date - 1974
Genre - Action/Horror
Tagline - "Black belt vs. black magic"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     It's been a busy week with my reviews but I still have a few more left to post before the weekend strikes.  Over the course of this week I've reviewed Warner Brothers Archive Collection releases of Horror of Dracula and The Satanic Rites of Dracula along with Scream Factory releases of Dracula: Prince of Darkness and Scars of Dracula.  Next up is the Scream Release of the Hammer/Shaw Brothers production The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires aka The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula.  This is hands down my favorite Hammer Dracula film.  I love those 70s kung fu films and the mashing of the highly popular Hammer Dracula series really works for me.  I know many dislike this entry but I absolutely love it.
     The film follows Van Helsing (Cushing as his son) as he tours the Chinses country speaking about vampirism.  It also just happens to be the same time that Dracula, now once again resurrected, is seeking out the 7 golden vampires to do his bidding.  Van Helsing, his son, and a wealthy heiress is then persuaded to follow a group of brothers and their sister, all kung fu master, to their village before the 7 golden vampires can kill more innocent people.  Van Helsing agrees and they start their treacherous journey to the village to stop Dracula, his deadly vampires and the legion of the undead that follows them.
     I tend to enjoy the cheesier side of cinema.  I love horror but my taste usually takes me to the trashier and comedic side of the genre.  I guess I can blame my upbringing of 90s kids movies and exploitation cinema from the video store.  I know this is one of the weaker films in the series but I can't help but love it.  It's so fucking fun and one of the few films in the franchise that I can watch over and over.  The acting in this one is far from perfect but they do bring to life some pretty entertaining characters with some fun backstories.  I'm a sucker for characters with backstories and history.  The brothers and sister with their own skillset and different personalities was a very entertaining touch to the film along with the history behind the golden vampires.  Dracula is a bit of a downer in this one but when you combine everything together you get a real fun kung fu films with horror elements scattered throughout.  The story for this one is something I would have loved as a kid.  As I stated in my previous review for The Satanic Rites of Dracula, I was already familiar with this franchise but I had not seen them all before.  If I knew there would be a kung fu entry in the series at that time I would have broke my neck to find a copy.  I absolutely loved the mash up and the whole new lore given to fans of the films.  The kung fu works and the writing does a great job at bringing characters like Van Helsing into a film they normally wouldn't fit in.  Finally, this one has several deaths that are fun and fit with the film but the practical effects were very weak.  This series is not known for their amazing practical effects and this film is no better.  In fact, one of the gags near the end of the film is out right laughable.  Overall, The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires is such a fun movie.  Imperfections aside, it is highly entertaining and a breathe of fresh air in a series that has become stale.  I highly recommend checking out the blu from Scream.  It looks absolutely fantastic.