The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) dir. Roy Ward Barker/Chang Cheh, Hammer Film Productions/Shaw Brothers Studio
So, with this we end the Dracula series at Hammer. What started with Christopher Lee ends with kung fu.
1804, Transylvania
Kah (Chan Shen), treks through the mountains until he finds the castle of Dracula (John Forbes-Robertson). Inside he finds Dracula. The monk pleads his case before the vampire. Kah is a servant of the 7 Golden Vampires, the greatest vampires in all of China. The problem is their power is fading. If Dracula could help them, they would be grateful.
Dracula considers the man's offer. He's been trapped in his castle and if he can possess the monk he'd be able to leave. Plus a Chinese vacation sounds like fun. So he takes over the monk and hightails it back east.
1904, Professor Laurence Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is lecturing on folklore in a Chugking university. The main feature of his lecture is the 7 Golden Vampires. From his research, sometime ago a farmer, mourning for his wife, attacked the group and snagged a medallion off of one of them. He was fatally wounded, but he managed to place the medallion around a statue of Buddha. One of the vampires tried to take it back but touching the statue caused it to explode...so shouldn't the legend be of the 6 Golden Vampires?
He's sure the story is real, but he can't find the name of the village or the area where the story took place. The students leave, disbelieving, save for one. Hsi Ching (David Chiang) stays behind and meets with the professor and his son Leyland (Robin Stewart). He believes Van Helsing's story and what's more he can prove it. His grandfather was the farmer in the story, and he produces the medallion as proof. He begs Van Helsing to come to his family's village and destroy the rest of the Golden Vampires.
Ching introduces the Van Helsings to his family:
Mai Kwei (Shih Szu)-his only sister, she's a master of the butterfly knives.
Hsi Kwei (Lau Kar-wing)-master archer
Hsi Ta (James Ma)-master of the twin axes
Hsi Sung (Fong Kah Ann)-master of the mace
Hsi Sun and Hsi San (Chen Tien Loong)-twin swordsmen
Hsi Ba Kwei (Liu Chia Yung)-master of the spear
So with the party assembled they head off to the village. Along the way they rescue heiress Vanessa Buren (Julie Ege) from a roving gang of bandits. They get close when three of the Golden Vampires attack. The brothers and sister are battered but they managed to kill all three.
So far the Golden Vampires don't seem that impressive.
Our heroes get to the village and prepare their defenses as Dracula decides to end this himself. Can Van Helsing put an end to the horror of Dracula once and for all?
Considering this is the last Hammer Dracula film, I'd say yes. There is a certain amount of freedom when you just stop caring. When you know there is absolutely nothing you can do to improve the situation, you might as well go all out nuts. Dracula in a kung-fu film?
Why not? Cushing is wonderful as always, giving his final performance just the right amount of gravitas as the aging monster hunter.
The film if wonderfully shot and the action is decent. Not the best thing Shaw Brothers ever did but the idea is pretty sound. A pity this didn't do better, as Hammer and Shaw Brothers were in talks to do a kaiju flick based on the Loch Ness Monster.
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