ANALYSIS: Leaping Kung Fu Vampires strike again. I don't mean that in a good way. VAMPIRES: THE TURNING is all set up for
some final battle. It is like they took a script treatment and used it as a script without fleshing it out. VAMPIRES: THE
TURNING is all skin and bones, but it has no muscle. No character development exists at all in this sometimes plodding martial
arts vampire flick. The movie could have used a half hour more to flesh out the characters and give life to them, but then
again maybe the undead sucked all of the blood out of this movie. Even a very cool turning into a vampire sequence, a beautiful
Asian vampire, and Patrick Bauchau (he has not enough screen time) can save the movie.
VAMPIRES; THE TURNINGS boils down to this plot: Connor and Amanda are tourists in Thailand. They have an argument and get
separated. Amanda gets kidnapped by vampires. Connor ends up in a war between two vampire armies. One is led by Niran (who
feeds on human blood) and the other by Song Neng (which you do get to see naked during the course of the movie). Niran's motorcycle
gang of vampires have kidnapped Amanda. They will drain her dry if she doesn't become one of the undead. Raines (Patrick Bauchau)
is a vampire hunter out to kill the undead and make some money. He tells Connor like everybody else (including a good vampire)
to fly home and forget about Amanda. Of course, Connor has to be dumb and try to save his girlfriend (he's in love- the fool).
If he didn't pick that choice, we would have a pretty short movie.
On top of that, Song Neng is cursed and responsible for creating vampires 800 years ago. If she is able to be at a certain
place at a certain time when a lunar eclipse shows up, she can see the light of day and turn all vampires back into mortals.
Song Neng has made a pact with Raines to elimate Niran's gang because Niran wants to be an evil vampire forever and doesn't
want Song Neng to atone (she turned Niran into a vampire). The fact of a lunar eclipse around the corner and Connor needs
to save his girlfriend makes it very obvious that Connor will get involved and vampire sex will happen. You can tell this
is a classic B-movie in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 fashion.
The viewers get saddled with one dimensional characters, some poor acting from actors who have acted better in other movies,
lame industrial music songs, and a movie that would make you wish you had your investment back if you were the one who invested
money in this generic vampire fu flick.
VIDEO/AUDIO: VAMPIRES: THE TURNING is presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. The transfer is disappointing. Image detail
and colors may be good, but blacks are murky and flat. Sometimes the video is very grainy.
The audio is somewhat better. You can hear the movie in English 5.1 Dolby Digital or French 2.0 Dolby Surround with the
option of English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese, or Thai subtitles. Dialogue is clear. Music and sound effects
are OK.
EXTRAS: The only extras are previews for VAMPIRES: THE TURNING, WILD THINGS: DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH, BOOGEYMAN, D.E.B.S.,
DEAD BIRDS, XXX Director's Cut, SASQUATCH HUNTERS, CHUPACABRA TERROR
FINAL ANALYSIS: VAMPIRES: THE TURNING is a forgettable vampire kung fu flick. Rent it if you can't find anything better
to watch unless you want to see a naked Asian vampire.
this DVD Review is (c)4-27-2005 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com and look for additional content at http://www.livejournal.com/users/enterlinemedia
