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Doctor Vampire – Eureka Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1990
Director: Jamie Luk
Writer: Jamie Luk
Cast: Bowie Lam, Ellen Chan, Sheila Chan, David Wu, Lau Sek-Yin, Crystal Kwok, Ni Kuang, Peter Kjaer, Shing Fui-On

Release Date: February 24th, 2025 (UK)
Approximate Running Time: 99 Minutes 12 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Cantonese (Original Mix), LPCM Mono Cantonese (Restored)
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: £17.99 (UK)

"While on vacation in Britain, surgeon Dr Chiang Ta-Tsung (Bowie Lam, Hard Boiled) wanders into a quaint rural pub in the grounds of a castle, where he quickly falls for hostess Alice (Ellen Chan, Wizard’s Curse). Despite several warning signs, the good doctor fails to realize that the establishment is staffed entirely by vampires – even after Alice bites him during a late-night tryst. Upon his return to Hong Kong and his long-standing love interest May Chan (Sheila Chan, Heroes Among Heroes), he attempts to return to his normal life. But soon he develops an aversion to sunlight and begins to crave blood, and things get even more complicated when Alice and her undead master – The Count (Peter Kjaer) – come looking for him…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "a brand new 2K restoration".

Doctor Vampire comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 39 GB

Feature: 29.2 GB

The source looks excellent; colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.25/5 (Both Audio Tracks)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese (original mix), a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese (restored). Both audio tracks are in great shape; dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise they sound very good. Included are removable English subtitles for all spoken dialog; there is some dialog in English.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an interview titled A British Vampire in Hong Kong with Stacey Abbott, author of Celluloid Vampires: Life After Death in the Modern World (20 minutes 11 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), a video essay by gothic scholar Mary Going titled Vampire Slaying 101: Remixing Monster Traditions in Doctor Vampire (22 minutes 11 seconds, LPCM stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an audio commentary with East Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and John Charles, an audio commentary with Hong Kong cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema, an O-Card slipcase (limited to 2000 copies), and a booklet (limited to 2000 copies) with cast & crew information, an essay Hong Kong vampire films from Mr Vampire to Doctor Vampire written by Katarzyna Ancuta, and information about the transfer titled Notes on Viewing.

Summary:

Jamie Luk directed Doctor Vampire. He is also known for Love with the Perfect Stranger, Robotrix, and The Case of the Cold Fish.

A doctor visiting England accidentally enters a brothel where vampires seduce men and feed off their blood. Instead of following her master's orders, a vampire who has fallen in love with the doctor lets him escape. After the doctor returns to Hong Kong, he develops an aversion to sunlight and craves blood.

When one thinks of a vampire in Hong Kong cinema, Jiangshi (Chinese hopping vampire) springs to mind. Though Doctor Vampire references Jiangshi (Chinese hopping vampires), a character wears their costume; there are no Jiangshi in Doctor Vampire. That said, Doctor Vampire is a different kind of Hong Kong vampire film, influenced by western cinema's vampires, than Jiangshi.

Despite being a film about vampires, there is nothing remotely scary in Doctor Vampire. In the place of fright, Doctor Vampire relies heavily on humor. In one scene there is a reanimated corpse who walks around with a hard-on, and when the first woman he comes across is not attractive, he quickly moves on. Other moments of humor come from an inept Taoist priest who always gets in the way.

The enthusiastic performances work well within the story that unfolds. The most memorable performance is Shing Fui-On (The Blue Jean Monster), whose character is in the hospital for an operation. Another performance of note is Sheila Chan (Her Fatal Ways), who portrays the protagonist's girlfriend.

What unfolds in Doctor Vampire ranges from silly to far-fetched. In the case of the latter, there is a moment where the master vampire erases a Buddha statue that gives three characters superpowers. Though humor plays a significant role, the last 20 minutes are action-heavy. Ultimately, Doctor Vampire is a highly entertaining film that effectively blends multiple genres.

Doctor Vampire gets an excellent release from Eureka Video that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras, recommended.