Director: Fergal Costello, Lee Huang
Year: 2026
Country: Ireland/Australia
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Vampire; Horror/Comedy
Plot:
Trying to keep their business afloat, two hapless rat catchers encounter a kung-fu Taoist Guardian pursuing an undead Chinese Jiangshi vampire, forcing them to uncover family secrets, and they must embrace their fate to rid Dublin of this supernatural menace running wild in the city.
Review:
Overall, this was an immensely impressive and likable kung-fu comedy. Among the better factors to be had here is the rather strong and likable starting point that focuses on the series of seemingly disproportionate elements coming together. The central setup involving the duo getting caught up in the affairs of the hunter looking for the coffin containing the vicious jiangshi that she's tracking through the exploits of their low-rent extermination business and bringing them together to stop its quest at finding and freeing its mate so they can rule the world together offers a fun way to mix the exotic storyline elements. Focusing on the inclusion of Taoist magic and formulas to protect themselves from the creature, how it operates, and the charms needed to battle it alongside the different strategies required to do so.
This leads nicely into the really enjoyable approach to the characters that takes place, offering up a lot to like as they battle their way through the various tasks to stop the creature and his plans. Spending just as much time working with the idea of growing up, accessing the true limits of their potential, and accepting your fate in life, there's a fun dynamic creating the type of setup for the characters' relationship throughout the rest of the film. That also creates a nice sense of comedy that runs throughout here, focusing on the comedic nature of the bumbling heroes trying to handle the escalating chaos of the situation where their inexperience puts them in over their heads trying to combat the released vampire, and its attempts at creating more like it through the search for his missing lover.
That tends to provide plenty of solid martial arts action here for the different interactions between them and the vampire. The series of hand-to-hand combat sequences here, from starting with the released vampire taking out the henchmen of those who freed it, the encounter with the hunter when she stumbles upon the guys at their latest assignment, and the big battles at the restaurant where it's attempts at creating the army needed to release his girlfriend all offer up the kind of fun, energetic fights that carry quite a lot of lighthearted atmosphere despite the seriousness of the situation. Combined with the stellar vampire makeup and effects bringing it to life, there's a lot to like here.
There are a few issues that bring this one down. The main drawback here is the finale, which manages to make everything feel far more drawn-out and overplayed than it needs to, trying to impose more content into this one when it had multiple opportunities to end earlier. The idea of taking the leader of the gang captive and then immediately killing them for no reason makes little sense, while the whole fight with their spiritual side in the alternate dimension couldn't have been done in the real world, since it just adds extra running time here trying to make everything line up. That also lines up with the film's obvious and cheesy low-budget nature of this one, which is quite heavy with how it comes together and runs wild throughout here, with the CGI being really obvious when it appears, lowering this one just enough.
Overview: ****.5/5
A really likable and enjoyable genre effort, there’s a lot of worthwhile factors here that manage to offer a fun experience, despite the few drawbacks present here that hold this one down. Those with an appreciation for this kind of genre fare, who are curious about it, or who are fans of the creative crew will have a lot to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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