When a Catholic church in a small Chinese town falls prey to an evil combing the powers of Western and Chinese vampires, Taoist priest Uncle Nine (Lam Ching Ying) and Catholic priest Wu (Wu Ma) must overcome religious and cultural differences in order to defeat the vampire. This is a ghost comedy from Hong Kong, clichely called "Exorcist Master" in English. It features Lam Ching-Ying as Master Chiou, who is an exorcist/kung fu master, and with him he takes under his wing his two disciples named Star and Moon. Then, the plot centers around a church, battling evil spirits, and dealing with a corrupt mayor of the town.<br/><br/>There is the usual Taoist magic and martial arts action in this ghost movie, but well into the 1990s, this genre has been losing steam and this movie was no exception, even with Lam Ching-Ying in it. Even though he is the only saving grace in the movie, there were very few charms, suspense and intrigue that are usually found in the earlier horror and ghost comedies. Even the comedy is immature and tacky at best.<br/><br/>Not the best out there, but wouldn't hurt to watch it at least once.<br/><br/>Grade C- First off, understand that this kind of flick is not for everyone. Many people will be astounded I gave it 7 stars. This is because I enjoy this genre, kung fu action/supernatural horror/broad comedy, and this film does it well. If you don't get or enjoy this type of nonsense, and it can be pretty silly at times, then stay far away from this.<br/><br/>As usual with this type of Hong Kong actioner, the plot is secondary to the action set pieces and occasional slapstick. Coherent plot structure just doesn't count. Watch this instead for the atmosphere, great fight sequences, likable characters and wildly imaginative concepts.<br/><br/>The plot goes something like this. In a small village lives "Uncle", an exorcist/kung fu master, with his two disciples Star and Moon. The disciples are immature and get into lots of trouble throughout the film, sometimes humorous, other times just stupid. There is a Western church in the village that has been closed for years, after an evil destroyed the priest that oversaw it (which we see in a cool scene that opens the film and totally rips off a scene from The Omen). Naturally a priest has to come into the town and reopen the church unleashing all kinds of problems. In addition to battling evil spirits, Uncle and his disciples must fight the corrupt mayor of the town, the encroaching threat of Western religious principles, and a hoard of vampires. All this only begins to give you an idea of the zany goings-on in this picture.<br/><br/>The final battle in the church is great fun as Uncle and the priest must combine forces and use both Eastern and Western means to defeat the vampire. Very interesting indeed and well done.<br/><br/>The film could have benefited from a more serious tone and some better lighting in the final third, but it's never boring and held my attention for its 90 minute run time.
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295 weeks ago