Vampire Cop Ricky (Blu-ray) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version) Blu-ray Region A

The film begins with a ludicrous prologue set in Transylvania , where a Euro-vamp stereotype is bitten by a mosquito (which sends him into an amusingly over the top fit of howling rage), which flies to Korea with the help of a passing plane. Here, the mosquito bites useless and corrupt policeman Na Do Yeol (played by Kim Su Ro, also in Taegukgi), who finds himself turning into a vampire whenever his strongest emotions are aroused - in this case, his libido. As well as trying to come to terms with his new powers with help from a Lam Ching Ying (Mr. Vampire) style priest, Na finds his past misdeeds coming back to haunt him. This threatens the lives of his friends and would-be girlfriend, and pushes him to clean up his act and follow the path of the righteous.

The film is simply hilarious throughout, with some classic scenes such as those which feature Na on the run from a gang of thugs, desperately watching pornography on a mini DVD player in the hope of inspiring a return of his powers. This gives a pretty good idea of the comedic tone throughout, though surprisingly the film features very little in the way of sleaze, and actually has a fairly moralistic heart. It is worth noting that the subtitles never refer to either the main character, or indeed anyone in the film as Ricky, which nicely sums up the cavalier and cheerfully lunatic feel to the proceedings.

The film's true strength lies in Lee's skill at combining genres. On paper the mixture of frat party police thriller, horror, sex comedy and romance may be quite inconceivable, but Lee actually manages to pull all these seemingly disparate elements into a cohesive and highly engaging whole. What emerges is perhaps best described as a perverted take on Batman Begins. Wisely, Lee keeps things moving along briskly, with plenty of action and laughs, and never allows the viewer to stop and consider just how ridiculous the film really is.

Unlikely as it may sound, the viewer does come to care for Na, and his redemptive journey is played out in the best Shaw Brothers fashion, feeling genuine and heartfelt. This is mainly due to star Kim Su Ro, who turns in a great performance, part wacky face-pulling and part tortured emotion. It even comes complete with Bruce Lee style squeals and the shouting of English language slogans during the frequent martial arts sequences. Of course, it is hard to forget that he is a guy who turns into a vampire when sexually aroused, but strangely enough, this never gets in the way of the film's dramatic elements, which actually makes the gag premise even funnier.

Indeed, it is the very fact that the film is played half for laughs, and half with a straight face and earnest heart that marks it out as a classic. Whether enjoyed as an absurd comedy or mixed bag of thrills, Vampire Cop Ricky stands as one of the most entertaining films of the last few years, and hopefully one that will find its niche as a genuine cult item.

Movie Grade: 5/5

by James Mudge - BeyondHollywood.com