(Hong Kong 1990) 

Original Title: Yi Yao O.K. 一咬OK

 

Directed by Stephen Shin Produced by Stephen Shin, Dickson Poon Action by Philip Kwok Starring: George Lam, Rosamund Kwan, Hui Siu Hung, Tsui Siu Keung, Cheng Pak Lam, Tsang Kan Wing, Rocky Lai Reviewing: Joy Sales/Legendary Collection HK DVD Release Genres: Comedy / Horror / Drama

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Rating - 2 / 5

Joy Sales HK DVD Synopsis: The Duke, who lives in a mysterious castle in the suburban London, is the only vampire left in the world. When he fells guilty to injure a little orphan, he decides to save him by using his immortal blood. This is seen by Anna, who's a beautiful fashion designer from Hong Kong and attracts the Duke at first sight. However, the secret of the Duke is discovered by Anna's brother, Fung, who pursues for it to get almighty power. He then kidnaps both the Duke and the orphan to Hong Kong. At the same time, Anna and the Duke's servant hurry back to Hong Kong to rescue them. Nevertheless, on the way to escape, the Duke is forced to bite Fung, making him a vampire. The Duke then determines to kill Fung to stop him from killing people. The war between good and evil starts. (91 Mins)

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Views: I think it's fair to say that A Bite Of Love is one odd little movie. It tells the tale of a Chinese-born vampire who resides in a castle in London, long gone off the taste of humans, and living a lavish lifestyle as The Duke. Dressed in typical Count Dracula attire, The Duke frequents the streets of modern London in his black horse-drawn carriage and is a regular at a local gentleman's club. It's here that he comes face-to-face with the lovely Anna – a fashion designer from Hong Kong who also lives in the city, along with her sick brother Fung who is in desperate need of a rare blood type. But Fung is a nasty man with an army of gangsters behind him, and doesn't take too well to The Duke flirting with his sister. This leads to a fight between The Duke and his men, which results in an orphan kid getting severely injured and sent to hospital due to Fung's actions. Thankfully, The Duke arrives to help the child by giving him some of his blood, but arouses the attention of Fung at the same time who knows that the same blood will help cure his sickness. Of course, determined to have what he wants, Fung sends out his men to kidnap The Duke and kid so that he can bring them back to Hong Kong for his own benefit. Aided by The Duke's long time servant, Anna heads back to Hong Kong in a bid to save the vampire and kid – only to find that her brother has now been turned and is killing everyone around him. Now, with the help of Anna's offering-of-flesh, The Duke must face-off against vampire Fung in an explosive showdown that will put a stop to all the murders!

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Long before he made an impression with Hong Kong action fans as the director of Jade Leung's highly enjoyable Black Cat, Stephen Shin made a name for himself directing comedies and dramas such as Affairs, Innocence, Easy Money, Heart To Hearts, It's A Mad Mad Mad World 3, Happy Together, Heart Into Hearts, The Perfect Match, and obviously A Bite Of Love – with the exception of his action-drama, Brotherhood, having a bit of a darker tone than the rest. Of course, at the same time he had been producing D&B Films classics including the Tiger Cage and In The Line Of Duty series, as well as writing for his own films and television studios. And while I've never found him to be the strongest of directors, Shin obviously knew what he was doing, because by the time A Bite Of Love came about he had already been in the industry for a good decade – with the latter half of the 80s proving to be the busiest period of his career. The wonderful Philip Kwok, who is mostly known for his role in Chang Cheh's Venom Mob movies as well as John Woo's epic Hardboiled, handles the film's action scenes which are, for the most part, entertaining enough although aren't exactly martial arts-based to be honest. Keeping in mind though that the majority of the main cast aren't action stars or martial artists (except for one), it's really Fung's thugs who get the majority of the fight scenes and stunt work between them – made up by a host of recognisable faces such as Jackie Chan stunt-team member Rocky Lai, Chan Hon Man, Lee Yiu Ging, Chan Wai To, Derek Kwok, and Tam Wai Man...

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The charming George Lam Chi Cheung stars as The Duke, a western-styled vampire who owes more to the legend of Dracula as opposed to his ancestors from the east. While I kind of enjoyed him as the fun-loving vampire, I wouldn't exactly say that it was his greatest role ever. Having made his debut in the film world with Money Trip in 1979, Lam starred in a host of great titles leading up to this production including Disco Bumpkins, All The Wrong Clues, Boat People, All The Wrong Spies, Banana Cop, Owl vs Bumbo, It's a Drink! It's A Bomb!, Easy Money, and Shanghai Shanghai alongside Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. As well as being a popular actor and the husband of actress Sally Yeh, Lam has charmed audiences all over with his singing and music skills, both of which he lends to A Bite Of Love, and has continued to be a big part of the entertainment world from television to film, and more. I did like the fact that the majority of the film was set in London, with the connection that Lam had spent many years of his early life studying and living there from the mid 60s. The beautiful Rosamund Kwan stars as Anna, the Hong Kong fashion designer (which may have been a nod to her role in Armour Of God perhaps) and sister of the gangster Fung. Since she arrived on the scene in 1982, Kwan was kept busy jumping between studios with roles in Millionaires Express, Prince Charming, Project A 2, Armour Of God, Casino Raiders, Tiger Cage 2 and many more. Some of these were also for D&B Films which saw her star alongside Lam in films like the Stephen Shin directed rom-com, Heart To Hearts. Much like Lam in his role, Kwan entertains to a point but never goes above and beyond as the maiden-in-need. Shaw Brothers legend and action star Norman Tsui Siu Keung stars as her brother Fung, a character that hates everyone because of his illness and is the boss of a gang of thugs – although we really don't know any more than that. Tsui plays the role of Fung like many he has done before and since A Bite Of Love, proving to be a hateful bastard that refuses to let anyone get in his way – regardless if it's a kid or his sister. Coming off a busy couple of years leading up to this production, Tsui delivers yet another throw-away role but gets to challenge Lam's 'Duke' as best-dressed-Dracula in the final showdown. Prolific character actor Hui Siu Hung joins his old Shaw Brothers veteran to star as the servant of The Duke, getting to have a much fun as the main characters – and especially when it comes to rescuing his long-term boss. As with Kwan, Hui starred alongside Lam a number of times over the years including the fun It's A Drink! It's A Bomb!, and rom-com sequel Heart Into Hearts with super-cute child actor Cheng Pak Lam, who stars (here) as the little orphan kid that gets caught-up in all the action. Starting his acting career alongside Conan Lee and Cynthia Rothrock in Prince Of The Sun, the young actor managed to star in 11 films over the course of 5 years including The Perfect Match with George Lam, Benny Chan's Son On The Run, Inspector Wears Skirts 4, and Bogus Cops, with Wong Jing's Teenage Master providing his final feature role – which is also known as My Father Is A Hero 2 (minus Jet Li of course).

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While it may be far from the greatest Hong Kong film ever, I must acknowledge Stephen Shin and his writers for attempting to bring something a little different to the table during the height of Hong Kong's vampire craze. There are plenty of chuckles, some small stunts, and a few interesting ideas, but at the same time a lot of it just falls flat and never really excites you enough to want to go back for a second watch. And while it's heart may be in the right place, A Bite Of Love fails to leave a mark!

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Overall: A tad messy and far from being a competitor to Mr. Vampire, there isn't really much of a bite in A Bite Of Love but it passes the time!

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Joy Sales DVD Extras: Trailers, Photo Gallery