Alicia I love this movie so much

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Rainey Dawn Taking into account the film came out in 1974 when martial arts films were all the rage and horror films were changing pace the film is not all that bad - fun to watch.For me the only real reason to watch the movie is for Peter Cushing who is back as Van Helsing giving a lecture in China when the villagers ask him to help stop the evil cult and put an end to the curse plaguing the area for centuries.Because of the nature of the film... the cross is replaced with Buddha as a symbol of purity and all things good. That's a nice twist to add for this particular film.This is one of those films that would be great for a morning or afternoon feature film. It's not a film for everyone -- that includes lovers of martial arts films and vampire fans.5/10

GusF This is the ninth and final Hammer "Dracula" film and the only one to feature an actor other than Christopher Lee in the role of Dracula. It's a decent film but not a great one. I've never been a fan of martial arts films so I found those (endless) scenes rather boring but at least they tried something different, which is why I enjoyed it more than "Scars of Dracula". I thought that that film was just a rehash of the best bits from the first five films. Even though Dracula had relatively little screen time in the previous films (bar "The Brides of Dracula" in which he doesn't appear at all), his presence was felt throughout and, consequently, anticipation and tension are built. That's not the case in this film, the only one in which he isn't the title character. His inclusion seems more like a late addition to the storyline. His final Hammer death is very underwhelming and rushed. Peter Cushing is as excellent as ever but it's just not the same without Christopher Lee. The series deserved to go out with a stronger film.

poe426 When Peter Cushing as the stalwart, globe-trotting Professor Van Helsing arrives in 1904 Chun King to spread the word that vampires are "very real," the Chinese scholars to whom he's speaking dismiss his claims. David Chiang (doing double duty as an ancestor and his contemporary descendant) responds that "the truth deserves respect." He knows that the Evil of Dracula has come to the tiny village of Ping Kuei. With the financial aid of Englishwoman Juile Ege, Ching and his brothers ("Seven Brothers- and one SISTER," the trailer inform us) join Van Helsing in his quest. (Shih Szu, who plays Mei Kwei- and whose name, Ching informs us, means "as beautiful as a Rose"- is absolutely stunning.) (It's little wonder that Robin Stewart, as Van Helsing's son Leyland, falls for her en route.) There's enough action throughout to keep THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES from ever bogging down (in either the English version or the eviscerated American version, THE 7 BROTHERS MEET Dracula). Cushing as Van Helsing never just stands idly by when the going gets tough, and it's his performance more than any other that carries this film. No matter what the part, Peter Cushing was always believable- always- and he was never better than he was here. John Forbes-Robinson has a cameo as Christopher Lee as the dreaded Dracula. His minions- among them the hopping vampires of Chinese mythology- are appropriately fugly and the James Bernard score will sear its way into your memory. THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES continues to stand the test of time (it certainly holds up better than, say, Sammo Hung's MR. VAMPIRE or Tsui Hark's THE VAMPIRE HUNTERS, to name but a couple). Producer-writer Don Houghton and director Roy Ward Baker have crafted a masterpiece.

MartinHafer This is a rather dumb but enjoyable melange of genres. I don't know who thought to do this, but Hammer Films of the UK (known for Dracula and Frankenstein films) did a joint production with Shaw Brothers Films of Hong Kong (known for their martial arts films)! How and why this occurred is something that IMDb and the DVD for this film never explain--and I'd sure love to know more. Seeing Peter Cushing in such a Chinese film is pretty odd. One thing IMDb did say was that Christopher Lee apparently read the script and refused to play in the film. This make little sense, as he DID agree to be in THE SATANIC RITES OF Dracula the year before--and this probably is one of worst horror films Hammer ever made! Perhaps he didn't want to hang out in Asia to make the film or perhaps he was still to embarrassed over TSROD to do yet another vampire film! While I can admit that this WAS a pretty silly movie, it had plenty of cool Shaw Brothers element--enough to breathe some energy into the moribund franchise--strange as the movie was! The film begins with a Chinese vampire priest meeting Dracula and imploring him to return with him to China. Well, Drac isn't all that hospitable and kills the guy, then assumes his form and goes to China. Shouldn't he have just said "yes" and gone with the priest--as good minions are hard to come by (what a waste).In the next scene, Van Helsing (once again, Peter Cushing) is lecturing to a group of Chinese scholars who think he's some kind of nut (imagine that)! But, one of those in attendance is a man from a village where they've had seven evil vampires terrorizing them for centuries. One of the seven was already dead--killed by this man's grandfather, but his place was taken by Dracula. He begs Van Helsing to accompany him to this rural town to rid them for good of the vampire scourge.Oddly, these Chinese vampires aren't quite like the usual Hammer variety. First, the makeup on them is pretty cheesy and their faces look like a combination of papier-mache and vomit. Second, the vampires ain't so tough--needing to use swords and other weapons to fight. I've never seen Dracula and the like in other films resort to such tactics, as they are too bad to need any weapon! Third, they way they can die is much different--they're a lot easier to kill. So much so that I wonder why they'd want outside help! This representative of the town has brought seven of his own assistants (including, for Chinese martial arts, the required lady kung fu expert) to escort Van Helsing and his son to the town for the final showdown.A sexy Norwegian (Ms. Ege) is brought along to inject some more sex into the mix. She really is pretty irrelevant to the film and blathers about being emancipated (an odd anachronism but typical movie cliché), but seems to be there to show off bosom and cower in fear (so much for feminism). And, speaking of bosoms, since this was a 1970s Hammer horror film, you will also have a smattering of other topless ladies in the film--something the studio did in several of their later films to boost ratings. The only good thing about her was towards the end--this final scene with her was great.Along with Ege, the character of Van Helsing's son is in the film. He's in his 20s and knows NOTHING of kung fu or any martial art--yet he somehow, magically, is able to fend off attack after attack by the minions of the seven vampires. He really isn't all that necessary to the film either--especially since his fighting skills are dubious. He's also pretty dumb, as he rushes into the vampire lair late in the film and doesn't even bother to bring along some stakes or a sword or even a slingshot! And this is the perfect segue into what's best about the film--the fighting. While this is not the best of the Shaw Brothers' films for this, it certainly is very good. The seven good guy fighters from the village are impressive as they fight the relatively wimpy vampires and their undead servants. In fact, they are so impressive you wondered why they traveled so far to see Van Helsing! In fact, the vampires seem a lot less tough than many of the Shaw Brother villains! I think the blind guy from MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE was easily tough enough to kick the vampires' butts all by himself! Heck, the same can be said for any of the One-Armed Swordsmen! Wimpy old Chinese vampires aren't as much fun as Western ones--especially the loser three who were in the first "boss battle"! Overall, while the film is far from perfect (often not making much sense), it is very high on the cool factor and is worth a look--particularly if you love horror AND martial arts films like I do.