The one-eyebrowed priest himself, Lam Ching-Ying, directs Vampire Vs. Vampire, a "vampire busting" tale that attempts to liven up the formula by adding a Western vampire into the mix. And, for the most part, besides an overdependence on dopey comedy, Lam's take on the genre works.

The movie takes place in a small village run by a corrupt and bumbling captain (Billy Lau). Always concerned with lining his pockets, when a ruby is unearthed along with a corpse, the captain pulls out the jewel, which was the only thing keeping a western vampire dead. So, once again, it's up to the priest along with his two bumbling sidekicks (Chin Siu-Ho and Lui Fong) and a child vampire (Lam Jing-Wang) to save the day.

Vampire Vs. Vampire's main problem is that it takes quite a while to get going, with the majority of the first half of the movie dominated by comedic shenanigans that will likely generate groans instead of laughs for many viewers. If the lame jokes weren't bad enough, the pushing of "Little Vampire" on to the audience becomes almost insufferable at times.

But once the vampire busting kicks in, it's solid stuff and among the best in the genre. If you can put aside the somewhat nebulous "rules" surrounding the western vampire, such as his off-and-on intolerance of sunlight, and some special effects that were obviously produced on a shoestring budget, the battles between the priest and the blood-sucker become incredibly fun stuff and make sitting through the less than stellar proceedings before them well worth the wait.

RATING: 7

Note: This review is based on the Fortune Star DVD, which apparently has been cut by six minutes from the theatrical version. The DVD also features a poor transfer, especially in the area of color correction, with a couple of night scenes being bathed in a yellow tint.