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| Vampire Assassin | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Directed by | Ron Hall |
| Written by | Ron Hall |
| Produced by | Ron Hall David Huey Jesse Kitten |
| Starring | Ron Hall Mel Novak Gerald Okamura Rudy Ray Moore |
| Cinematography | Ed Tillman |
| Distributed by | Lions Gate Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Vampire Assassin is a 2005 direct-to-DVD film directed, written by, and starring martial artist Ron Hall. The film is notable for its cameo from Rudy Ray Moore in one of his final roles, along with B-movie luminaries such as Mel Novak (Game of Death) and Gerald Okamura ( Big Trouble in Little China).
When protagonist Derek Washington (Hall) was just a child, he witnessed his father's murder. Because of this, he became very afraid of blood. However, when a sting operation to find a counterfeiter named Gustoff Slovak (Mel Novak) goes wrong, Derek is forced to face his fear: blood. The operation backfires, resulting in a massacre that leaves Derek's team wiped out. Derek reaches the shocking conclusion that Slovak is actually a vampire, and joins forces with a weapons expert named Master Kao (Gerald Okamura). Kao is the last in a long line of vampire hunters, and agrees to train Derek in this ancient art of vampire slaying. However, in order to defeat Slovak, Derek must become a vampire assassin.[ citation needed ]
In 2017, the film was featured on a Halloween-themed episode of Red Letter Media's Best of the Worst, together with Hack-O-Lantern and Cathy's Curse . The film was poorly received, with the hosts noting its misleading cover art and low production value, and comparing it unfavorably to the film Blade . The episode concluded with the hosts destroying their copies of the film in a skit parodying a scene from Hack-O-Lantern. [1]
The film’s notoriety reached new heights when Red One—a $200 million blockbuster starring Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, and J.J. Simmons—featured a fictional Nintendo Switch game titled Ultimate Vampire Assassin 4. Though the game doesn’t exist in real life, it’s referenced multiple times throughout the movie, serving as a meta-joke and a nod to the original film’s bizarre legacy. This inclusion sparked renewed interest in Vampire Assassin, with fans and critics revisiting its chaotic charm and dissecting its influence on low-budget genre filmmaking.