Vampire Hunter D (1985)

Action,Animation,Fantasy,Horror,Sci-Fi
Barbara Goodson
The year is 12,090. Ten thousand years ago, there was a war between humans and supernatural monsters, and the monsters won. Humans are now dominated by vampires who keep werewolves and mutants to protect them. Humans must now battle a variety of monsters that hide in the grass and slink in the trees. While out hunting one night, human Doris trespasses into the vampire domain of Count Magnus Lee. As payment for her crime, Lee "kisses" her and discovers that her blood is the sweetest he's tasted in ages. Lee decides to marry Doris. Lee's daughter Ramica cannot tolerate the idea that her father, a descendant of the Ancient One (Count Dracula), intends to pollute the House of Lee with human blood, and she vows to stop the marriage.Doris has no desire to become a vampire and has hired a vampire hunter. Known only as D, he is no ordinary vampire hunter. He's a dampiel (dhampir), born of a vampire father and a human mother. As a dampiel, he has special powers that make him stronger than mortal men. He wields a mighty sword and his left palm has a face that speaks to him, much like a human conscience. D himself doesn't say much, but he faithfully stays at Doris's side wherever she goes. Still, Doris and her younger brother Dan are scared. When they went into town to buy supplies, the mayor's son Greco, who has the hots for Doris, told the whole town that Doris had been bitten by a vampire. The town council tried to banish her to a contamination camp (asylum), but D, along with Dr Felingo, stuck up for her, and Doris was merely shunned.Tomorrow is the blood/sanguine moon (Moon of Women), a time when no vampire would dare take the blood of a female, so D thinks that vampires might come for Doris tonight. And so they do. Ramica and Count Lee's henchman, the mutant Reiginsei, show up to check out this woman that has so fascinated the Count. After driving them off, D attempts to see Count Lee, but he becomes entrapped by three Snake Women of Midwitch, who capture him and begin sucking out his life energy. Meanwhile, Count Lee has sent Reiginsei to bring Doris to the castle to prepare for their wedding. Fortunately, D is eventually able to escape from his captors and rescue Doris.In order to help Reiginsei kill D, the Count gives him the Incense of Time Trap, a candle which, when lit, will paralyze anyone with vampire blood. Reiginsei then kidnaps Dan and, when D turns up to rescue him, Reiginsei tries to light the candle. But it won't light. Instead of Reiginsei besting D, D cuts off Reiginsei's hand and saves Dan. Meanwhile, Dr Felingo has come to take Doris to a special place where she will be safe from vampires. Along the way, however, Felingo admits to being a vampire himself. When they run into Ramica, she kills Felingo. Just then, Greco shows up with the real Incense of Time Trap and uses it to paralyze Ramica. When Greco attempts to kill Ramica in her helpless condition, Doris shields Ramica's body. Suddenly, D and Dan come walking up the road. Dan fires a gun, which causes Greco and the Incense of Time Trap to fall over a cliff. D releases Ramica unharmed, much to her surprise. Later, as Doris comes out of the shower, she tries to convince D to run away with her, but he refuses. When Doris throws her arms around him, D's fangs erupt, but he fights the urge.When Reiginsei finds out that it was Greco who switched the Incense of Time Trap with a fake, he finds Greco, kills him, and takes back the candle. He then takes it to Doris's house and, when D comes out to check the security wall, he uses it on D. While D is paralyzed, Reiginsei stabs him in the heart, cuts off his hand, and tosses it in the grass. Fortunately, it was D's talking hand. It crawls its way back to D, re-attaches itself, and wakes D up. Meanwhile, Ramica is begging her father to give up the idea of marrying this girl. Count Lee admits that he just wants a little pleasure at times during his 10,000 year existence, the same as he did with Ramica's mother. Yes, Ramica's mother was a human, which makes Ramica a halfbreed and not the aristocrat she thought she was. Reiginsei brings Doris back to the castle and, having completed his chore, asks Lee to make him a vampire. Lee refuses, telling Reiginsei to wait another 50 years.It is time for the wedding. Doris, entranced, is led by the Count to the marriage chamber where all the guests are waiting. Dan sneaks into the castle and tries to stop it, but Lee casts him aside. Not wanting to wait another 50 years to become a vampire, Reiginsei uses the Incense of Time Trap on Lee, but Lee is too powerful. Instead, he kills Reiginsei. Just as the Count is about to bite Doris's neck, D shows up. Lee and D do battle together, but D eventually stabs Lee through the heart with his sword. Ramica, believing D to be the son of the Ancient One, decides that the House of Lee is doomed and that she will go down with it, even though D offers her a chance to live as a dampiel amongst humans. The castle is destroyed and sent plummeting into a hole in the ground. With the fall of the House of Lee, D's work is done and he rides away, while Doris and Dan wave goodbye. [Original synopsis by bj_kuehl]
  • 21 Dec 1985 Released:
  • N/A DVD Release:
  • N/A Box office:
  • N/A Writer:
  • Toyoo Ashida Director:
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