Moon Child (2003) Reviews

Combining yakuza, science fiction, and vampire elements may sound like an outlandish recipe for campy excess in the United States, but former pinku eiga director Takahisa Zeze plays things remarkably straight in this truly unique effort from Japan. In the near future, a group of desolate citizens spend their days and nights in Mallepa, a large refugee community located in the "Asian Special Economic Zone." Though brothers Sho and Shinji survive on the streets with a little resourcefulness and the help of friend Toshi, an encounter with wounded vampire Kei forever changes the course of their lives. Soon after taking Kei back to their hideout so that the desperate vampire may recover, an angry gangster shows up to reclaim a stolen briefcase full of cash. Although Kei is quick to make dinner out of the angry gangster, his efforts to keep his trio of friends from harm is too little too late when the determined gangster fires a fatal bullet into Shinji. When Sho and Toshi plan to rip off a rival gang a decade later, Kei follows and the team soon meets up with similar-minded Chinese troublemaker Son (Wang Lee Hom) and his sister Yi-Che (Zeny Kwok). Soon stalked by the revenge-thirsting rival gang, the trio lose track of their bloodsucking friend in the ensuing melee. It's not long before Sho and Son have a falling out and end up in rival gangs, but can the re-emergence of condemned vampire Kei be enough to bring the two old friends back on the same side of the fence again? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi