A bloodthirsty, heart-ripping comedy-chiller in which the comic content all too rarely bubbles to the surface.

Nightmare horror is, in fact, the order of the day as Caribbean vampire Eddie Murphy descends on America, via a ship full of dead men, to make the only surviving female half-vampire convert to his cause.

She turns out to be a cop (Angela Bassett), who's none too willing to turn on to her heritage.

In support, Kardeem Hardison has a little fun as Murphy's rotting acolyte, bits of whom drop off as the film goes on.

Special effects, though, are not only below par but almost non-existent, especially when it comes to a traditional vampire transformation scene.

Murphy dons a few disguises and gets a chuckle or two, but he's really wasted in such genuinely ghoulish surroundings.