It’s pretty good to see at least one studio investing in transforming vampires in to relentless monsters once again after so many years where vampires have been watered down and overly fetishized. The vampires in André Øvredal’s interpretation of “The Last Voyage of The Demeter” as well as—well—Dracula in general, are not empathetic, alluring figures. They’re blank, cold and vicious monsters controlled by Dracula who is reduced to his most primal state for this re-visiting of one of the most haunting chapters in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Tag Archives: Vampires
Dracula Untold (2014)
DRACULA WEEK
It’s a damn shame that Universal just didn’t have enough confidence in Gary Shore’s treatment of Dracula to warrant it a follow up. “Dracula Untold” is a good enough movie all on its own, but it was also teeming with so much potential for a larger scale sequel that reversed all roles. Where as Dracula is the hero of “Untold” and Dominic Cooper the villain as Mehmed, the Turkish Sultan, it would have been fun to see the descendant of Mehmed, played by Cooper also, as now a law abiding police officer who engages in a new war with the modern version of Dracula. That’s just the writer in me building on head canon, but “Dracula Untold” is a very good interpretation of Bram Stoker’s novel.
Dan Curtis’ Dracula (1974)
DRACULA WEEK
Also known as “Dracula,” and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” Dan Curtis, the creator of “Dark Shadows” adapts (I use the term loosely) the bare essentials of Bram Stoker’s iconic novel. I say “the bare essentials” because for a movie written by Richard Matheson, there isn’t much that the movie strives for beside delivering a Dracula movie and nothing else. There’s no re-interpretation, or any kind of drastic changes to the narrative, save for Jonathan Harker’s fate, which is quite gruesome.
Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004)
DRACULA WEEK
When we first see Gabriel Van Helsing in “Van Helsing,” he’s on the pursuit of Mr. Hyde, a hulk-ified version of Dr. Jekyll. While the Stephen Sommers movie was a bust, “The London Assignment” at least takes its best shot at filling in the gaps. “The London Assignment” is an okay attempt a prologue for Gabriel Van Helsing, where we follow him in his efforts to stop the vicious murder spree of Dr. Jekyll and his monstrous alter ego Mr. Hyde.
Transylvanie (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
A young girl being bullied for thinking she’s a vampire decides to show her bullies that she really is a vampire.
Renfield (2023): ‘Dracula Sucks’ Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
Chris McKay’s take on the Dracula dynamic with Renfield has a lot going for it, but it also has so much stacked against it from the starting gate. In a year teeming with Dracula iterations, “Renfield” has a real shot at standing out among the other interpretations of Bram Stoker’s lore, but never really rises to the occasion. That’s mainly because while the concept is interesting “Renfield” never decides what it wants to be. It wants to be a satire on “Dracula,” and a commentary on abusive relationships. It tries to be a cop action, a buddy comedy, a vampire film, and straddles the dangerous line of being a satire on the abuser and abused relationship at times.
Blood Relatives (2023)
I’m surprised with how much I enjoyed “Blood Relatives,” since it’s not so much a horror film, as it is more of a road trip drama comedy about two vampires. That’s not meant to disparage “Blood Relatives” at all, I found Noah Segan’s horror comedy to be quite good and a very engaging tale about a father and daughter learning to love one another and bond. What makes their dynamic even more difficult is that they have the whole vampire thing wedging between them, which amounts to considerable dramatic tension. Thankfully none of the dynamic ever really feels forced, as Noah Segan and Natalie Moroles have great chemistry.
Subspecies V: Blood Rise (2023)
Playing at 26 Alamo Drafthouse locations for a special engagement on Monday, May 15th; the presentation will include an exclusive introduction and pre-recorded post-screening Q&A with members of the cast and director, Ted Nicolaou. Tickets available now at drafthouse.com
I have to give it to director Ted Nicolaou, he really does give his return to the “Subspecies” series what seems to be his very best. The “Subspecies” vampire series was one of the crowning jewels of Full Moon Films back in their heyday and cult director Ted Nicolaou re-visits it once more to complete the story of the villainous albeit tragic vampire lord Radu.