Dracula 2000 (2000)

DRACULA 2000
RATING: 7/10 --> Good movie

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Can you ever have enough Dracula movies? Yeah, probably. But this time around, filmmakers have given the ol' man a little MTV twist for the kids and a new look at his origins. Was I looking forward to seeing this movie? Certainly not. The trailer was pretty lame and it basically looked like another generic teen horror flick with Dracula in there just for kicks. I was expecting bad acting, plot holes galore and some pretty bad effects. What did I get? Find out below.

PLOT: The most popular vampire in the world, Dracula, is once again unleashed upon an unsuspecting modern-day world. This time around, the bloodsucker wants to grab himself a specific soul, one that belongs to the daughter of the man who caught and incarcerated him for over 100 years.

CRITIQUE: A fun vampire movie. This film was quite the surprise for me. It actually featured some okay acting, an interesting plot line, lotsa blood and some pretty cool effects. It also wasn't as cheesy as I thought it was gonna be, and featured plenty of bloodsucking, decapitations, neck bitings and sexy women with heaving bosoms. Now how could you go wrong with that? Seriously though, this flick is sure to be a nice treat for anyone who enjoys vampire flicks and heavy soundtracks, and those who don't mind a new twist on a renowned character. In fact, the revelation at the end of this movie about the origins of Dracula is both unique and believable. I bought it and I certainly bought most of the movie, which despite a nice groove, doesn't really offer a lot of depth (if that's what you're looking for). But the movie never bored me either, as it moved from bloody impalings to bloody Matrix-esque fights to bloody heads flying all over the place. And you gotta admire that in any vampire movie! God knows that any film featuring a man who sucks blood for a living, is required to have lotsa crimson wetness splashing around.

I was however disappointed with the lack of T&A in the movie. I mean, there's a time and place for T&A and this was it! Mardi Gras? Sexy vampiresses? C'mon! If you're gonna have this much violence in a movie, how about lightening up our mood every now and then with some nifty boob shots. Then again, maybe that's just my Jerry Ryan fixation talking...hehehe. In the end, the movie entertained me and that is what I generally look for in most films. If the film manages to entertain me during its entire runtime, it's generally worthy of at least one look (according to me). One thing did kinda stick out in my mind though. Despite enjoying the lead Dracula's performance in the film, I do think that a "cooler" looking Dracul would've been a better choice. This dude just looked too much like that singer from the 80s, Richard Marx, and his puffy hair just bothered me throughout. A slicker Prince of Darkness might've been able to elevate this film to a certain cult-ish level. But in the end, I still consider this movie to be a novel adaptation of an old time legend. Definitely geared more towards the teens, but enough cheap scares for pretty much anyone looking for some enjoyable bloody fun.

Review Date: December 20, 2000
Director: Patrick Lussier
Writer: Joel Soisson
Producer: Joel Soisson and W.K. Border
Actors: Justine Waddell as Mary
Christopher Plummer as Abraham Van Helsing
Jonny Lee Miller as Simon
Genre: Horror
Year of Release: 2000
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(c) 2000 Berge Garabedian