Dracula's Curse was a nice idea that didn't really pan out. I watched the film with my wife last night and we both had basically the same reaction which is that it was too long and there were too many characters. Too many characters and bad acting on top of it doesn't a good movie make.
I had seen a few of writer/director Leigh Scott's films before, as I'm an indie horror film junkie you might say. I am usually impressed by Scott's work, with possibly the exception of King of the Lost World. If you haven't seen his films, I would suggest viewing Beast of Bray Road and Exorcism of Gail Bowers, both totally different films, but both show off Scott's skill as a director. Frankenstein Reborn was also a sharp stylish little horror film, but suffered from some of the same problems as Dracula.
Dracula's Curse follows a group of vampire hunters who make a pact with the vampires themselves, a cease-fire of sorts. Of course, the pact is ultimately broken and the hunters go back to work. A divide amongst the vampires creates a nice twist. Familiar characters in the film include Jacob Van Helsing, Countess Elizabeth Bathorey, and Dracula himself. Fans of the vampire genre will be pleased. There are some very cool scenes throughout the movie and the cinematography is pretty spectacular. One of the problems is that Scott tries to do too much. For every cool moment, there are 10 minutes of boring. There are too many needless side-stories which take away from the film. One storyline follows a young man, a human, whose girlfriend is kidnapped by the vampires because she is a pureblood. Maybe he should have been the main character and fleshed out more, adding some emotion to the story and helping the audience connect to a character. My wife and I found ourselves wondering after it was over, who was the main character and why were we supposed to care about any of them?
Another huge problem with the film is the acting. Scott is actually fantastic in the film as one of the vampires called The Old One. Other characters who hold their own as well include the actress who plays the Countess and Rhett Giles as Van Helsing. Unfortunately for Scott he seems to be contractually obligated to work with the same bad actors time and again. This really holds Scott back from showing off what he can really do. Tom Downey, as Rufus King, is fine, but boring, and we've just seen him too many times already playing different variations on the same character. For those of us who see more than one of Scott's movies, this is distracting. Eliza Swenson, who Scott has used before, most disastrously in Frankenstein Reborn, is another problem. He inexplicably chooses to put her again in one of the larger roles in Dracula's Curse, and her character of Gracie is not believable at all, and Swenson comes across as stiff and awkward. Amanda Burton, another Scott veteran, as one of the Countess's clan, Darvulia, is just as bad. Sarah Lieving, on the other hand, a very talented and versatile actress, and not so bad on the eyes, is underutilized in a small throw-away role, which she nails by the way. The wife and I were impressed. I don't recommend that Scott put her in the lead in all of his films though because Lieving would run the risk of turning into another Downey, who Scott's audience has frankly had enough of.
I don't usually take the time to write comments on the films I see but I was moved to do so on this one. Dracula's Curse could have been Scott's finest hour, but just wasn't because of these problems. I recommend renting it because it does have its moments, and just fast forward through the bad. I will still keep my eye out for Scott's films to see what he comes up with next.
I had seen a few of writer/director Leigh Scott's films before, as I'm an indie horror film junkie you might say. I am usually impressed by Scott's work, with possibly the exception of King of the Lost World. If you haven't seen his films, I would suggest viewing Beast of Bray Road and Exorcism of Gail Bowers, both totally different films, but both show off Scott's skill as a director. Frankenstein Reborn was also a sharp stylish little horror film, but suffered from some of the same problems as Dracula.
Dracula's Curse follows a group of vampire hunters who make a pact with the vampires themselves, a cease-fire of sorts. Of course, the pact is ultimately broken and the hunters go back to work. A divide amongst the vampires creates a nice twist. Familiar characters in the film include Jacob Van Helsing, Countess Elizabeth Bathorey, and Dracula himself. Fans of the vampire genre will be pleased. There are some very cool scenes throughout the movie and the cinematography is pretty spectacular. One of the problems is that Scott tries to do too much. For every cool moment, there are 10 minutes of boring. There are too many needless side-stories which take away from the film. One storyline follows a young man, a human, whose girlfriend is kidnapped by the vampires because she is a pureblood. Maybe he should have been the main character and fleshed out more, adding some emotion to the story and helping the audience connect to a character. My wife and I found ourselves wondering after it was over, who was the main character and why were we supposed to care about any of them?
Another huge problem with the film is the acting. Scott is actually fantastic in the film as one of the vampires called The Old One. Other characters who hold their own as well include the actress who plays the Countess and Rhett Giles as Van Helsing. Unfortunately for Scott he seems to be contractually obligated to work with the same bad actors time and again. This really holds Scott back from showing off what he can really do. Tom Downey, as Rufus King, is fine, but boring, and we've just seen him too many times already playing different variations on the same character. For those of us who see more than one of Scott's movies, this is distracting. Eliza Swenson, who Scott has used before, most disastrously in Frankenstein Reborn, is another problem. He inexplicably chooses to put her again in one of the larger roles in Dracula's Curse, and her character of Gracie is not believable at all, and Swenson comes across as stiff and awkward. Amanda Burton, another Scott veteran, as one of the Countess's clan, Darvulia, is just as bad. Sarah Lieving, on the other hand, a very talented and versatile actress, and not so bad on the eyes, is underutilized in a small throw-away role, which she nails by the way. The wife and I were impressed. I don't recommend that Scott put her in the lead in all of his films though because Lieving would run the risk of turning into another Downey, who Scott's audience has frankly had enough of.
I don't usually take the time to write comments on the films I see but I was moved to do so on this one. Dracula's Curse could have been Scott's finest hour, but just wasn't because of these problems. I recommend renting it because it does have its moments, and just fast forward through the bad. I will still keep my eye out for Scott's films to see what he comes up with next.