Review written by Kevin Scott, MoreHorror.com
Dario Argento’s Dracula (2012)
Director: Dario Argento
Screenplay: Dario Argento, Enrique Cerezo, Stefano Piani, Antonio Tentori, Bram Stoker
Cast: Thomas Kretschmann (Dracula), Marta Gastini (Mina), Asia Argento (Lucy), Unax Ugalde (Jonathan), Rutger Hauer (Van Helsing)
It took me a while to warm up to Francis Ford Coppola’s take on Dracula from 1992. No cape, and morphing from an old guy in a geisha outfit to one of the Doobie Brothers in a Victorian pimp suit. I was accustomed to the refined stylings of Christopher Lee and Frank Langella. I’m glad, because even more takes on the classic vampire tale would follow, and being a purist just isn’t conducive to having an open mind.
There have been Italian vampire tales before, but never by the master of the giallo himself. I’ve got a good friend who summed up Italian horror cinema perfectly. It almost seems like those films were made on a different planet other than Earth. When I read about “Argento’s Dracula” aka “Dracula 3D”, I thought the unconventional tropes of the giallo would be a perfect fit for accessorizing a tale told many times over. Unbridled sexuality, stylized violence, and that great, classic bright red blood could only make what would normally be a good Dracula film absolutely amazing in every way. So what do I think that we ended up with here? A really good B movie.
I don’t know what Dario Argento was going for, but I kept thinking that this would be perfect to showcase on Elvira’s Movie Macabre if it had been made 40 years ago. The look is perfect, the dubbed dialogue is spot on, and the special effects are about ten years behind the curve, so it the goal was an eclectic polished art house film or an epic period piece, one might call it a failure. I’m an optimist however, so I’m calling it a success as a stellar midnight movie treat from a true horror master. Argento might be the twilight of his career, and the weirdness of Italian horror cinema has become a well- known genre instead of the rare gems of VHS craziness they used to be, but his artistic eye is still the same.
I’m not going to bother with the plot description for obvious reasons, but there are some unique differences that really change the pace of this film. It’s set entirely in Transylvania, there is only one bride instead of three, and one more that’s too much of a spoiler to include. The guy that plays Jonathan Harker looks so much like Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chili Peppers that it’s almost distracting, but follows in the footsteps of those who have played Jonathan Harker before, and gets waylaid at Castle Dracula by an amorous, voluptuous, and thirsty vampire chick.
Asia Argento plays Lucy, and is as beautiful as ever. She’s not as dynamic as usual, but does have a tasteful semi-nude scene that’s impossible for anyone to enjoy who knows that her father is doing the filming. I had trouble with the Liv Tyler and Steven Tyler video, and this is worse. They are uninhibited Italians however, and maybe it’s just me who has the hang up. Asia holds her own with the much younger actress that plays Mina, and both do an acceptable job.
The fireworks should have been with Rutger Hauer as Van Helsing. After the grindhouse cred he got in “Hobo with a Shotgun”, this could have been such an over the top role as a learned man of science or an obsessed hunter of the undead. The scenes of finding Lucy in her crypt, and the final showdown with Dracula left me hoping things would have played out longer and bloodier. I haven’t even mentioned Dracula yet, but was also hoping for a little more carnage and swagger from him as well. It’s Dario Argento, so you should check it out, but I wish that he could have made this in the seventies for a couple of reasons. He might have pushed the envelope a little more with sexuality and fountains of blood, and Asia Argento wouldn’t have to be naked in front of her dad.