Dracula 2000
2000
Director: Patrick Lussier
Cinematographer: Peter Pau
Stars: Gerard Butler, Justine Waddell, Christopher Plummer, Jonny Lee Miller
A group of thieves infiltrate famous vampire hunter Van Helsing grandson's (Christopher Plummer) vault to steal treasure, but instead only find a mysterious coffin. The crooks naively open the casket and unleash Dracula (Gerard Butler) upon an unsuspecting New Orleans, and it's up to Plummer's daughter (Justine Waddell) and assistant (Jonny Lee Miller) to stop him.
I haven't been a fan of most recent US horror movies, since they seem to be more concerned with showing pretty young actors and promoting the soundtrack. Dracula 2000 falls into this trap -- certainly most of the cast was picked for their looks, and there is an almost sickening shilling for Virgin Megastores and the bands on the soundtrack (one sequence -- that really adds nothing to the movie -- has Dracula watching a Monster Magnet video on the side of a Virgin store). However, the movie redeems itself somewhat with a unique take on Dracula's origins (though it still doesn't fully explain where he came from, or how his unique "birth" could lead to his death in the film) and some nice bits of gore.
Refreshingly, Dracula 2000 also loses a lot of the annoying self-referential humor present in many recent horror pictures. There are also a few Hong Kong-ish touches throughout the movie -- Peter Pau's (one of Hong Kong's best lensmen, most recently having worked on Crouching Tiger) cinematography gives the film a unique look compared to other US horror movies, and there's a bit of wirework thrown in that highlights the vampires' strength without going over the top.
Dracula 2000 isn't a great movie, but at least it won't leave you with a headache, wondering where your money went -- something which, sad to say, seems to becoming less and less common in Hollywood nowadays. Even though it failed to make a dent at the box office, this movie at least warrants a viewing if you're a horror/vampire fan and want to see a new take on the Dracula mythos.
RATING: 6
A review of the DVD for this movie can be found here