| DRACULA 2000 Director: Patrick Lussier Producer: Wes Craven, Joel Soisson & W. K. Border Screenplay: Joel Soisson |
| Wes Craven 'presents' and produces this modern re-telling of the Dracula story, but do not expect Scream-style postmodernism. Whereas Scream was so refreshing and successful because it acknowledged its slasher-movie progenitors, in Dracula 2000 Bram Stoker's novel seems to be the only fiction on the subject. The characters here have no clue what is going on, even when it has all been explained to them. It is, as the title suggests, the year 2000. A man who seems to be the grandson of Van Helsing (on whom Stoker based his hero) is a wealthy antiques |
| dealer in London. When some American thieves foolishly steal a mysterious silver coffin from Van Helsing's vault, Dracula (Gerard Butler) himself is free once more. The book was true! Van Helsing and his young cockney protege Simon (Johnny Lee Miller) must travel to New Orleans to save Mary (Justine Waddell), a young with a mysterious connection to Dracula. |
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| Drac starts his search in the Virgin Megastore where Mary works, although the name is something of a misnomer here given that the place is staffed and patronised entirely by babes. And they all fall under the spell of the Count, despite his mullet. Dracula has rarely been less sinister, or unsuitably young. He does not have much to compete with though, Johnny Lee Miller is a particularly unengaging hero, and the worst offender when it comes to not even knowing the basics about vampires. About the only thing going for this movie is Dracula unashamedly turning three women into vampires purely to provide some eye candy as they slink about in revealing |
| evening wear. The premise of Dracula waking up in the year 2000 as a sequel to the novel is an intriguing one, but one which sadly is left largely unexplored, as he seems almost immediately at home and in control, and there is little new here beyond one interesting spin on his origins towards the end. 4/10. |
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