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It’s October again—time to haul out your favorite costume, carve up a pumpkin, and settle in for some scary movies. Maybe you’re in the mood for a creepy ghost story—or a slasher flick. But, for a familiar scary story from a classic horror director, you might want to seek out Dario Argento’s vampire thriller Dracula 3D.
Dracula 3D is Argento’s take on the classic Bram Stoker novel. The story begins as Jonathan Harker (Unax Ugalde) travels to a small village to help Count Dracula (Thomas Kretschmann) catalogue his extensive library. Jonathan’s wife, Mina (Marta Gastini), arrives in the village shortly after her husband, but she chooses to stay with her friend, Lucy (Asia Argento), who has fallen ill.
It soon becomes clear to Mina that something strange and sinister is happening in the village—and Lucy’s father, the mayor, encourages her to enlist the help of Abraham Van Helsing (Rutger Hauer), the only man who can bring a stop to it.
A few decades ago, Argento was the director of horror films. Now, however, it seems as though the Italian director is still making movies for a time long past—a time of hokey effects and pulpy melodrama. The film was obviously made on the cheap, as evidenced by the opening sequence, which travels through silly CGI sets that look more like a video game from the ‘90s—or maybe the pre-visualization graphics stolen from another film’s pre-production team—than a completed scene from a modern movie.
The atmosphere of this modified classic is dark and eerie and definitely creepy, but it’s hard to get caught up in it when you’re constantly distracted by cheap CGI and unexpected wackiness. The action, meanwhile, is sometimes shockingly violent—but it’s hard to take it seriously when each gory scene is drenched in fake blood that’s a disturbing shade of fuchsia.
While it’s pretty clear that Argento and his cast took the project seriously, you’ll often find yourself laughing out loud at the unexpected insanity—from the sudden, over-the-top violence to the twisted little surprises. The cast is appropriately melodramatic and over-the-top—except for Kretschmann, who seems to have walked onto the set from a much better film. The talented actor is a true professional—and even when he’s transforming into an odd-looking wolf or chomping into an unsuspecting victim, he handles the role with class.
Of course, there’s still something strangely entertaining about this cheap and cheesy horror flick—something that could make it worth watching late at night, after a few strong drinks. But if you’re looking for a memorable take on the classic Stoker novel, it’s best to look elsewhere.
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