Don't take it too seriously!

Rating: Null/10 (16 October 1999)

*might contain some spoilers* The story of Dracula (a.k.a. Vlad Tepesh) was told in so many different ways, that before seeing this movie you might think :"Oh, great! Fun! Another brainless story about a guy who bites everything that sleeps and eventually somebody feeds him on garlic and he dies." This version of the story, however, is quite different from the others. First of all, the neck-biting & blood-sucking business is not the core of the movie at all. Of course, it's there, no doubt about that. It's a vampire flick after all. The whole film is centered on a love story: when Count Dracula (Gary Oldman) was young (a few centuries ago) he had a beautiful wife. As a result of unfortunate circumstances his wife finished her life in the river. Dracula became a vamp (as a sign of protest). Of course, this is just the beginning of the heart-breaking story. One day, a salesman (Keanau Reeves) came to Dracula's castle (the Count decided to trade the fresh air of his native mountains for the fog and smog of the 19th century London. Vampires are strange beings.) The salesman's wife-to-be, Mina (Winona Ryder) was the living portrait of Dracula's wife (from the movie we can suppose that she's a little more than a portrait. A reincarnation is more exact a term.) The following events are quite predictable. Dracula goes to London, becomes young in the process and the rest, you'll have to see for yourself. The charm of this movie resides in the characters. Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins) is absolutely hilarious (and irritating most of the time) as the cynical, sarcastic doctor. Renfield (Tom Waits) is no less entertaining. Of course Gary Oldman is as great as ever (although his character takes five or six different forms and is sometimes a little difficult to identify). W.Ryder's English accent is quite bad, but it sounds ok compared to K.Reeves' (who is, by the way, the biggest flaw of the movie: not convincing AT ALL) Perhaps the biggest mistake not to commit while watching this movie is to expect something serious. Normally old Dracula's: "I was told that you were a man of good...taste." should be enough to convince you that the movie is a little tongue in cheek. If this fails, wait until you see Dracula's clumsy shadow knocking down ink holders, walking in wrong directions and misbehaving itself in other different ways. If even THIS fails to make you smile wait to see (or rather hear) Dr Van Helsing.
In and out, Bram Stoker's Dracula is very pleasant to watch especially since visually it is quite beautiful. A must see if you're a vampire-flick fan.