Hypertensive, overblown and was done better several times already.

Rating: Null/10 (12 May 2004)

Much too much of everything except good plot and characterization. Peter Cushing is still the best Van Helsing, and Christopher Lee the most believable energetic Dracula, and Lugosi cannot be beat for suave and subtle sex appeal. This new Dracula didn't know whether to be Lugosi or Lee, and the whole sub-plot of Vlad the Impaler is thrown away. The wolfmen (there are three) try to bring pathos to their curse, but Chaney, Jr and Oliver Reed both did it better. And remember when the Frankenstein monster was the most fearsome creature in the Universal arsenal, not some weak sister as portrayed here, a complete waste, typically following Universal's attempts to make this monster a kiddy attraction. They forgot that the creature was fearsome when he had the mind of a murderer. This was all done better in House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula, where the climax in those two films was the re-animation of the Frankenstein monster, feared by all and second to no other supernatural creature. The werewolf/vampire battle looks like a rip-off of Howling 6: the Freaks, where it was also done better and on a smaller budget. And for well-written, well-acted, and literate monster film making, clearly the Hammer films still are the best and likely will be for many years to come. Let's hope that they don't dust off the Creature from the Black Lagoon for this type of re-make!