Oh, c'mon. It was a *spoof*!

Rating: Null/10 (17 May 2004)

I think the people panning this missed the point - it was a spoof! In fact, it was the best one I've seen in a long time. I can't even *begin* to count all of the movies it spoofed and referred to, but I'll attempt to start a list (SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!!!!):
* The monk^H^H^H^Hfriar was clearly James Bond's Q
* Dr Hyde was straight out of "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"
* "If you're going to kill someone, don't talk about it first" is a reference (at least an indirect one) to "Die Hard".
* The opening scene (until Dracula shows up) was a direct reproduction of the original "Frankenstein"
* There was at least one "Star Wars" reference - Van Helsing and Whatsername are about to do something dangerous involving a rope, and they give each other a "Luke and Leia about to swing across the abyss" look.
* Coach. Van Helsing. Holding on for dear life while straddling one of the wheels. Can you say "Indiana Jones"? (which was, of course, referring to a much older movie involving a stagecoach)
* Another "Star Wars" ref: Dracula's little helpers were clearly Jawas.
* Roomful of slimy eggs? Thing slowly reaching out of one of them behind one of the unsuspecting characters? Now *where* is Sigourney Weaver when we need her?
* And of course, there's always Van-Helsing-the-werewolf "shink"-ing out his claws a la one of Hugh Jackman's most well-known characters ...
I'm sure I've missed some, but you get the point.
This was not a "Good Movie". The point wasn't to be the best vampire movie ever (or to have the best vampires or effects or whatever) - it was to have *FUN*!!!!!!!!! And I'd say that it succeeded (as so many movies rarely do) in being both a fun movie *and* an excellently done spoof/homage.