This film is Dario Argento's take on the Dracula story, with more than a few detours from the traditional telling. Detours, sadly, that are never in a positive direction.
I was first able to sit in for an advance screening of the film, but then everything went haywire about thirty minutes in. Even from that much, the evidence was clear that this was a disaster.
We can safely say this is the low point of Argento's career. Although he has been declining since "Sleepless", if not earlier, this is the new low and I find it hard to believe such a low mark will ever be beaten. Not even Rutger Hauer and music from Claudio Simonetti can save this stinker.
The dubbing is poor, the acting is weak and the film opens with a terrible special effects shot. I would describe what I saw as one notch up from the films that The Asylum makes -- and a very small notch at that! This does not instill confidence and I wish Argento would retire if he no longer has it in him, as his legacy is being tarnished.
Since first writing this, I have seen the film in its entirety, and if anything, it gets worse. More terrible effects, a plot that plods along at a slow, tiresome pace... and what is the deal with the praying mantis?
Again, while I appreciate having a score from Claudio Simonetti (and not a bad score, either), this cannot cover for such a terrible film. What Argento might consider "sexy" strikes me as simply gratuitous and without style. The reputation of Argento will be forever tarnished.
I was first able to sit in for an advance screening of the film, but then everything went haywire about thirty minutes in. Even from that much, the evidence was clear that this was a disaster.
We can safely say this is the low point of Argento's career. Although he has been declining since "Sleepless", if not earlier, this is the new low and I find it hard to believe such a low mark will ever be beaten. Not even Rutger Hauer and music from Claudio Simonetti can save this stinker.
The dubbing is poor, the acting is weak and the film opens with a terrible special effects shot. I would describe what I saw as one notch up from the films that The Asylum makes -- and a very small notch at that! This does not instill confidence and I wish Argento would retire if he no longer has it in him, as his legacy is being tarnished.
Since first writing this, I have seen the film in its entirety, and if anything, it gets worse. More terrible effects, a plot that plods along at a slow, tiresome pace... and what is the deal with the praying mantis?
Again, while I appreciate having a score from Claudio Simonetti (and not a bad score, either), this cannot cover for such a terrible film. What Argento might consider "sexy" strikes me as simply gratuitous and without style. The reputation of Argento will be forever tarnished.