Dracula 2000

release year: 2000
genre: horror
viewing setting: home DVD, 3/13/10 and theater 1/10/2001

synopsis: Beneath London lies a massive, secret vault which some thieves break into; unfortunately, the loot turns out to be nothing more than an ancient coffin, which the thieves steal and take to America...but not without incident.

impressions: This wasn't high art, but it was entertaining - highly so. It had blood, violence, scares, humor, references to the classic Dracula story...and it had a good twist pertaining to Dracula's origin. Although the tie-in with the Van Helsing family made sense to the plot, I found myself wishing that the movie had simply been about Dracula running amok in our time. Oh well. This was still a good vampire movie with many of the necessary elements.

something this movie has that no other movie has: A leech to the eye!

acting: Gerard Butler made a good vampire lord: tall, dark, brooding, and with both nobility and attitude. Christopher Plummer did a good job as the old Van Helsing, as did the kid who played his young protege. I wasn't too impressed with the Van Helsing daughter character; she did several stupid things at critical moments.

final word: Pretty good "modern" vampire movie which honors the source material.

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