The single most surprising thing about this ambitious and lavishly mounted X-rated take on Bram Stoker's popular tale of legendary vampire Count Dracula is that it works a lot better as a fairly faithful porn remake of the 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi than one might expect. Director Phillip Marshak offers a flavorsome evocation of the period setting, makes excellent use of an actual sprawling castle, and manages to generate a reasonable amount of spooky atmosphere. The sincere script by Darryl Marshak and David Kern for the most part treats the premise in a relatively serious manner, but still adds a welcome element of self-parodying humor. The bang-up cast of tip-top Golden Age adult cinema heavyweights helps a whole lot: A bearded Jamie Gillis portrays Dracula with great aplomb and assurance, a positively ravishing Annette Haven projects an achingly pure and fragile quality as the virginal Mina, and Serena simply sizzles as the brash Lucy, plus there are sound contributions from Paul Thomas as the effeminate and sexually frustrated Jonathan Harker, John Leslie as worried sanitarium supervisor Dr. Arthur Seward, Kay Parker as Arthur's loyal and concerned sister Dr. Sybil Seward, John Holmes as the lusty Dr. John Stoker, Seka as the sassy Nurse Betty Lawson, and William Margold as sarcastic hipster asylum orderly Henry. Richard Bulik has a field day with his juicy role as the unhinged Renfield while Reggie Nalder keeps his dignity and exudes a properly authoritative presence as formidable vampire expert Van Helsing. Hanania Baer's pretty cinematography boasts several funky stylistic flourishes. Lionel Thomas's elegant score provides a real sense of class. A solid little effort.
Review of Dracula Sucks
Dracula Sucks
(1978)
Effective hardcore version of the famous horror story
9 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers