Director: Ted Nicolaou
Year: 1991
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
Arriving at a Romanian castle, several American scholars visiting the area to study relics left behind when they come across a resurrected vampire looking to take over the family legacy of terrorizing the area while his brother attempts to stop him in order to protect a long-held pact.
Review:
This was quite the enjoyable vampire entry. One of the more enjoyable aspects of this one is the fact that there's an overbearing and relentless Gothic atmosphere throughout the film. The setting at a real castle, complete with the rocky terrain, wooden cabinets, stone construction and Olde-World charm, really manages to make this one feel like it's lost in that time-frame. It really helps to sell the shenanigans later on with the idea that this type of location forces these action scenes to emerge which is where this one really gets plenty to like. The idea of the vampires confronting the students inside this large setup causes some great scenes of the initial confrontation with the demonic creatures he creates from his fingers, the race to stop him from feeding on the clueless girls sleeping in the cabin while he drinks them at his leisure and the glorious scenes of the vampires crawling out of their crypts or coffins to create some stunning visuals.
Likewise, the inclusion of the series of folkloric customs and traditions shown to be practiced here, from the celebration within the town looking to overcome the illness of the locals which includes all the jovial music and dancing with people in their costumes as well as the intent behind their actions to other scenes featuring the different methods of combating the vampires around them. The last half is where this one really whips up some incredibly fun action with several storylines converging at once to leave quite an impression, from the turned friend now attacking them as a vampire, the chained-up one stuck in the basement being tortured by the demonic beings under his control to the series of battles across the castle with the brides and the creatures. The big battle in the underground hideout where this one really manages to generate some entertaining confrontations and battles between the two sides while putting their tactics to good use in the right place.
The cast here is adequate for the type of film presented. Anders Hove steals the show as the evil, lovelorn vampire Radu. His expressive face, coupled with that eerily hoarse whispering voice and extra large clawed hands, helps make an even more indelible impression as he's one of the more intriguing vampire creations which is quite appreciated here. As the blond scholar, Michelle McBride does well as Lillian. Initially an upbeat and somewhat carefree type, she grows a little more reserved and respectful once things start getting more dangerous. Her colleague, the brunette Michele played by Laura Tate, is the true lead of the group and does a great job here. Being the respectful and intelligent member of the group, the fact that she becomes the object of affection is no surprise and she handles the few action scenes nicely. Local escort Mara is played by Irina Movila and doesn't really do much to stand out either way. Mostly being the official translator to the villagers, she later plays the damsel-in-distress role with some convincing moments overall. Top-billed Angus Scrimm has what amounts to a cameo as King Vladislav by only appearing in the opening and then being killed off. Otherwise, the cast doesn't really embarrass themselves at all. Alongside some fine nudity and a tolerable amount of gore, these help hold this one up over it's few minor issues.
The film's main problem is the fact that there's just not a whole lot of action throughout the first half here to really dig into. The halting nature of the action showing them running around meeting the castle drags on with a lot of fine Gothic atmosphere but little else, and that really highlights how taken aback the main vampire really is. He doesn't really do much beyond looking intimidating, and the few chances he gets to really let loose are always interrupted so it doesn't really feature any kind of threatening main vampire to dive into. He has no real backstory and it somewhat negates his presence by not really knowing anything about him until the later half of the film when it finally reveals everything. The other real issue is the low-budget feel that doesn't really let this one get any kind of real intense feel with it's overall appearance since there's not a whole lot of blood and gore and the make-up effects are inconsistent which drags the look of the film down somewhat. Otherwise, there's not much really wrong here.
Overview: *** 1/2/5
With only a few minor areas that hold this one back, it's got more than enough to really hold itself up with it's more engaging positives which really manage to make this one of the finest Gothic vampire efforts. This is certainly recommended to fans of the style or enjoy the more vicious side of old-school vampire efforts while those that are put off by these style of films should heed caution.
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