A gang of thieves, led by Solina (Jennifer Esposito) and Marcus (Omar Epps), break into Matthew Van Helsing’s (Christopher Plummer) secret vault expecting to find treasure. Instead, they release Dracula (Gerard Butler) who heads for New Orleans and Van Helsing’s daughter, Mary (Justine Waddell). While Dracula adds to his stable of beauties (Jeri Ryan, Colleen Fitzpatrick), Van Helsing and his assistant, Simon (Jonny Lee Miller), hunt him.
Sometimes called Wes Craven Presents Dracula 2000, though Craven had little to do with its making, it is a well paced, slick, update of Dracula, that suffers from being unnecessary. The story had been told two or three times too many before this attempt. Still, if you are looking for nothing new, this isn’t a bad way to spend a few hours. Butler is a sensual, angry, and feral count and is stylish striding down the streets at Marti Gras. Plummer is as good a Van Helsing as any (which isn’t saying a lot), but Miller never gets a hold of his underdeveloped Simon. I should care about him, but I don’t. Luckily, all of the females come off better, particularly Waddell who makes Mary strong, sexy, and a little lost.
This is a surprisingly tame horror film. It was given an R rating, but it’s as light an R as I recall seeing. The gore is low (some vampires lose their heads, but in a neat, non-splattering way) and female, succubus-vamps turn out to be rather pure, doing their heaving within their gowns. A bit more blood and flesh would have improved the film as their lack drew my attention.
The one new item inserted into the predictable story has to do with the origins of Dracula and why he can’t die. It’s a clever twist and almost gives Dracula 2000 a reason to exist. Almost.
It was followed by two direct-to-video sequels: Dracula II: Ascension and Dracula III: Legacy.