Female vampires once ruled the world. Now they are overlooked for glittering guys with big hair. It's time to point out why the female of the species should be the center of attention.
The Gist: A girl attempting to learn the story of Dracula falls asleep and dreams she is in the story.
Clarification: Basically it's just the Dracula story but in German.
Selling Point: see below
Female Vampire Factor: Since it is the Dracula story you get your Lucy seducing Quincy and fanging out for the first time scene.
Then your Lucy rises from the dead and gets staked scene.
But the real selling point of this film is the use of Dracula's brides because on top of your standard scenes of them attacking Jonathon Harker but being stopped by Dracula and your end scene of them being destroyed....
They actually do get some individual screen time. One haunts Harker during his carriage ride to the castle as he's writing to Mina.
One repeatedly seduces Harker and bites him to prevent him from escaping the castle.
and one runs seductive interference allowing Dracula to get to Lucy by detracting and biting the men guarding her.
For that the film gets a Vampire Beauty Rating of 4 out of 5. More brides is never a bad thing in my opinion. This is one Mina fang out scene from a 5.
The Gist: A modern attempt at making a golden age era Dracula film.
Clarification: If you've seen any Dracula movie based on the original novel. This is no different.
Selling Point: See Female Vampire Factor.
Female Vampire Factor: The Brides are front and center in this film.
While their part isn't any bigger than in any other film based on the Dracula novel they're spread out enough that they seem a bigger part as opposed to some film decisions where they appear a couple times near the beginning then you never see them again.
Their desire to get Jonathon Harker after he escapes Dracula becomes a sub plot as they haunt him throughout the movie before eventually finding him.
You also get your Lucy turning scene but it isn't much to get excited about. To be honest it's pretty forgettable for one that is usually the high point in Dracula based films.
I give it a Vampire Beauty Rating of 3 out of 5. Again it's a story that's been around for ages. Wanting to see different people act it out is the only reason to relieve it again.
The Gist: The Count kidnaps Harker, turns Lucy, goes after Mina...you know the story.
Clarification: You see the name Jess Franco and you think vampire films with tons of female nudity. Well, not the case here as he actually stays very true to the novel in this one. In fact there is absolutely no nudity whatsoever in this film. On top of that the female vampires are barely seen at all.
Selling Point: The late Soledad Miranda with fangs!
Female Vampire Factor: As I said this is your basic Dracula story with no extra frills. You get the Brides scene but no sexuality involved whatsoever.
and you get the Lucy turn which as mentioned above Lucy is played by the late Soledad Moranda. One of the biggest disappointments of the film Vampyros Lesbos was the lack of fangs. Probably the biggest disappointment of this one is just her general lack of screen time. In the cases of the Brides and Lucy (post vampirism) they are basically just introduced and killed with no other involvement. This as opposed to the Francis Ford Coppola version which had Lucy's transformation as a long process and used the Brides as part of Dracula's recruiting of Mina.
I give this film a Vampire Beauty Rating of 2 out of 5. Splice Soledad's one vampiric scene from this film into Vampyros Lesbos and it makes that film one of the best vampire movies ever made.
Courtesy of NBC here is the trailer for their upcoming new fall series "Dracula"
There is a quick shot of what seems to be Dracula's Brides here so it's safe to say they should be involved in the show (more than likely a flashback). For more on potential female vampires on the series see my show previewHERE.
So for awhile NBC has been looking to get into the vampire TV show business that it seems all the television networks in the US had dipped their hat in but they've pretty much avoided since the abrupt end of their Dark Shadows remake in 1991. Originally it was believed that this would end up being the dramatic "Munsters" remake "Mockingbird Lane" but that idea was eventually scrapped and reduced to being a comedic one time holiday special.
The more things change the more they stay the same as they have now begun casting for a TV show which centers around the Dracula character in an original storyline. As the preview summary of the show states, Dracula has moved back to London disguising himself as an American entrepreneur named "Allen Grayson" who has a secret vendetta against several people and is using this disguise to get his revenge on them while at the same time doing the normal Dracula lusting thing after Mina Murray.
Now with the exception of the ones based off of the best selling novels such as The Vampire Diaries and True Blood. Vampire TV shows don't tend to last long, ESPECIALLY on network TV. I mean honestly, how many people even knew shows like Moonlight andThe Gates even existed let alone were vampire shows? None the less, if it's anything like The Gates, even if it doesn't make it past it's first season I'm excited for it anyway.
While there are no confirmed vampiresses in the cast yet, we do have characters who we know become vampires in the original Dracula so it should be only a matter of time. Here is the rundown.
Victoria Smurfit (Lady Jane)
The only thing we know about Lady Jane (besides the fact that she was kind of butchy in the GI Joe cartoon) is that she will have a thing for Dracula/Grayson from the start. If you've watched enough Dracula films you know that normally this means she's going to be turned just to shut her up and she'll then be used to help him seduce Mina and run interference on Jonathan Harker. At least we hope.
Katie McGrath (Lucy Westenra)
In every Dracula story ever Lucy ends up a vamp. Unfortunately in every version of Dracula she also ends up offed about five minutes after she turns so we hope that rule gets broken. Lets face it, Katie has the gothic classic vampire look already so I think it's safe to call this one. She's turning.
Jessica De Gouw (Mina Murray)
Now if history tells us anything, we have no chance of seeing this lovely Aussie with fangs unless the show lasts past one season. Otherwise it'll be a lot of flirting and coming really close but no real payoff whatsoever.
With that, there is TONS of potential for this series. Hopefully it'll live up to that potential when it debuts in the Fall 2013 television season.
The Gist: A monster hunter is sent by the catholic church to find out and destroy a group of monsters that are ravaging a Transylvanian town.
Clarification: Every night Dracula's Brides come down from the castle and kidnap select people from the town below. Once Van Helsing comes to down and interrupts that, he becomes hated by the townspeople (who now believe with good reason that Dracula will want revenge) and a marked man from Dracula himself who is using Dr. Frankenstein's research to try to create an army of vampires.
Female Vampire Factor: This Film gets a Vampire Beauty Rating of 5 out of 5. Outside of Wes Cravens "Dracula 2000" this is the only time the Brides have had their own individual personalities and aren't just random fanged chicks in one scene. Also the Brides are treated as Dracula's equals by him which is also a rarity.
Vampiress Cast
The Brides
Silvia Colloca, Josie Maran and Elena Anaya as The Brides
As mentioned above the brides in this film actually have individual personalities which is one of the first things that is noticeable. "Verona" (Colloca/raven hair) is the most mature of the three and keeps the other two in check, Aleera (Anaya/red hair) is the most sadistic of the three which seems to have it's roots to her former human life and Marishka (Maran/blonde) is the one who seems to act very young thus very flirty and careless.
In the year 2000 Horror movie director Wes Craven who is most famous for being the father of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" did what very few film makers have done before and that's modernize the original story of Dracula. Dracula 2000 if anything acted as a "reboot" of the Dracula folklore set in modern day Louisiana. In the story Abraham Van Helsing (being kept alive for centuries via injecting himself with Dracula's blood collected through leaches) had Dracula's body locked in a tomb hidden in his antique shop in London. Unfortunately a group of thieves which included their scout Solina who was working with Dr. Van Helsing while casing the joint, believed the casket with all the security around it contained some type of wealth so after loosing a man to the booby traps decided to take the whole thing instead of opening it to find out the contents. Eventually while on a plane headed to America they open it up and accidentally re awaken Dracula (via one of the crooks getting cut and bleeding in Drac's corpses mouth). From there it's up to Dr. Van Helsing and his assistant Simon to find Dracula and put him back where he came before he does more damage including finding Dr Van Helsing's daughter Mary who he has a connection to because of her fathers blood ritual to stay alive.
This movie spawned two straight to DVD sequals, 2003's Dracula II: Ascension and 2005's Dracula III: Legacy. While a connection is made at the beginning of Dracula II that connects it to the first film (it takes place immediately after the results of the end of Dracula 2000 with Dracula's body going to the coroners office.) The DVD movies follow a different path with the story revolving around a vampire hunting priest named Father Uffizi as opposed to Dracula himself who becomes a bit of a background character.
Vampiress Cast
Dracula 2000 (2000)
Jennifer Esposito (Solina)
Solina may have seemed like just an ultra hot personal assistant at first but by night she was part of an international theft ring. She was sent to case out Dr. Van Helsing's antique shop from the inside and gave the go ahead that he was hiding something "big". Little did she know that her move would set off a chain reaction of events that would lead to the greatest vampire of all time being released into the United States or that she would become the first of the modern day Brides of Dracula.
Jeri Ryan (Valerie Sharpe)
After the coffin thief's plane crashed in a Louisiana swamp, Valerie was the unfortunate reporter sent out to the crash site to cover the story. Oddly enough her and her cameraman seemed to be the only crew left at the site at the time she was reporting. More than likely it has something to do with how easily distracted she was with things like how much cleavage she was showing. Ironically her concern at the time she was attacked by Dracula was how many mosquito's there were in the swamp trying to suck her blood. A few moments later, she becomes modern Dracula bride #2.
Colleen Fitzpatrick (Lucy Westerman)
This is a Dracula movie after all so you have to have a "Lucy" and Dracula needs a third Bride so why not combine the two. The actress formerly known as 90's pop singer "Vitamin C" rounded up the bride crew as the best friend and room mate of Mary Van Helsing. Dracula being the intelligent guy he is decides that the easiest way to get to Mary is through her hot yet extremely desperate for love (aka easy) friend. Once Drac makes the moves on her, she's more than happy to rat out her friends whereabouts and even helps with capturing her. It's not all that bad as she really just wants her buddy to live forever with her. Maybe even in a sort of lesbian sort of way if you go by one of the deleted scenes (below).
Dracula's Brides in Action
Justine Waddell (Mary Heller-Van Helsing)
Mary is the estranged daughter of Abraham Van Helsing. She knows of him but hadn't had contact with him since she was younger. Because of Abraham's method of using Dracula's blood to keep himself alive she too has Dracula's blood running through her veins making her a bit of an obsession for him. Eventually she does give in to him letting him turn her but only to use her new found abilities to save Simon who she had fallen for and who had gotten captured by Dracula's brides.
Dracula II: Ascention (2003)
Jennifer Kroll (twins of evil)
In the opening scene of the straight to DVD film we are introduced to the new hero of the franchise Father Uffizi as he's following (not very fast though she is running and stumbling) a young woman in a gown straight out of a hammer horror film. As a matter of fact this whole scene is in homage of the British studio that brought us the original "Twins of Evil" as just when it looks like he's going to take her out her twin jumps through a window and attacks. They would have gotten away with it to had they not flirted instead of biting leading to their decapitation.
Brande Roderick (Tanya)
Our first (technically second but we'll get to that later) victim of our new Dracula is Tanya who is played by former Baywatch beauty and Playboy PlaymateBrande Roderick. Tanya was part of the genius crew of grad students who once it was found out they had the charred body of a vampire (Dracula) decided to take it and revive it for studying. During their little experiment which included holding Dracula's corpse in a bathtub full of blood he gets up and pulls her in with him (biting her in the process). After her friends bury her in the back yard of the abandoned mansion the experiment was held at she decides she doesn't want to stay buried and a bikini clad Tanya attacks a cop and Father Uffizi while they're investigating what went down at the mansion. Long story short. Uffizi wins.
Daniela Nane
Daniela plays the first victim of grad student Kenny who sneaks way too much of Dracula's blood and fully turns into a vampire because of it. Once Father Uffizi arrives to her apartment she's in a corner distraught that she had fed on her cat. As he begins his pre-vampire killing ritual she fangs out (resembling a cat herself) prior to him decapitating her. For this she is listed in the credits as "Cat-Woman".
Diane Neal (Elizabeth Blaine)
Neal plays Elizabeth in both Dracula II: Ascension and Dracula III: Legacy. Elizabeth is the medical school grad student that works at the coroners offense who receives the body of Dracula in the first place. As she's doing her investigation into the unknown bodies demise she accidentally gets her finger pricked by one of his fangs which comes out when her finger gets close to it immediately infecting her. The rest of the movie she is hiding the fact that she is turning (though very slowly) while also dealing with how her boyfriend was only using her to help him find a cure for his debilitating disease (through vampire blood) and that all her friends are greedy and eventually get killed by Father Uffizi. In the end her only ally is Dracula himself and she chooses life as a vampire over the whole burning to death in the sun ending that the Father tried to trick her into doing. The only other surviving friend "Luke" has a thing for her though and spends the third film looking for her. He eventually finds her and must choose whether to leave her the way she is or destroy her.
Dracula III: Legacy (2005)
Illinca Goia (Marta)
Marta was one half of a Russian vampire couple who was chasing Luke at the beginning of the movie. This is where we find out that Luke has been working as sort of a vampire hunting apprentice to Farther Uffizi. She meets a horrible demise via being run over by a train as the Father uses her to try to find the whereabouts of Dracula and Liz.
Carmen Stimeriu
Carmen plays a mother in the Romanian town that the movie takes place. The town has been ravaged by civil war and vampires and she was a victim of the latter. She meets her doom at the hands of Father Uffizi just as she's about to take a bite out of her own child.
Anne-Maria Caragea
In yet another homage to Hammer Horror Anne-Marie plays a vampire acrobat ala "Vampire Circus". Even cutting her in half didn't stop her from coming after Father Uffizi's throat.
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