Barnes & Noble

Wes Craven gave horror a gooey facelift with 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street and then self-consciously slashed it to shreds with the late-'90s Scream trilogy. So it's not unexpected that the horror maven was eager to produce another pass at the vampire legend, Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000, if only to provide a bookend to the 1995 Eddie Murphy star vehicle he piloted, Vampire in Brooklyn. Here, he injects fresh blood into Bram Stoker's classic legend, with his frequent collaborator Patrick Lussier (who edited Vampire in Brooklyn) handling the directing chores. The film introduces a crew of mastermind thieves, led by Omar Epps and Jennifer Esposito, who break into an antiques house and uncover centuries of trouble after unlocking the resting place of Dracula himself (Gerard Butler). Mild-mannered antique dealer Simon (Jonny Lee Miller) ventures to New Orleans to stop the Count before his bloodthirsty tendencies turn the Big Easy into the Vampire Capital. Along for the ride is the great-grandson of the infamously courageous Van Helsing (Christopher Plummer), who enjoys the added incentive of protecting his daughter Mary (Justine Waddell) from the Count's ravenous advances. As the chase builds, Dracula initiates several mistresses, played with villainous glee by Star Trek: Voyager's Jeri Ryan and Colleen Fitzpatrick (better known to graduating high-schoolers as pop diva Vitamin C). Though it doesn't do for the vamp mythos what Scream did for teen-slash tales, Dracula 2000 still has more than enough frightful fun to sink your teeth into. Jason Bergenfeld

All Movie Guide

In this loose reinvention of the classic Bram Stoker novel, the Count (Gerard Butler) is transplanted to the present day, after a brief prologue where Van Helsing (Christopher Plummer) captures Dracula and conceals him in Carfax Abbey, where he remains for many years. In the future, Carfax Abbey is contained within an office building where Van Helsing's been using Dracula's blood to stay alive in order to guard the evil secret. After a band of thieves, led by the malevolent Marcus (Omar Epps), attempts to seize Dracula's remains, the Count escapes to New Orleans, where Mary Van Helsing (Justine Waddell) currently resides. Mary is eventually persuaded to fight Dracula with the aid of a reluctant Simon(Jonny Lee Miller), one of Van Helsing's employees, all while trying to escape the newly-made vampires of Marcus' gang and a zealous TV reporter (Jeri Ryan). The film also features Lochlyn Munro, Jennifer Esposito, Vitamin C, and Danny Masterson in supporting roles.

Jason Clark

Product Details

• UPC: 065935830085
• Source: ALLIANCE CANADA
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Editions: Dubbed
• Time: 1:38:00
• Sales Rank: 25,253

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Dracula 2000 / Tale of Mummy