Dracula 2000

Year of release : 2000

Run time : 1h39m

Genre : Horror / Action

Cast : Gerard Butler, Justine Waddell, Jonny Lee Miller, Jennifer Esposito, Vitamin C, Christopher Plummer

The movie is loosely based on the 1897 Bram Stoker novel, Dracula.

The movie opens with the Demeter ship who’s crew was slaughtered at sea.

In 2000, Matthew Van Helsing is a rich antiquary who buys artefacts that he either sells to others, or he keeps to himself, based on how much he likes them.

Simon is his employee, who finds him the antiquities. He is aware of the Van Helsing name and legend, but Matthew ridicules it, saying his “poor grandfather” was a country doctor with an antique business.

Solina is Van Helsing’s assistant, that Simon wants to date. She tells him she doesn’t date men she works with.

We find out minutes later it’s not true, as Solina and her boyfriend orchestrated a heist with their friends, as she thinks Van Helsing is very rich, considering the amount of security and large vault.

The trick is on them, as all they can find is a silver coffin they can’t open, in the pursue of which 2 of their friends lost their lives, as it was booby trapped.

They take the coffin with them, on a private jet, and one of them manages to open it with his blood. After which he is k1lled by the being locked and chained inside.

The being kills all the men and hypnotizes Solina into drinking her blood.

Later, a tv crew of two, the last ones to film at the plane crash, are attacked by Dracula, again, the woman reporter being hypnotized into having her blood drank.

Matthew Van Helsing has a secret, as he has been keeping this creature for a century as his prisoner, as he can’t k1ll it, and he used leeches to suck its blood, to inject himself with Dracula’s blood, to prolong his life until he finds a way to k1ll him.

Unluckily for him, the blood was transmitted to his daughter, Mary, who has been having visions of Dracula ever since she can remember, thinking herself crazy.

Once out, Dracula can almost enter Mary’s reality, and finds her, as he wants her as his main bride (he has 3 brides, Solina,the reporter, and Mina, Mary’s best friend, whom he charmed when he went looking for Mary, who ran away when she sensed him), as he says no one is like him in the world but her, for his blood runs through her veins.

Dracula k1lls Van Helsing, and Simon ends up taking his torch, sort to speak, going after Mary, to save her.

I personally enjoyed the movie. I loved the vision scenes (they were very well done), the new take on who Dracula is. That was so cool and original!

The movie has beautiful colors, it looks beautiful and polished.

Gerard Butler is a beautiful and sexy Dracula. He really looks good with the hair he has in this movie ,he should have kept it.

The actors were good.

Shane West has a small role as the camera guy at the plane site crash.

The soundtrack by Marco Beltrami was good, I really liked the serene choirs.

The visual effects were great, they still stand the test of time.

The movie grossed a little over 47 million dollars against a budget of 54 million dollars, being a box office flop .

You can find the movie on the Dailymotion platform.

Rating : Worth a watch!