"Dracula's Widow" features a 70's soft core sex symbol Sylvia Kristel,who plays the true wife of Dracula.She is something of a monster herself and upon arriving at the Hollywood House of Wax sets about dispatching various lowlifes and Satanists before tracking down Van Helsing's great grandson in order to wreak her revenge."Dracula's Widow" is directed by Nicolas Cage's brother Christopher Coppola.The film is loaded with huge plot holes and there is plenty of cheesy gore to enjoy.The acting is pretty bad and the script is nothing to write about,however if you want to see Sylvia Kristel in her only one horror film you can give this one a try.Unfortunately she doesn't provide any nudity in "Dracula's Widow".5 out of 10.
20 Reviews
Dracula and Coppola Never Seem To Be A Good Combination
Witchfinder-General-66629 January 2008
I didn't expect a masterpiece in "Dracula's Widow" of 1989, but I was still somehow disappointed. Directed by Nicholas Cage's brother Christopher Coppola and starring 70s sex icon "Emanuelle" Sylvia Kristel, "Dracula's Widow" may not look like a promising Horror film as such, but at least I expected an entertaining sleaze and gorefest. My humble expectations were not reached, however, since the film features hardly any sleaze and the gore is existent, but not to an extent that would make the movie worthwhile. The performances are amateurish, of course, but that was to be expected, so I don't regard the lack of acting talent as a flaw. Nothing in the movie really makes any sense, and it is only the joy of seeing Sylvia Kristel as a lady vampire, as well as some pretty funny parts that make the 86 minutes endurable. My favorite character is an old antique dealer who happens to be Dr. Van Helsing's grandson. In the funniest part of the movie, the old fellow, who looks like a friendly grandpa, takes out a hammer in a morgue, driving a stake through a corpse's heart with the words "In the name of my grandfather, I destroy you". Moments like this (and Sylvia) make the movie bearable, but it is definitely quite tiresome, even though it's not even 90 minutes long. This was the first "Dracula" attempt by a Coppola family member, Christopher's famous (and usually brilliant) uncle Francis came along with a kitschy and over-hyped mainstream Dracula film in 1992. As far as I am concerned, the Coppolas would be well advised to keep their hands off the Prince Of Darkness in the future. "Dracula's Widow" is only recommended if you really have nothing better to do.
Amusing Piece Of Crap
domino10031 November 2003
I saw this film back in 1989 and bought it at a video store for $1.00. I feel the same way about this film as I did back then: it's craptacular!
The SFX is crappy (ESPECIALLY the make-up)and a lot of the plot is garbage (If Vanessa was so much in love with her husband, how could she not know that he was dead?)and the acting is just HORRIBLE!!! (Sylvia Kristel is just BAD!!!).
Still...
It makes for a fun evening! Just great for a horrible horror movie fest!
The SFX is crappy (ESPECIALLY the make-up)and a lot of the plot is garbage (If Vanessa was so much in love with her husband, how could she not know that he was dead?)and the acting is just HORRIBLE!!! (Sylvia Kristel is just BAD!!!).
Still...
It makes for a fun evening! Just great for a horrible horror movie fest!
A Minion Journey -- Character Spoiler Alert
thetammyjo14 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
When people focus on the character of Vanessa in this movie, they are actually missing the point of the film. This isn't about vampires, this isn't about sex or gore, this is about what it is like to become the enslaved servant of a vampire.
The main male character Raymond, is the owner and operator of a wax museum preparing for a new display about Dracula and vampire in folktales, legends, and popular culture. He accepts an extra shipment of boxes and soon finds himself in the thrall of Dracula's wife, Vanessa. Played by Lenny von Dohlen, Raymond is confused, enchanted, terrified, aroused, and even giddy at various times in the movie. He clings to his humanity by clinging to love of his girlfriend, Jenny, as he struggles in pure Renfield fashion to resist his own blood lust.
With so much romance about vampires in our literature and films, it was a nice change to see a truly horrific vampiric creature and her nevertheless strong hold over a main character. Too often female vampires are belittled as sexy or subordinate but Vanessa is a real monster and she holds Raymond in her hand, using mental powers on him even while she sleeps, and forcing him to witness her murderous rampages.
While not the best vampire film ever, this hardly qualifies as one of the worst either. If you step back and look at Raymond in the film you may appreciate it on a new level.
The main male character Raymond, is the owner and operator of a wax museum preparing for a new display about Dracula and vampire in folktales, legends, and popular culture. He accepts an extra shipment of boxes and soon finds himself in the thrall of Dracula's wife, Vanessa. Played by Lenny von Dohlen, Raymond is confused, enchanted, terrified, aroused, and even giddy at various times in the movie. He clings to his humanity by clinging to love of his girlfriend, Jenny, as he struggles in pure Renfield fashion to resist his own blood lust.
With so much romance about vampires in our literature and films, it was a nice change to see a truly horrific vampiric creature and her nevertheless strong hold over a main character. Too often female vampires are belittled as sexy or subordinate but Vanessa is a real monster and she holds Raymond in her hand, using mental powers on him even while she sleeps, and forcing him to witness her murderous rampages.
While not the best vampire film ever, this hardly qualifies as one of the worst either. If you step back and look at Raymond in the film you may appreciate it on a new level.
Pointless and forgettable
gridoon6 December 2006
When a film is titled "Dracula's Widow", and we see the title character seducing and killing a guy within the first 5 minutes, what's the point of having nearly half the running time taken up by a police investigation that can only eventually lead to what we already know from the start?
Also, I thought that getting bitten by a vampire wasn't enough to make you a vampire, you also had to drink blood from the vampire that bit you. Ah, never mind, it seems that every movie in this genre is making up its own rules.
Sylvia Kristel is pretty bland in a role that a better actress could have done MUCH more with, wears an awful wig, and doesn't provide any nudity either. The special effects are mostly terrible - when Kristel is in full-beast mode, she looks more like a werewolf than a vampire! The lovely Rachel Jones, as the hero's girlfriend, is one of the film's few bright spots. (*1/2)
Also, I thought that getting bitten by a vampire wasn't enough to make you a vampire, you also had to drink blood from the vampire that bit you. Ah, never mind, it seems that every movie in this genre is making up its own rules.
Sylvia Kristel is pretty bland in a role that a better actress could have done MUCH more with, wears an awful wig, and doesn't provide any nudity either. The special effects are mostly terrible - when Kristel is in full-beast mode, she looks more like a werewolf than a vampire! The lovely Rachel Jones, as the hero's girlfriend, is one of the film's few bright spots. (*1/2)
Rather monotonous and boring...
paul_haakonsen21 October 2022
I hadn't heard about this 1988 horror movie titled "Dracula's Widow" from writers Kathryn Ann Thomas and Christopher Coppola prior to stumbling upon it here late in 2022. And with it being a late 1980s horror movie that I hadn't already seen, and a vampire horror movie at that, of course I had to sit down and watch it.
The storyline from writers Kathryn Ann Thomas and Christopher Coppola wasn't particularly thrilling, and I found very little entertainment and enjoyment in the story as the narrative trotted on in a rather slow and monotonous pace. I gave up on the movie around 1 hour into the ordeal, by then I just couldn't take any more of the suffering.
The acting in the movie was wooden and unnoticably. Sure, I was familiar with Lenny von Dohlen in the movie, but the acting performances were severely hindered by a subpar script, storyline, character gallery and dialogue. So you're not in for a particularly great cinematic experience should you opt to sit down and watch "Dracula's Widow".
Visually then this movie wasn't impressive. It was passable enough, taking into consideration the age and premise of the movie. But for a horror movie, then the effects were not all that great.
My rating of director Christopher Coppola's 1988 movie "Dracula's Widow" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.
The storyline from writers Kathryn Ann Thomas and Christopher Coppola wasn't particularly thrilling, and I found very little entertainment and enjoyment in the story as the narrative trotted on in a rather slow and monotonous pace. I gave up on the movie around 1 hour into the ordeal, by then I just couldn't take any more of the suffering.
The acting in the movie was wooden and unnoticably. Sure, I was familiar with Lenny von Dohlen in the movie, but the acting performances were severely hindered by a subpar script, storyline, character gallery and dialogue. So you're not in for a particularly great cinematic experience should you opt to sit down and watch "Dracula's Widow".
Visually then this movie wasn't impressive. It was passable enough, taking into consideration the age and premise of the movie. But for a horror movie, then the effects were not all that great.
My rating of director Christopher Coppola's 1988 movie "Dracula's Widow" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.
Not bad, except for that "MUSIC"
madnomadtoo-8471621 April 2023
Okay, since I retired I have a LOT of those idle hours, and I'm happy to find amusing moving-picture shows like this one to fill them.
That being said, what is with the incessant synthsizer/organ/whiney thingy playing EVERY SECOND of the movie?
Some scenes call for music, others don't. The music guy for this video never blinks his ping-pong eyes. His philosophy is "Hey, don't forget this is scary -- Hey, don't forget this is supposed to be scary -- Hey, Hey. Hey! HEY!"
My first six wives didn't make this much noise. Even during the disembowelments.
My advice: Turn the sound off, and turn on the captions.
That being said, what is with the incessant synthsizer/organ/whiney thingy playing EVERY SECOND of the movie?
Some scenes call for music, others don't. The music guy for this video never blinks his ping-pong eyes. His philosophy is "Hey, don't forget this is scary -- Hey, don't forget this is supposed to be scary -- Hey, Hey. Hey! HEY!"
My first six wives didn't make this much noise. Even during the disembowelments.
My advice: Turn the sound off, and turn on the captions.
Channeling their Inner Ed Wood...
poj-man23 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
And sucking at that too!
This is just incredibly awful film making by some decent names.
The script is really amateur dreck so there is nothing for anyone to work with. Lines such as "I guess I am a widow"...delivered by Sylvia Kristel like she is reading a teleprompter for the first time...are what Dracula's Widow utters one hundred years later upon learning that Helsing's grandfather killed Dracula. Yep, I'm a centuries old vampire who kills people and drinks their blood...and what I care about is whether I am a widow.
The director and crew were toally incapable of filming any motion. EVERY THESPIAN MUGS TO THE CAMERA IN SOME POSE WHILE DELIVERING BAD LINES! The viewer ends up watching the same 6 people mugging and hamming it up to "build tension" with terrible dialog.
The music contains blatant ripoffs of other films to accent the "build the tenison." I kept hearing Videodrome eerie music over and over and over again.
And what "tension is built?" NOTHING! Tension between 2 detectives who banter at each other about whose case it is with lines such as "I don't know how you became my boss because it sure wasn't because you are a good cop" or "You're through! You'll never work as a cop again!" delivered mugging to the camera while sitting in a 50 cent set smoking a cigarette to look tough.
Every male who hit puberty in the 1970's knew that Sylvia Kristel was the hot Euro babe for the forbidden Emmnuelle flicks. She ain't like that here. It's just stiff necked awful acting in the same outfit! Good golly the crotch rot from outfit never changing must be awful...and it would still be better than her acting!
Every character is an unbelievable low budget DORK! Male and female. They all act stupid and no empathy with the viewer is developed.
Ed Wood did it better.
This is just incredibly awful film making by some decent names.
The script is really amateur dreck so there is nothing for anyone to work with. Lines such as "I guess I am a widow"...delivered by Sylvia Kristel like she is reading a teleprompter for the first time...are what Dracula's Widow utters one hundred years later upon learning that Helsing's grandfather killed Dracula. Yep, I'm a centuries old vampire who kills people and drinks their blood...and what I care about is whether I am a widow.
The director and crew were toally incapable of filming any motion. EVERY THESPIAN MUGS TO THE CAMERA IN SOME POSE WHILE DELIVERING BAD LINES! The viewer ends up watching the same 6 people mugging and hamming it up to "build tension" with terrible dialog.
The music contains blatant ripoffs of other films to accent the "build the tenison." I kept hearing Videodrome eerie music over and over and over again.
And what "tension is built?" NOTHING! Tension between 2 detectives who banter at each other about whose case it is with lines such as "I don't know how you became my boss because it sure wasn't because you are a good cop" or "You're through! You'll never work as a cop again!" delivered mugging to the camera while sitting in a 50 cent set smoking a cigarette to look tough.
Every male who hit puberty in the 1970's knew that Sylvia Kristel was the hot Euro babe for the forbidden Emmnuelle flicks. She ain't like that here. It's just stiff necked awful acting in the same outfit! Good golly the crotch rot from outfit never changing must be awful...and it would still be better than her acting!
Every character is an unbelievable low budget DORK! Male and female. They all act stupid and no empathy with the viewer is developed.
Ed Wood did it better.
a lot of gore and blood but not frightening
trashgang5 December 2010
Only 8 reviews here online and that for a movie made by Nicholas Cage his brother Christopher Coppola. I give him some credits because this was his first attempt. I really enjoyed the movie because I was surprised by the amount of gore that was in it. But the flick sadly is ruined by Sylvia Kristel. I just couldn't believe her acting. She holds her hands just like Nosferatu (1922). Once she's between a vampire and herself the make up is really laughable but luckily once she's a bat that worked out very well. You will only see it at the end of the movie but that part was really great. It's weird but every time I saw Sylvia I thought, nudity time because she was best known for Emanuelle (1974 - 1993)but here she kept her clothes on, the other females do strip their upper parts. I would recommend it to watch it with friends to start off an excellent horror night.
There's only one Hollywood wax museum, and this isn't it.
mark.waltz30 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Too small fry of a D grade horror film for the famous wax museum on Hollywood Blvd. To make a complaint, this update of the legend of Romania's famous Mr. Toothy is an enjoyable little time filler which has the Coppola name on it, but not the one who was busy preparing his own vampire classic. Some decent special effects shows that Christopher Coppola did get some big studio assistance, but there's more cheese on this vampire burrito than meat, and thus the results are more schlocky than scary, and the overabundance of cliches makes it often unintentionally comical although Sylvia Kristel is a sexy lady of the night whose looks would be copied by Miranda Richardson for "The Crying Game" and Uma Thurman for "Pulp Fiction".
The side streets off of Hollywood Blvd. In the 80's were filled with bars that closed at 2 AM and reopened four hours later, teeny bookstores that had more bugs than customers and females who strolled the streets at all hours. One female isn't looking to offer drunks a good time, but refill her requirement of plasma. The basic plot follows much of Bram Stoker's structure, but the trashiness of the Hollywood atmosphere isn't as gothic as the Carpathian mountains. You've got characters that represent the archetypes from the original novel including a descendent of the original Van Helsing played by "Guiding Light's" Stefan Schnaebel and a very theatrical cop played by Josef Somer.
Then there's a group of dumb Hollywood thugs, a student of vampire legends and his girlfriend, representing others from the book. Lenny von Dohlen is the equivalent of Jonathan Harker, chosen by Kristel to escort her back to her homeland for sinister intentions, but the homeland seems to have been brought over to Tinseltown (replacing London) and placed in a house of Satan worshipers. This is a turn-off as far as the plot is concerned as there is enough Satanic subtlety in the book that it didn't need to be there blatantly. The occupants of the wearhouse are closer to the patrons of the after hours gay club the Probe than a house of evil so that makes it silly and a bit campy. Lots of moments to enjoy, but that doesn't put it in the category of Uncle Francis's now classic take or the hits "Fright Night" and "The Lost Boys".
The side streets off of Hollywood Blvd. In the 80's were filled with bars that closed at 2 AM and reopened four hours later, teeny bookstores that had more bugs than customers and females who strolled the streets at all hours. One female isn't looking to offer drunks a good time, but refill her requirement of plasma. The basic plot follows much of Bram Stoker's structure, but the trashiness of the Hollywood atmosphere isn't as gothic as the Carpathian mountains. You've got characters that represent the archetypes from the original novel including a descendent of the original Van Helsing played by "Guiding Light's" Stefan Schnaebel and a very theatrical cop played by Josef Somer.
Then there's a group of dumb Hollywood thugs, a student of vampire legends and his girlfriend, representing others from the book. Lenny von Dohlen is the equivalent of Jonathan Harker, chosen by Kristel to escort her back to her homeland for sinister intentions, but the homeland seems to have been brought over to Tinseltown (replacing London) and placed in a house of Satan worshipers. This is a turn-off as far as the plot is concerned as there is enough Satanic subtlety in the book that it didn't need to be there blatantly. The occupants of the wearhouse are closer to the patrons of the after hours gay club the Probe than a house of evil so that makes it silly and a bit campy. Lots of moments to enjoy, but that doesn't put it in the category of Uncle Francis's now classic take or the hits "Fright Night" and "The Lost Boys".
Lacking in Several Areas
Uriah4315 January 2019
This film begins with a young man named "Raymond" (Lenny Von Dohlen) preparing to display a new exhibit for his wax museum in Hollywood. Having ordered five crates worth of merchandise from Romania he is surprised to learn that another crate has been added. Since there isn't much he can do about it he signs for the shipment and then proceeds to turn out the lights and retire to another part of the museum as he has already worked for quite a while. Meanwhile, upon noticing that the lights in the building have been turned off, two burglars decide to break into the museum to steal anything of value. What they don't count on, however, is that a vampire named "Vanessa" (Sylvia Kristel) has awakened from her slumber in one of the crates and is quite thirsty. And not long after disposing of one of these burglars she then ventures upstairs to find yet another victim of sorts-Raymond. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, although this film certainly had some potential, it failed to capitalize on it and was lacking in several respects. For starters, although the horror was aided by some adequate special effects, there really wasn't that much suspense. Additionally, the humor wasn't very sharp and the script needed significant improvement as well. That being said, I didn't think that this was a very good film for the most part and have rated it accordingly. Below average.
I like the vampire woman in "Dracula's Widow"
richard_espinor8 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I rented the video "Dracula's Widow" in October, 1989 and I enjoyed watching that video. I am not really sure why I like that move; it may be because I like the cinematography, the atmospheric music, the fact that the vampire woman Vanessa portrayed by actress Sylvia Kristel is not a lesbian and yet a strong heterosexual woman.. Vanessa's victims are males and her male companion is the character Raymond portrayed by actor Lenny von Dohlen. I have read other reviewer's comments and most are critical of the video "Dracula's Widow." Yet, I enjoy watching "Dracula's Widow." I think seeing a strong woman on film may intimidate some male viewers. The story line, the cinematography, atmospheric music, a strong woman vampire, a helpless victim being a male, and a girlfriend fighting to get her boyfriend back help makes the video "Dracula's Widow" exciting for me to watch.
Time For a Vampire Turkey!
gavin694230 November 2012
The young owner (Lenny Von Dohlen) of a waxworks in Hollywood receives six instead of five ordered chests with Romanian antiques. He does not know that Vanessa (Sylvia Kristel), widow of Count Dracula, sleeps in the sixth chest.
Why does this have such a terrible rank on IMDb? I have given it double, simply to spite those people who voted it so poorly. Seriously, people, this 1980s horror-comedy is worlds better than 99% of the films that come out today, and you still rank today's movies above a 5. Geez!
Sadly, Sylvia Kristel (who you may know from multiple Emmanuelle films) passed away recently (October 2012). She really tears it up in the titular role. But Lenny Von Dohlen is no slouch, either, adding the necessary comedy bits. (You hopefully know him from "Twin Peaks" -- and if not, you should.)
Why does this have such a terrible rank on IMDb? I have given it double, simply to spite those people who voted it so poorly. Seriously, people, this 1980s horror-comedy is worlds better than 99% of the films that come out today, and you still rank today's movies above a 5. Geez!
Sadly, Sylvia Kristel (who you may know from multiple Emmanuelle films) passed away recently (October 2012). She really tears it up in the titular role. But Lenny Von Dohlen is no slouch, either, adding the necessary comedy bits. (You hopefully know him from "Twin Peaks" -- and if not, you should.)
Fun B-movie
Chucky_Jr12 August 2014
The owner of a wax museum receives a crate containing the titular character. She makes him her slave and starts to massacre various idiots throughout town. A hard-boiled cop slowly catches on and tries to take the fiend down.
I don't get all the hate for this one. Sure, it's no masterpiece. But as a fun monster flick it works well. Good pacing and suspense. Plenty of gore and cool creature effects. I also loved the cinematography, particularly the use of colored lights. So while it may be a b-movie, it sure wasn't boring. I was entertained from beginning to end. The only bothersome problem in my opinion was the plot, which should've been more cohesive. A better outfit for the vampire widow could've helped to as she looked more like Lois Lane rather than the bride of Dracula.
I don't get all the hate for this one. Sure, it's no masterpiece. But as a fun monster flick it works well. Good pacing and suspense. Plenty of gore and cool creature effects. I also loved the cinematography, particularly the use of colored lights. So while it may be a b-movie, it sure wasn't boring. I was entertained from beginning to end. The only bothersome problem in my opinion was the plot, which should've been more cohesive. A better outfit for the vampire widow could've helped to as she looked more like Lois Lane rather than the bride of Dracula.
An underrated horror classic
jacobjohntaylor12 August 2016
This is not a 3.7. It is a 10. It has a great story line. It also has great acting. It also great special effects. See this movie. It is one of the scariest movies ever made. This movie is scary then The Exorcist and that is not easy to do. This is a sequel to Dracula. It is very scary. It a true horror classic. Sylvia Kristel was a great actress. Josef Sommer is a great actor. Christopher Coppola is a great director. This movie is great. This is one of the best horror movie of all time. It will scary you out of your mind. See it. Lenny v.o.n Dohlen is a great actor. This movie is a must see. Marc Coppola is a great actor. Stefan Schnabel was a great actor. See this movie.
Silly "horror" Movie that doesn't live up to R rating
Bats_Breath18 August 2001
The only reason I am commenting on this dumb '80s B-movie is because this is the first R-rated movie I rented at the video store when I was 14 back in 1990. It wasn't the first R-rated movie I saw in my life, but I remember this was the first one I rented and got away with renting at 14. So I will always remember this stupid piece of filth. I was hoping for loads of nudity and plenty of sex scenes back at that age. I spent the whole time fast forwarding to "the good parts", but alas there really weren't any. There is very BRIEF nudity in here and ZERO sex. Oh yeah, the story sucks too and its not scary or interesting in the least bit.
Boring, even with Kristel aboard
lor_29 March 2023
My review was written in December 1988 after watching the film on HBO video cassette.
"Dracula's Widow" suffers from tired blood. Very minor would-be horror spoof was completed in 1987 but recently sent direct-to-video following the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group's financial collapse.
As the most oft-filmed character in screen history, Count Dracula was spoofed successfully in a spate of films made a decade ago, notably the George Hamilton-starrer "Love at First Bite". New offering unfolds in flat, unfunny fashion as Vanessa (Sylvia Kristel), Dracula's spouse, shows up in L. A. at Lenny Van Dohlen's Hollywood House of Wax museum and starts putting the bite on people.
He informs her the Count is dead, having been killed by the legendary Van Helsing, whose grandson (Stefan Schnabel) soon is out to get her and her minions. Von Dohlen becomes one of Kristel's slaves after she bites him in a friendly way.
Besides the miscasting of character actor Josef Sommer as the hardboiled detective on the case, filmmaker Christpher Coppola never creates the proper atmosphere for either horror or sendup. Kristel's walkthrough is a bore and even he fans will be disappointed at erstwhile "Emmanuelle"'s latterday prudishness regarding sex or nudity (left here to starlets Rachel Jones and Candice Sims). Von Dohlen's affected vocal style doesn't come off either.
"Dracula's Widow" suffers from tired blood. Very minor would-be horror spoof was completed in 1987 but recently sent direct-to-video following the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group's financial collapse.
As the most oft-filmed character in screen history, Count Dracula was spoofed successfully in a spate of films made a decade ago, notably the George Hamilton-starrer "Love at First Bite". New offering unfolds in flat, unfunny fashion as Vanessa (Sylvia Kristel), Dracula's spouse, shows up in L. A. at Lenny Van Dohlen's Hollywood House of Wax museum and starts putting the bite on people.
He informs her the Count is dead, having been killed by the legendary Van Helsing, whose grandson (Stefan Schnabel) soon is out to get her and her minions. Von Dohlen becomes one of Kristel's slaves after she bites him in a friendly way.
Besides the miscasting of character actor Josef Sommer as the hardboiled detective on the case, filmmaker Christpher Coppola never creates the proper atmosphere for either horror or sendup. Kristel's walkthrough is a bore and even he fans will be disappointed at erstwhile "Emmanuelle"'s latterday prudishness regarding sex or nudity (left here to starlets Rachel Jones and Candice Sims). Von Dohlen's affected vocal style doesn't come off either.
very very scary.
Ben Holland12 August 2000
I saw this film some years back and it scared the crap out of me. I mean this movie is a real fright of a film to watch. It flipped me out totally. The whole atmosphere of the movie is dark, wet and dreary and then along comes Dracula's Widow and then things go Red. This is a very scary film and is not well know. If you are here then i recommend picking this one up along with Salem's lot and another film called Vamp. This is really truly scary......... ............by the way all my friends have said that the most scary movie of all time is one called 'The Woman in Black' and was made for T.V in 1989. It is supposed to be totally off it's game.
Can you do Wid or Widowd Dracula's Widow?
Gluck-316 June 2001
Could this have been the very film that inspired the director's uncle, Francis Ford, to make "Dracula" some three or four years later?
We're supposed to ignore other reviewer's comments, but I can't resist mentioning another opinion in these hallowed "comment" pages, where the film viewer sounded scared out of his wits. Fear is a relative thing, isn't it? The shock moments were awkwardly handled for the most part, in this film; note the guard who's sitting by a window, and the monster uses the old "crash through the window" trick (Argento, for example, used this trick a little more effectively in "Tenebre" six years earlier) to make the guard wish he had a guard. How could you crash a window and dig long vampiric fingernails into the victim's neck at the same time? I've tried it, and believe me, it takes some doing.
Then there's the create havoc with over a dozen devil worshippers scene. Talk about one uninspired montage of creating havoc.
A friend lent me this, along with a few other vampire films... he loves vampire films... and I happened to see "Midnight Kiss," another obscure film about bats. As it was made a few years after "Dracula's Widow," perhaps it was Dracula's Widow that inspired it (since Uncle Coppola may have been inspired by Dracula's Widow, why shouldn't the makers of Midnight Kiss?), but I was struck by some similarities. Let's see... vampire bites victim, and victim takes a few days while the vampire virus goes to work. Meanwhile, victim has to wear sunglasses and be tempted to feast on animals. There was even a "morgue" scene, where recent victims get served stake, coming to life as soon as they got the point.
Sylvia Kristel did a credible job as the widowed Dracula, conveying an otherwordly and monstrous power pretty effectively. Raymond, our hero-turned slave (or is it slave-turned-hero?) played by Lenny von Dohlen, reminded me of a Jon Stewart-ish Harry Langdon... the helpless child trapped in an adult's body. He even had silent film star Langdon's eye make-up.
My favorite performer was Stefan Schnabel, who played the grandson of Dracula's famous nemesis, Van Helsing. Boy, what a great ham! He was like a combination of Burgess Meredith as "The Penguin" from the old Batman TV show and Gilbert Gottfried. Josef Sommer was also very solid and watchable, as the police hero. As far as sweet girlfriend Jenny, played by Rachel Jones, at least we get to see her topless in a bathtub scene.
We're supposed to ignore other reviewer's comments, but I can't resist mentioning another opinion in these hallowed "comment" pages, where the film viewer sounded scared out of his wits. Fear is a relative thing, isn't it? The shock moments were awkwardly handled for the most part, in this film; note the guard who's sitting by a window, and the monster uses the old "crash through the window" trick (Argento, for example, used this trick a little more effectively in "Tenebre" six years earlier) to make the guard wish he had a guard. How could you crash a window and dig long vampiric fingernails into the victim's neck at the same time? I've tried it, and believe me, it takes some doing.
Then there's the create havoc with over a dozen devil worshippers scene. Talk about one uninspired montage of creating havoc.
A friend lent me this, along with a few other vampire films... he loves vampire films... and I happened to see "Midnight Kiss," another obscure film about bats. As it was made a few years after "Dracula's Widow," perhaps it was Dracula's Widow that inspired it (since Uncle Coppola may have been inspired by Dracula's Widow, why shouldn't the makers of Midnight Kiss?), but I was struck by some similarities. Let's see... vampire bites victim, and victim takes a few days while the vampire virus goes to work. Meanwhile, victim has to wear sunglasses and be tempted to feast on animals. There was even a "morgue" scene, where recent victims get served stake, coming to life as soon as they got the point.
Sylvia Kristel did a credible job as the widowed Dracula, conveying an otherwordly and monstrous power pretty effectively. Raymond, our hero-turned slave (or is it slave-turned-hero?) played by Lenny von Dohlen, reminded me of a Jon Stewart-ish Harry Langdon... the helpless child trapped in an adult's body. He even had silent film star Langdon's eye make-up.
My favorite performer was Stefan Schnabel, who played the grandson of Dracula's famous nemesis, Van Helsing. Boy, what a great ham! He was like a combination of Burgess Meredith as "The Penguin" from the old Batman TV show and Gilbert Gottfried. Josef Sommer was also very solid and watchable, as the police hero. As far as sweet girlfriend Jenny, played by Rachel Jones, at least we get to see her topless in a bathtub scene.
Has Potential
knifebat18 May 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Francis Ford Coppola did a great job with Bram Stoker's Dracula so I was looking forward to this one directed by Francis Ford Coppola's nephew, however let me say this was Chris Coppola's first feature, and this was filmed before Bram Stoker's Dracula. The plot is relatively simple enough, which is a good thing if you ask me. When an eccentric owner of a small wax museum in Hollywood receives an extra crate which has Dracula's wife, Vanessa in it, all the problems begin. If you like gore, there is quite a bit of it. I'm personally not into that, if the gore was there to show some kind of dynamic between how sensual she is and how violent she can be, it would have been much better for me, but I didn't feel that kind of relationship. The main problem though I have to say is with Vanessa herself. The 80s business suit she walks around in the entire duration of the film seemed like a waste of wonderful possibilities. With Dracula's wife, they could have had historical costumes to something along the lines of fantasy and so on. Her personality was also unattractive, with someone like Sylvia Kristel they could have explored a sensual/dominatrix style character, Dracula is a sex symbol, you would assume that his Queen is similar. The yelling and tantrum like parts were not attractive. The scene with the Devil worshippers was memorable and I wish it was explained a bit better. Always nice to see a Van Helsing in a Dracula film, the part where he is reading an old book about Dracula's wife and acts like it's the first time he's ever read that made me raise my brow. Nice to see the main character's GF sleep walking, for some reason I like seeing sleep walking in vampire films. All in all, it had potential, I would like to see a remake! -2 (for senseless gore and Vanessa)
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