Dracula Sucks (Vinegar Syndrome) Review

Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Feature Film, Horror, Comedy, Golden Age Classic Also known as: Dracula Sssucks, The Coming of Dracula's Bride, Dracula's Bride, Lust at First Bite Run Time: 95 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1978 Director: Phillip Marshak (as Philip Marshak) Written by: Darryl Marshak (as Darryl A. Marshak) (screenplay), David Kern (as David J. Kern) (screenplay), William Margold (additional scenes), Mitch Morrill (additional scenes), T. Bell (additional dialog), Bram Stoker (novel) Cast: Jamie Gillis, Annette Haven, John Leslie, Serena, Reggie Nalder (as Detlef Van Berg), Kay Parker, John Holmes, Mike Ranger, Paul Thomas, Richard Bulik, Pat Manning, David Lee Bynum, Seka, Martin L. Dorf, Irene Best, George Lee, Renee Andre, Slavica, Kurt Sjoberg, Ken Yontz (as Ken Michaels), Nancy Hoffman, Mitch Morrill, William Margold Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Widescreen, 1.85:1 (anamorphic) Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

Dracula Sucks is a madcap adult film that could have only been a product of the 1970s. In this part adult film, part horror, and part comedy, Dracula (Jamie Gillis) moves into Carfax Abbey, next to an asylum run by Dr. Arthur Seward (John Leslie). Dracula becomes enamored with his niece Mina (Annette Haven).

Dracula Sucks is an impressive film, to start with, the production actually filmed it in a castle located in the California desert. The use of the castle gives the film a dimension not often seen in adult films. There are some great costumes and props to add to the mood of the film. Although, Henry (William Margold) looks completely out of place with his sunglasses. In an additional interesting move, the director's cut features very little actual hardcore sex. An odd choice, given that the film seems too far out there to really appeal to a mainstream audience.

Dracula Sucks never takes itself too seriously. While some scenes play rather straightforward, others like the asylum basement and its wacky inhabitants are clearly there just for laughs. This leads us to the major downfall of the film, it doesn't ever seem to know what direction it wants to take. At one moment it wants to be a comedy, in another moment it seems to want to be a moody horror emulating those from the 1930s.

Some of this issue I'm sure came in with the five, yes count them five writers, that the film has. Each one obviously changing portions as they went along as the credits go from screenplay, to additional scenes, to additional dialog. These last minute writing changes I'm sure added to the disjointed nature that the final film takes on. For those hoping that since the film credits Bram Stoker for the novel, that it is going to be a faithful adult adaptation — although for those who have read Dracula you will know that a faithful adaptation would have no adult content — there is little connection to the actual novel outside of some of the characters names.

The acting is over the top, with some great performances coming out of the cast. Gillis is great as Dracula, a character he will later reprise for Shaun Costello in 1980's Dracula Exotica. However, it is the adult film character actor Richard Bulik who truly steals the film as the completely insane Richard Renfield.

It is likely that no matter what you go into this film expecting, Dracula Sucks won't completely deliver on the expectation and will offer you an experience unlike what you were expecting. This isn't to say that Dracula Sucks is a bad adult film. As long as you toss your expectations when starting the film and allow it to take you on the journey that it chooses to, the film is fun to watch.

Usually I am very impressed with what Vinegar Syndrome does with their releases, offering the best and the most that I think they possibly can within reason for a release. For Dracula Sucks, I am unsure how I feel on the release, mostly due to what is missing. Before I get into that, I will go into what is here. The first DVD contains the — apparently rarely seen — hardcore director's cut for Dracula Sucks, which was Marshak's original production cut and runs for 95 minutes. Dracula Sucks is presented in the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and generally looks very good. There are instances of print damage and some scenes with heavy grain. Overall, the film looks good though. Dracula Sucks is presented with an English 2.0 Dolby Digital monaural track, which generally sounds good. This disc also contains a feature length commentary track by cast member and additional scene writer William Margold, who manages to explain much of the issues that the production faced.

The second disc contains the also hardcore 74-minute Lust at First Bite alternate version of the film, which has different footage, sequencing, and more hardcore footage than the director's cut on the first disc. The extra “Return to Castle Hill” featuring William Margold and Darryl Marshak attempting to return to the castle shooting location talking about the production. The original theatrical trailer and a German artwork gallery are also included on this disc.

So why my unsure feeling on the release. First off, the omission of the R-rated version. Vinegar Syndrome has stated that they didn't include the R-rated version due to being identical to the director's cut minus the hardcore footage with a disco song over the end credits. It still would have been a nice inclusion on the release, especially for all the people who are familiar with the old Media VHS release. Dracula Sucks has been released with all sorts of run times and even between the two versions included here there appears to be more footage present in other releases that isn't present here. While adding endless version after version would become tedious quickly, the missing footage as an extra would have been nice. While I seem to be overly critical of this release, this also shows how much Vinegar Syndrome has spoiled me with their releases. I remember the day my wish was for just a watchable release of some of these films.

Dracula Sucks is an odd, high budget, and very fun adult film, which could have only come out of the 1970s adult film industry. While constantly trying to straddle the line of mainstream comedy and adult horror, and never 100% succeeding at any of these tasks, the end result is a unique experience that has a lot to offer viewers looking for more than just copulation. The print isn't perfect, but is better than any release prior.

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