While Wes Craven is best known for directing beloved horror movies like A Nightmare On Elm Street and the first four Scream movies, he also produced Dracula 2000. While the film has a talented cast including Omar Epps, Nathan Fillion, Christopher Plummer, Jennifer Esposito, and Gerard Butler, it isn't considered one of the best movies about Dracula. Chances are that many have forgotten about it altogether since it was released in 2000.
Although there are definitely some bad vampire movies out there, Dracula 2000 is one of the worst thanks to a generally dull premise and characters who are lacking development. Wes Craven was one of the most talented filmmakers working in the horror genre. But unfortunately, Dracula 2000 has some problems.
What Is Dracula 2000 About?
Dracula 2000 follows Abraham Van Helsing (Plummer) who travels to the United States to find a coffin that thieves have stolen. Simon Sheppard (Jonny Lee Miller), who is Van Helsing's mentee, goes along with him. Of course, the coffin holds Count Dracula (Butler), who wreaks havoc on the plane ride. The story then focuses on Van Helsing and Simon as they spend time in New Orleans and try to find Dracula.
There are two Dracula movies coming out in 2023 and hopefully they will be better than Dracula 2000, which doesn't do much with the original legend. While there are many vampire movies out there, Dracula 2000 feels more silly than anything else. The characters aren't well-developed and the plot becomes boring once the characters arrive in New Orleans. Dracula fans will also hope for some more visually interesting images of Dracula, who feels pretty lackluster here.
Vampire movies can sometimes all feel the same and the same thing is true of movies about Dracula. There has to be something unique that sets each new film apart, whether that's movie vampires who don't drink blood or a new setting. While Dracula 2000 makes an attempt to create a new, modern Dracula story, with the film set in New Orleans, it doesn't all come together in a cohesive manner.
How Was Wes Craven Involved With Dracula 2000?
Wes Craven was an executive producer on Dracula 2000 and compared to Wes Craven's best horror movies, it's definitely much more lackluster. When looking back on his legacy, horror fans might not even know that he was involved with a movie about Dracula as it has faded into the background over the years.
While Wes Craven mostly wrote and directed, he was an executive producer on several other movies including 2015's The Girl in the Photographs, 2006's The Breed, 2005's Feast, 1998's Carnival of Souls, and 1997's Wishmaster. While none of the movies are as famous or memorable as the Scream franchise, which has many heroes and survivors, they aren't as poorly done as Dracula 2000. The movie also doesn't have any hallmarks of Craven's memorable work and doesn't have anything in common with his other, more popular films.
Why Is Dracula 2000 So Bad?
Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula was released in 1992 and is considered one of the best movies about Dracula. It has a star-studded cast featuring Cary Elwes, Keanu Reeves, Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, and Winona Ryder. This movie manages to be fun and a little campy while still taking the legend of Dracula seriously.
The main problem with Dracula 2000 is that it's corny without being very entertaining or compelling. The movie has a 17% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer based on 69 reviews and a 39% Audience Score based on more than 50,000 ratings.
Another issue with Dracula 2000 and why it's considered a bad vampire movie? Dracula himself isn't terrifying. There are many scary portrayals of Dracula in movies and this is a necessary element of bringing this legend to life. Dracula needs to feel like one of the worst vampires that anyone could ever come in contact with. He needs epic teeth, a memorable costume, and a creepy atmosphere surrounding him. In contrast to more compelling vampire movies, Dracula 2000 offers up a Dracula who looks more confused than evil or determined. This speaks to how the movie can't decide what its tone is. It's tough to take this Dracula seriously, but the movie isn't funny enough to be a comedy.
The scene in Dracula 2000 of Dracula killing people on the plane and causing it to crash is an example of how the movie can't find its footing. It's more silly than terrifying, and that is where Dracula 2000 goes wrong. In order to be a successful adaptation of the famous Dracula legend, it needed to decide if it would be truly scary or funny and campy. Unfortunately, Dracula 2000 just ends up being dull.