Fangs For The Laughter

It sounds good doesn't it? Team up Leslie Nielsen from The Naked Gun series with comic supremo Mel Brooks in a comedy farce about Dracula. Then add the familiar faces of Harvey Korman, Peter MacNicol, and Amy Yasbeck to the support cast and you have a film with lots of promise. Having watched Dracula: Dead And Loving It several times on video I must confess that it is one of my favorite Brooks' films. It's not his best but it certainly stands head and shoulders above most of today's competition. Like a lot of Brooks' humor, this film relies heavily on visual gags; so if you like slapstick then this film has what you want.

Subtle humor isn't Brooks' style. You know that whenever you sit down to watch one of his films that it will be chock full of cartoon-styled violence, characters shouting their lines or falling down, and absurd situations. You also know that despite its juvenile appearance it will be clever. This is because Brooks has a knack for parody. In the past his inspiration has stemmed from westerns, science fiction, history, and popular legends. Obviously this film is a comedy about Dracula, however, Brooks had Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 version in his sights when this film was produced. It's not his finest, but it is one of his better efforts.

Keeping Up Appearances
One of the most striking features to Dracula: Dead And Loving It is the quality of cinematography. Unlike most run-of-the-mill comedies this film is visually appealing. The stars are decked out in attractive period costumes; and the film makers probably owe a debt of gratitude to the British Hammer Films of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Nielsen's Dracula costume is identical to the one worn by Gary Oldman in the 1992 horror flick. The one and only difference is that Nielsen's Dracula is able to remove his beehive hairdo, which he refers to as his "hat". The original score is also surprisingly good.

The Stars
Leslie Nielsen is the unlikely Dracula. I say unlikely simply because he has none of the features people have grown accustomed to when they think of the Count. In genuine horror flicks Dracula is characterized by sharp facial features and a thin, bony body. He always looks mean and undernourished. Compare this with Leslie Nielsen and you will understand why he makes an unusual choice.

In his younger days Nielsen played the tough looking cop, and with his muscular appearance he was more than convincing in the role. While the muscles may not be as toned as they once were, Nielsen still looks more like a footballer than a Count from a mythical European country.

Nielsen's face could never be compared with the genuinely evil-looking Peter Cushing's. Nielsen's nose is large and rounded whereas Cushing's could cut paper. His large dog eyes have none of the cunning or guile which is so familiar in horror films, and his Transylvanian accent is just hilarious. Nielsen adds a slight lisp to Dracula in order to make him even less menacing.

Peter MacNicol plays Renfield. Best known for his role on the dreadful television series Ally MacBeal, MacNicol's character is the most hilarious in the film.

Harvey Korman is Doctor Seward: owner of a privately run sanitarium. Dr. Seward is a great believer in the healing power of an enema. Sometimes twice a day.

Amy Yasbeck plays Dr. Seward's daughter Mina. She is romantically attached to the sexually repressed Jonathan Harker.

Steven Weber is Jonathan Harker: assistant to Dr. Seward. He has been dating his daughter for five years, and during that time he has never touched her. His comments concerning opera are telling:

"The opera is astonishing. The music is fraught with love, hate, sensuality and unbridled passion. All the thing in my life I've managed to suppress".

Lysette Anthony is Dr Seward's ward, Lucy. She was once described as the world's most perfect virgin by Barbara Cartland. So she went and posed for Playboy.

Mel Brooks plays Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Professor Helsing takes delight in shocking his medical students and must always have the last word. It is left to him to unearth the vampire.

Look closely and you will recognize Anne Bancroft playing the gypsy woman in the opening scenes of the film.

The Story
Irish author Bram Stoker penned the tale in the 19th century, and while Dracula: Dead and Loving It follows the basic story line, Brooks' version includes numerous absurd twists. The opening credits include some ugly and rather scary looking sketch drawings, however, this mood is shattered from the first scene.

Traveling to Transylvania to sign over the deeds to a castle, Renfield is hypnotized by Count Dracula in order to make him his personal slave. The moment this is done Renfield is transformed into a sexually perverted, insect eating, madman. When Dracula and Renfield arrive at their new home in England, Dracula carefully enters the lives of Dr. Seward and his family, while Renfield enters a lunatic asylum.

Once at the asylum Renfield quickly acquires a reputation for eating insects. This leads to one of the film's highlights when he is invited to dine with the sanitarium's owner, Dr. Seward. First Renfield eats a bug, then a spider, and finally a grasshopper. Appalled by what he has seen Dr. Seward orders his assistant Martin to restrain him. He says:

"Put him in his straight jacket and give him an enema. Wait! Give him an enema first, then put him in his straight jacket"

When Lucy is mysteriously struck down with an illness Dr. Seward calls upon the assistance of Professor Abraham Van Helsing. We are first introduced to the Professor during a scene where he demonstrates how to perform an autopsy. As he tears out bodily organs, passes them around and then cracks open the skull with a wooden mallet, his students faint one after the other. When no man is left standing he exclaims, "I've still got it!" I suspect this comment made by Brooks is in reference to his own comedic skills, as well as his character's ability to shock.

Staying true to the original story, Lucy, and then Mina fall victim to Dracula. Once Prof. Van Helsing learns of Lucy's new undead state he has trouble convincing Harker:

Harker: "My God! Now she's dead!"

Helsing: "No she's not!"

Harker: "She's alive?"

Helsing: "She's Nosferatu!"

Harker: "She's Italian?"

Unlike the original, Harker is drenched with gallons of blood when he hammers a wooden stake through Lucy's heart. I must admit that this scene does not sound terrifically funny on paper, and I am certainly no fan of gory humor, but transformed to the screen this is one of the high points of the film. It is totally gross and very funny.

Not wishing to give too many more details away I will mention the final scenes of Dracula: Dead And Loving It. When our heroes learn that Mina has been kidnapped by Count Dracula they hatch a plan to rescue her. Realizing that Renfield is Dracula's half-witted servant, Dr. Seward permits him an early release from the asylum. We then witness Renfield running around in a small circle in order to trick those who would follow him to the Count.

"There! You're starting to look like your old self again."
MacNicol is wonderful as the weasel-like Renfield. In the final scene he leads Dr. Seward, Prof. Van Helsing and Harker to the abandoned chapel where Dracula is hiding. He then exposes Dracula to the daylight, and his death. The scene where he scoops up Count Dracula's ashes and draws a smiley face in them is the funniest moment of the movie. The first time I saw this I laughed until I cried. The words in the title above are spoken by Renfield after he has drawn the smiley face.

Count Dracula Is Sexy?
Hammer Films in particular transformed Count Dracula from an evil and terrifying undead creature into somewhat of a sexual figure. In Hammer Films Dracula would always seek the blood of a beautiful virgin, and in many instances the victim would willingly submit to the attacker. In Dracula: Dead And Loving It Lucy is immediately attracted to Count Dracula. Any sexual tension that exists between the two characters is shattered by the sound effects employed in this film. In all horror films the viewer never hears the drinking of blood; it is always quieter than a kiss. However, in this film Dracula sounds like a cat lapping milk and then, after a short while, we hear the sound of somebody drinking the last drops through a straw. Only a select few would ever find this Count Dracula sexy.

Final Words
Dracula: Dead And Loving It is the funniest vampire movie ever made, however, the competition isn't very strong. Having said this I should probably give the film a better endorsement. It deserves much more than this.

Brooks has "still got it" when it comes to making entertaining comedic parodies. His take on Coppola's Dracula is clever, outrageously funny, and at times gruesome. Unlike The Naked Gun series, here Leslie Nielsen shares the laughs much more evenly with his co-stars. Peter MacNicol in particular proves that his talents are wasted on television. To Mel Brooks I would like to say, "fang you very much for this film!" (insert groans here)