Dario Argento's Dracula 3D (2012)

[Rik]

Originally Posted by sghawken

Never realised this had been released on DVD/Blu anywhere. No UK release though!

I'm sure it will be awful, but must give it a view!

It's a great comedy

[Prince_Vajda]

It isn't.

I wonder when people will finally accept that Argento's entitled to shoot films with a twinkle in his eye.

[JAMIOUSE]

While i was watching this the other night I made a few mental notes -
Awful opening titles
Dreadful scrore
What's with the Lighting / grading
Asia please put your clothes back on
How do Mina and Lucy even know each other?
If Dracula can just appear why bother with the wolf, flies and praying mantis?
Bad wigs
closing credits song that would be embarissing for even Eurovision

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Yes, it's sad that such a great director has fallen so far.

It seems to happen to a lot of the Italian greats though towards the end of their careers. Unfortunately studios are not as trusting with giving these once visionary directors free reign to express their ideas nowadays, plus there is the matter of budget constraints, and of course the cheapness of CGI compared to practical effects often leads some of these production companies or film-makers into temptation...

I can't recall whether I've already posted my thoughts on this one, but here is a mini review I wrote when I first viewed the film back in March this year:

"A plodding, meandering, mess of a story mixed with bland and uninspiring performances and some of the worst CGI I've seen in the last few years is how I'd sum up Dario Argento's take on the Dracula legend.

To be fair, I went in with low expectations. Having not made a decent film since 2001's Sleepless (and even that wasn't nearly as good as some of his earlier work), and having seen the trailers, I was expecting Argento's latest feature to be pretty uninspiring.

My presumptions were (unfortunately) proven to be correct. A shame, as I am a huge admirer of Argento's work; many of his films have captivated and enthralled me, and I rank some as highly as any classic within any genre of cinema... but, he really needs to pack up his director's chair and call it a day, before the bad start to outweigh the good.

Still, on a positive note, it is slightly better than Giallo... but that is like saying getting punched in the face is preferable to being kicked in the balls."