Review : ANDY WARHOL'S DRACULA (1974)

Originaltitle : Dracula cerca sangue di vergine... e morì di sete!!!

Country : France/Italy

Year : 1974

Director : Paul Morrissey

Cast : Joe Dallesandro,Udo Kier,Arno Juerging,Maxime McKendry a.o.

Story : 

Count Dracula and his sister are the last of a dying breed in Transylvania.

The only thing that can save them from starving to death is blood.

But not just normal blood,it has to be the blood of a virgin!

And this seems to be the hard part since the moral in Romania decayed and its literaly impossible to find virgins.

Now the count is forced to leave his  ancestral home in Transylvania and to travel 

to Italy with his manservant, under the pretence of seeking a "suitable wife".

Meanwhile in Italy : 

Marchese di Fiore and his family have fallen upon hard times. 

The marchese likes to gamble, and he’s managed to squander just about everything he owns except for the house and its grounds. 

The way his wife sees it, the only hope for the di Fiores is for them to marry off one of their four daughters to somebody as rich as they used to be, and then live parasitically off of their in-laws. 

Fourteen-year-old Perla is too young for marriage, while introverted Esmeralda is too old by conventional reckoning which only leaves the intermediate sisters, Saphiria and Rubinia. 

When Dracula arrives in the di Fiores’ village, and Anton begins to ask around for marriageable maidens for his master, it’s all but inevitable that the two scheming bluebloods will batten upon each other as the antidote to their troubles.

It isn’t going to be nearly that simple, however, because Saphiria and Rubinia are both far away from being a virgin and the impure blood of the girls only causes to the count to get weaker.

Will Dracula get his virgin blood in time that he has not to die from the lack of it?

Rating :

Here we are - it's 2014, and since a few years Vampires have found their way back in style.

Well, hot damn for them - we all knew it would happen sooner or later. 

Since Bela Lugosi redefined exactly what a Vampire is, back in the 1930's, these guys are here to stay. 

However, the current crop of Vamp-entertainment has me a little worried - except DAYBREAKERS from the Spierig Brothes,which was a decent & innovative Vampire Movie. 

So the best thing to do, is ususaly to stick to the roots and look what Vampires from the 1920's to the 1980's have to offer!

BLOOD FOR DRACULA - also known as ANDY WARHOL'S DRACULA or YOUNG DRACULA - is an Italian and French Co-Production.

Director Paul Morrisey deluvers here a free and rather deranged interpretation of Bram Stoker's legendary Dracula tale.

And this one still is today one of the best independent vampire stories - besides George A. Romero's MARTIN -  that was made in the 1970's. 

The sheer brilliance of this film completely lies in the characterization of the bloodsucking count. 

Dracula no longer is a vile and overruling monster here, but a sickly and almost pathetic weakling.

Blood for Dracula is an outstanding Exploitation Film! 

The humor is black as the night itself and the substance is essential viewing for every cult cinema admirer. 

Udo Kier is terrific as the needy count while pretty boy and Morrissey regular Joe Dallesandro has the time of his life portraying the manly skirt-chaser. 

The budget of Blood for Dracula was low (almost non-existing), yet the set pieces and atmosphere-creating elements are great! 

The musical score in particular is beautiful and contains a few gripping piano compositions.

The performance of Udo Kier (BLADE,FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN,IRON SKY,BARB WIRE,SPERMULA) is charismatic,outstanding and to the point.

For this movie i could not imagine any better actor for the part of Dracula.

Arno Juerging as Anton is also astounding.

He allows his character to be somewhat charming and timid while still allowing him to show a vicious tendency. 

He's an unusually memorable aspect of the film that certainly helps to differentiate this picture from other films of it's nature.

Joe Dallesandro is a hero who you don't feel entirely comfortable rooting for. He's a main character whom the writer doesn't mind showing you his sleazy side and he is not entirely likable in this movie.

This film also includes a cameo by Roman Polanski, in the Pub Scene.

Call me crazy, but IMHO the idea behind the movie is truly heartbreaking. 

This is a very tragic, pessimistic, and cruel film and watching it is like watching a weak old man slowly bleed to death in a creek after getting in a bicycle accident. 

The musical score by Claudio Gizzi is one of the great haunting Horror Film Scores of the 70s. 

This score, as well is equally to the powerful score in Flesh For Frankenstein.

BLOOD FOR DRACULA is not as graphic in violence like FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN is, but at the end of the movie you will witness some pretty brutal scenes with an appropiate gore level!

BLOOD FOR DARCULA is beautifully shot, it's evenly paced, it's gory, it's genuinely erotic, and it's not afraid to break your heart. 

If you are a fan of cult horror and you haven't seen this, you are seriously missing out.

8/10 Fangs