LET’S GET PHYSICAL: BLOOD FOR DRACULA (1974) ***

FORMAT:  4K UHD

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

ANDY WARHOL’S DRACULA  (1974)  ** 

(As posted on July 17th, 2007)

Udo Keir was pretty good in Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein, but he makes an awful Dracula.  The whiny, weak, pathetic Count goes to Italy to look for a virgin, or “Wirgin” as the Count pronounces it.  You see, he’s sickly, and the only thing that can keep him alive is virgin blood.  He stays with a family who has three virgin daughters and tries to put the bite on them.  Unfortunately, the socialist handyman (Joe Dallesandro) screws them all before Dracula can get to them.  Drinking “tainted” blood causes the Count to puke and whine some more.  Despite a lively climax in which Dallesandro chops Dracula up limb from limb before finally staking him through the heart, director Paul (Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein) Morrissey pretty much drops the ball.  It isn’t nearly as gory or as fun as Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein and is way too long and boring to boot.  Look fast for Roman Polanski who has a bit part in a pub.  Kier later played a vampire in Blade.  

AKA:  Blood for Dracula.

2024 CRITICAL REAPPRAISAL:

BLOOD FOR DRACULA  (1974)  ***

Blood for Dracula AKA:  Andy Warhol’s Dracula is one of those movies that have grown on me in time.  The first time seeing Udo Keir’s performance was a bit of a shock, but I think it was Paul Morrissey’s intention to subvert the Dracula trope.  After decades of screen portrayals, we expect Dracula to be suave and sinister, not pathetic and weak.  That goes along with the classist ideals of the movie.  Dracula has the title of Count and is aristocratic, and yet it’s the low-class servant (Joe Dallesandro) who is handsome and virile.  His quest for a virgin bride is likewise a subversion of our expectations.  Dracula’s need for virgin blood isn’t so much a lurid addition to the usual vampire lore, but more of a social commentary on old-fashioned men’s expectations of women, and their shock when realizing they have embraced the sexual revolution.  So, seen as a commentary on changing social and sexual mores, it works.  As a traditional bloodsucker flick, it’s less effective, but not without merit. 

I spent a lot of my original review comparing the movie to Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein.  That’s kind of unfair.  That flick was a real showstopping shocker, especially in its 3D version, which was released a while back by Vinegar Syndrome. (I never reviewed the 3D version, but I may go back and review the 4K if I wind up running out of 4K movies for this column.)  This one is a quieter, yet amusing experience.

4K UHD NOTES:

Severin did a great job on this release.  They retained the filmic qualities during the soft-focus scenes, keeping a fair amount of grain.  Other sequences are razor sharp and look like they could’ve been filmed yesterday.  The bountiful extras (which even include the soundtrack CD) make it a must for fans.