"WES CRAVEN PRESENTS: DRACULA 2000"
(2000) (Jonny Lee Miller, Justine Waddell) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
None	Extreme	Extreme	*Extreme	Extreme
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	Moderate	Extreme	Heavy	Extreme
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	None	Mild	Mild	Extreme

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QUICK TAKE:

Horror: A modern day vampire hunter travels to New Orleans to hunt down Dracula who's escaped from his century old imprisonment to search for a young woman with whom he shares a special bond.

PLOT:

It's 2000 London and antiques dealer Abraham Van Helsing (CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER) has an oldie but a goodie securely tucked away in his subterranean vault, or so he thinks. Unfortunately for him, one of his employees, Solina (JENNIFER ESPOSITO), has arranged an inside theft job that's to be carried out by outsider Marcus (OMAR EPPS) and his team of high-tech thieves including Trick (SEAN PATRICK THOMAS), Nightshade (DANNY MASTERSON), Eddie (LOCHLYN MUNRO) and Dax (TIG FONG).

When they eventually arrive in the inner sanctum of his vault, however, all they find is a booby-trapped and seemly impenetrably sealed coffin. Figuring it must be filled with something valuable to warrant such security surrounding it, the thieves remove the coffin and head off for the Caymans. Of course, Van Helsing knows that the coffin really contains Dracula who's been contained within it for the past century or so. As such, he sets out to retrieve the vampire, telling his assistant, Simon (JONNY LEE MILLER), to stay put and run the shop.

Meanwhile, in New Orleans, Mary (JUSTINE WADDELL) is a young record store employee who's been plagued by nightmares and bizarre dreams about Dracula ever since she was a kid. Her housemate, Lucy (VITAMIN C), thinks Mary just needs a man in her life, but Mary truly believes she's going crazy.

When the thieves' plane crashes not far away after the rejuvenated Dracula (GERARD BUTLER) has killed or turned the robbers into more vampires, however, Mary soon discovers the truth behind her dreams. With Van Helsing arriving to save her and capture Dracula, and Simon following him to figure out what's going on, it's only a matter of time before the vampire finds Mary. From that point on, Van Helsing and Simon do what they can to stop Dracula and the many new vampires, including local TV reporter Valerie Sharp (JERI RYAN), that he's created.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

If they're into vampire/Dracula movies or are fans of anyone in the cast, they probably will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R

For violence/gore, language and some sexuality.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER plays a very old antiques dealer who sets out to find and retrieve Dracula from finding his daughter after the vampire is removed from his high-tech vault.

GERARD BUTLER plays Dracula who kills or turns others into vampires, hates anything to do with religion, and beds several women.

JONNY LEE MILLER plays Van Helsing's assistant who fights with and/or kills various vampires while trying to save Mary. He also uses strong profanity.

JUSTINE WADDELL plays a young woman whose dreams of Dracula are a harbinger of her connection to him.

JENNIFER ESPOSITO plays one of Van Helsing's employees who coordinates the robbery of his vault. She later becomes a vampire and accordingly acts sensuously in various scenes.

OMAR EPPS plays a thief who seems to be in charge of raiding Val Helsing's vault. He uses strong profanity.

VITAMIN C and JERI RYAN play two women turned into vampires who then act sensuously toward Simon.

SEAN PATRICK THOMAS, DANNY MASTERSON, LOCHLYN MUNRO and TIG FONG play Marcus' fellow thieves.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a quick look at the content found in this R-rated horror film. Since it's about vampires, it should come as no surprise that it's filled with extreme amounts of vampire related violence and blood/gore. No only are there the standard vampire biting into necks moments that result in bloodletting, but several vampires are also graphically beheaded and two men are graphically impaled by rows of spikes.

Other people are hit and/or knocked/tossed about, a vampire is graphically shot with a gun and other similar violence and bloody moments occur throughout the film. The perpetrators of such acts - the vampires - obviously have bad attitudes, and all of those scenes and other more traditional "look out" horror moments might be unsettling, suspenseful or even scary to some viewers.

Profanity is listed as extreme due to the use of at least 16 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also used. Some sexually related comments are made, while various female vampires act in sensuous/seductive fashions and show ample amounts of cleavage. Parts of two sexual encounters are seen (including brief nudity and some rolling around), while other brief, nonsexual nudity is also present.

Should you still be concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your family who may wish to see it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings for specific examples of what occurs in the film.

For those concerned with the repetitive flashing of bright lights on the screen, many instances of that occur (sometimes in near strobe-like fashion) in various scenes during the film.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

None that we saw, although it's possible someone among the many Mardi Gras revelers in several scenes could have been drinking.

BLOOD/GORE

In a scene set in 1897, we see a large sailing ship where everyone onboard appears to be dead and rather bloody from what's presumably a vampire attack.

Van Helsing takes a leech, inserts a needle into it and draws out some blood. He then injects it into his bad looking arm (scarred and vein-riddled from too many other previous injections).

After two sets of spikes suddenly impale two men, both the spikes and the men are bloody, while we also see blood splatter onto others and objects around them. We then see the pools/streams of blood running backwards and then into a coffin, as well as more blood on and around the victims.

A man who's trying to open a coffin accidentally cuts his finger that's then bloody. A drop of it then runs backwards and into the closed coffin.

We see a discolored and bad looking corpse inside a coffin.

A man steps down onto a leech, splattering blood everywhere.

A man opens a coffin to find a very bloody body inside it. Dracula then grabs him and we see blood splatter onto a wall.

We see blood on Dracula's teeth and mouth after he's bitten several people.

Marcus shoots Dracula several times, and while we see several bloody bullet holes in Dracula's chest (from which he digs out one bloody bullet), the vampire is otherwise unharmed.

Mary has a vision of a dead and bloody body.

A TV cameraman sees a small bloody cut forming along a reporter's neck (he can't see Dracula doing it since he's invisible on TV, just like in mirrors).

We see several vampires that have blood on them.

Van Helsing has a little bit of blood on his head.

In a flashback scene, we see various men impaling Dracula with rods, one of which also partially impales Van Helsing and is a bit bloody when he pulls it out.

We see blood filling the inside lining of Marcus' eyes. We later see the same thing with Dracula.

There's blood on the end of Simon's knife after he stabs a vampire. Moments later, Simon spins around and decapitates the vampire and we see the head flying through the air and landing in a dumpster. We also see that Simon has a bit of a bloody nose.

Mary pulls a sheet off a bed to reveal a pool of blood that's dripped down the side and she then sees a bloody body under the bed.

After partially falling through an old coffin, Mary pulls her hand out to reveal it covered in some bloody looking goo.

We see a lot of blood in Solina's mouth as well as on a woman's neck she's just bitten.

A vampire knocks Simon to the ground. In turn, he stabs the vampire in her cleavage (resulting in lots of blood and her death).

We see blood on another victim's neck as well as Dracula's hand.

We see a flashback to Dracula in bed with a woman who's in her bra. She then runs her nail along his throat, drawing blood that she sensuously sucks up.

Simon has some blood on his face and then his neck after a vampire appears to bite him (and she has blood on her lip).

We briefly see a headless body as well as the severed head of a vampire who's just met their demise.

We see another severed head.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

Dracula obviously has both, as then do all of his vampire minions. For those with strong Christian beliefs, the character's disdain for God and Christianity (as well as a later revealed connection to Christ) might be offensive.

Marcus and his team have both for attempting to rob Van Helsing's place, along with the help of Solina (who works for Van Helsing).

FRIGHTENING SCENES

The young and those who are easily frightened will probably find what's listed here, as well as the overall film, as scarier than more hardened viewers. That said, scenes listed under "Violence" and/or "Blood/Gore" may also be tense or unsettling for some viewers.

Marcus and his crew slowly enter Van Helsing's gargantuan vault and note the many vampire skulls positioned in the walls. As some suspenseful music plays, Solina then notices the open vault door and slowly makes her way inside, presumably unaware of Marcus and his team in there.

Once inside the main vault, the thieves find a sealed coffin, but believe it to contain a treasure worthy of stealing rather than a body. Moments later, two sets of spikes suddenly impale two of the men.

We see one of Mary's disorienting and bizarre dreams that show some vampire images.

A long sequence where a man tries to open a coffin (both are on a plane), finally does so and sees a dead and gross looking corpse inside, along with many leeches on the body - one of which briefly attaches itself to the man's eyelid - and then the many attacks by Dracula on various people (as well as the slowly looking around moments) may be scary or suspenseful to some viewers.

Simon and Van Helsing have various close calls with vampires that suddenly come to life one by one out of the body bags holding them.

Mary suddenly sees a priest who now looks like Dracula.

Mary returns home and then gets a creepy call from Lucy. As such, Mary then slowly makes her way through the house, eventually encountering a dead body under a bed.

Mary encounters various female vampires, some of which crawl along the side of a wall. Dracula then shows up and chases after her, alternating being himself and a wolf.

Mary tries to hide from Dracula in a cemetery (including crawling into a crypt).

GUNS/WEAPONS

Crossbow: Delivered by Simon to Van Helsing.

Stun gun: Used by a man to render a security guard unconscious.

Various old vampire weapons (spike shooting musket and rifle, etc.): Seen in Van Helsing's cabinet and later used by him and others to threaten, wound or kill vampires.

Explosives: Used by Marcus' team to blow a hole in a wall and escape.

Handgun: Used by Marcus to shoot Dracula several times.

Knives: Used to stab or behead vampires.

Handguns/Shotguns: Carried by police.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "Mind f*ck," "Unf*cking believable," "Quit f*cking around," "What the f*ck?" "F*ck me" (nonsexual), "Bullsh*t," "I don't need this sh*t," "Idiot," "Bastard," "What the hell is/was that?" "What the hell is going on?" "Frickin'," "What the hell are you?" "Screwed up," "What the hell does that mean?" and "Who the hell was that?"

JUMP SCENES

The sudden sight of a vampire skull in a wall might startle some viewers. Moments later, someone then grabs Solina who just spotted that skull.

A mask suddenly falls down onto someone.

A vampire suddenly grabs Simon.

Various lights suddenly short out when Mary turns them on.

Lucy suddenly surprises Mary.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

An extreme amount of suspenseful, ominous and/or scary music plays during the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

A song had a lyric that was something like, "I kill everything that makes you…" while another had at least 1 use of the "f" word.

PROFANITY

At least 16 "f" words, 3 "s" words, 1 slang term for male genitals ("c*ck"), 1 slang term for breasts ("t*t"), 6 hells, 6 uses of "G-damn," 4 each of "God" and "Oh God" and 1 use each of "Jesus," "Jesus Christ" and "Oh my God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY

We briefly see images of Mary in her high-cut underwear.

Talking about Mary's dreams, Lucy starts to tell Mary, "If you had a man in your bed…" and Mary then finishes the thought that she wouldn't need the man in her head.

A voluptuous TV reporter suggestively asks if the cameraman got her "t*ts" in the shot, and she shows cleavage while doing her standup bit.

Now a vampire, Solina asks Simon if he knows why he never had her. She tells him that it's because the Brits like to sweet talk and romance women and then says, "All I like to do is suck." She suggestively licks his face while telling him this.

As Dracula walks along the streets during Mardi Gras, some people hand out cards advertising X-rated material (we briefly see it but it appeared only to show scantily clad women). We then see the silhouetted figures of two women dancing together behind a screen and they're obviously nude.

While being interrogated by police, Solina acts in a sensuous manner and tells a cop that she can see the outline of his "c*ck" in his pants and that he shouldn't pretend that he's not interested in her. She then goes on how it's a special thing to be chosen, and while doing so she both raises up the gown/shirt she's wearing and lowers its top down along her shoulder (although we don't see any nudity) while making sexually related sounds.

We see some very brief images of women dancing around in bikinis and others wrestling in what looks like a music video. We also see topless women whose breasts have been obscured with fuzzy spots on the screen.

We see Dracula on top of a woman in bed (as well as her pleasured reactions) as they roll around under the sheets (and then levitate into the air). After we see parts of her bare breasts, we see a brief shot of them in their entirety and he bites into her neck in a sensuous fashion.

Lucy complains to Mary that the latter had Dracula every night in her dreams and never shared. She then adds that it is better than chocolate.

We briefly see a woman's bare breasts as she flashes them to others on the street during Mardi Gras.

We see three female vampires who, based on the way they look, are dressed (revealing clothing with cleavage) and are photographed, look like Centerfolds acting sensuously. One of them asks Simon if he ever dreamed of "making it" with a TV star. When Mary later appears to bite his neck, they act even more sensuously.

We see a flashback to Dracula in bed with a woman who's in her bra. She then runs her nail along his throat, drawing blood that she sensuously sucks up.

SMOKING

None that we saw, although it's possible someone among the many Mardi Gras revelers in several scenes could have been smoking.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

We hear that Mary's mother is dead and that Mary wasn't taken away from her father and hasn't seen him in twelve years.

A woman must deal with finding her father dead, but beyond the initial shock of that, little is then made of that.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

The whole Dracula legend and how this film tries to tie it into the story of Jesus and Judas.

VIOLENCE

In a scene set in 1897, we see a large sailing ship where everyone onboard appears to be dead and rather bloody from what's presumably a vampire attack (we don't see the acts, just the dead and bloody bodies).

Marcus' team enters a building, using a stun gun on one security guard and something else that hits a guard in the face (and emits some powder) and knocks him out.

Marcus picks up a vampire skull and throws it onto the floor where it shatters. His crew then freezes a padlock and breaks it off.

Two rows of spikes suddenly impale two men, instantly killing both and spilling/spraying a great deal of blood.

Marcus' team uses explosives to blow a hole in a wall and escape. Solina then holds a gun on some of the crew and tells them that they're not leaving without a coffin.

A man who's trying to open a coffin accidentally cuts his finger that's then bloody.

A man steps down onto a leech, splattering blood everywhere.

Dracula hits a man on the head and then grabs him by the throat.

Dracula grabs another man and we see blood splatter onto a wall.

Marcus shoots Dracula several times, and while we see several bloody bullet holes in Dracula's chest (from which he digs out one bloody bullet), the vampire is otherwise unharmed. Dracula then grabs Marcus and we see them struggling through some strobe-like lighting effects.

We see that a plane has crashed in a swamp (which was carrying Dracula and the others), but we don't know if anyone was killed (since most, if not all of them had already been turned into vampires).

A TV cameraman sees a small bloody cut forming along a reporter's neck (he can't see Dracula doing it since he's invisible on TV, just like in mirrors). That woman then runs into a van where she sees video footage of the cameraman being tossed about (and thrown against the van) by the invisible Dracula, who then tears off the van's door.

Van Helsing shoots a spike through a vampire, presumably killing him.

A vampire suddenly grabs Simon and throws him back against a wall. In turn, Simon repeatedly shoots and presumably kills a vampire with many spikes (that we see sticking out of his body).

Van Helsing finds a dead security guard.

Simon stabs another vampire in the eye, causing that vampire to jump out through a window, breaking the glass while doing so.

A vampire knocks Van Helsing to the floor and Solina throws Simon up against a wall.

A vampire falls over a railing to the floor below and Van Helsing shoots Solina in the shoulder/arm with a stake that impales her there. Simon nearly beheads her with a knife, but can't do it.

In a flashback scene, we see various men impaling Dracula with rods, one of which also partially impales Van Helsing.

Solina smashes through a two-way mirror in a police station and yanks a cop through it (either killing him or simply biting him on the neck - which we only hear), while Dracula then attacks a man (which is also only heard).

A vampire grabs Simon and knocks him backwards. He then kicks a dumpster that slams into Simon, knocking him into the side of a van. He then punches him and kicks him across the ground. Simon then stabs the vampire in the chest. Moments later, Simon spins around and decapitates the vampire and we see the head flying through the air and landing in a dumpster.

Dracula slams Van Helsing into a wall and then throws him down a hallway and into a mirror that shatters upon the impact.

Mary discovers the body of a man under a bed who's been impaled through the bed and to the floor.

Simon shoots a spike at a wolf that's chasing Mary, but when the animal is hit, it suddenly turns into many bats that flitter away.

Dracula knocks Simon backwards across a room and onto a table.

We see a lot of blood in Solina's mouth as well as on a woman's neck she's just bitten.

A vampire knocks Simon to the ground. In turn, he stabs the vampire in her cleavage (resulting in lots of blood and her death). Another vampire then strikes Simon on the face with a rifle of sorts, knocking him unconscious.

We see a flashback to a person being hanged.

A vampire appears ready to behead Simon, but instead does that to another vampire. She then stabs Dracula with her knife, while another vampire tries shooting Simon with a stake-firing gun. As Dracula grabs the woman by the neck, has her in what looks like a headlock and then throws her into a large cross, the other vampire fights Simon and the two fall through a window. Moments later, he lops off her head with a knife.

Simon then throws garden hedges at Dracula who catches them and throws them back at him.

A woman wraps a cable around a vampire's neck and then pulls him over the side of a building, somewhat strangling him. She then falls quite a distance to the street below, but seems to be okay.

Sunlight hits a vampire, causing him to catch on fire and become fully engulfed in flames.

Reviewed December 22, 2000 / Posted December 24, 2000

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