WAY OF THE VAMPIRE

After killing Dracula, Van Helsing obtains immortality from the Church to complete his mission and kill all the vampire princes. But after Dracula's death, it seems that something has changed and vampires no longer represent a real threat to humans because they live apart in the darkness and seem to have placated their uncontrollable thirst for human blood. We are in the present, in Los Angeles, and something is preparing to threaten that false peace that had been established between humans and vampires. Sebastin, the last vampire prince and an old acquaintance of Van Helsing as he killed the only woman the vampire hunter had truly loved, is preparing to instigate and lead a new vampire uprising. Van Helsing will therefore have to recruit and train a band of vampire slayers to face the threat of the terrible bloodsucker Sebastian. One could conclude the review simply by informing the reader that with "Way of the Vampire" we are dealing with a new product distributed by the now infamous Enrico Pinocci (EP), a production company that seems interested in distributing in our country only films at the limits of decency, films that turn out to be the highest exponents of the worst dregs produced by cinema. Therefore, those who have learned to know Pinocci among the video rental shelves know what to expect if they decide to self-torture themselves by watching this absurd and pathetic vampire film. It is worth noting first of all that the title of this atrocity is preceded by the suffix "Bram Stoker's", but do not be fooled, this is just a "clever" move to capture some unwary viewer who expects to see a film faithful to the classic Dracula story or perhaps see a sequel to what was "Bram Stoker's Dracula" directed by F.F. Coppola; but do not be misled, this pedestrian vampire film has really nothing to do with Stoker's story. Let's start by drawing a veil of pity over the basic plot: Van Helsing, after killing Dracula, obtains immortality from the Church (??) so he can wander through time until he reaches the present day; and in our time what does the vampire hunter do to earn his bread? He works as a doctor in a public hospital, earning the nickname "Dr. Van Helsing". I think I have already convinced you to stay away from "Way of the Vampire", but if I haven't succeeded yet, let's move on. The film in question shows a notable lack of means, to the point of even arousing tenderness at some points, and even if this could be expected (in products destined only for home video the budget is rarely substantial) there are really few cases in which one comes across films so poor and badly made due to an inexorable lack of means. In fact, while watching "Way of the Vampire" one gets the impression of seeing a film made and improvised among the friends of the bar, in which the parts are assigned out of necessity at the last minute without worrying at all whether an actor is more or less suited to play a certain role (just look at the members of the vampire slayer team). But it is not only the cast that creates problems, of course, for such little! To create problems and to make the film plunge into the abyss, everything collaborates a bit: the story is too rushed due to its short duration (just one hour and fifteen minutes); the dialogues are most of the time ridiculous and with errors (a comparison is made with wasps that die after stinging... but it is not the wasps that die after stinging, but the bees!); fights and action scenes are poorly choreographed; sets are approximate; photography is glossy and definitely inappropriate for the film, but something even worse, in some scenes, especially those set in the hospital, the illusion is created in the viewer of being in front of a soap opera. One would expect at least some good scene rich in blood, just to keep the viewer awake who tends to close his eyes bored, but no, not even that; there are no particularly bloody scenes in the film, but everything is limited to some simple framing of the bloodied fangs. I hope I have managed to give you an idea of what kind of film this "Way of the Vampire" is and to have convinced you to avoid wasting time and money in an attempt to watch this mess of a film. Absolutely to be avoided.