Happy Halloween.The later movies of Mel Brooks are often considered weaker films, but I strongly disagree. Robin Hood Men In Tights is now seen as a decent film, and I want to take a look at the last movie he was a driving force behind. Dracula Dead And Loving It is a parody of multiple Dracula films as well as aspects of the novel. While often thought of as his weakest film, Mel Brooks actually showed an insight into the horror genre not often seen by most.
The start of the film evokes classic horror imagery and many modern critics like James Rolfe have noted how amazing the opening credit sequence is. The humor is on point right from the beginning by throwing you off from what direction you expect the jokes to take. From pronunciation of certain words, to contrasting Victorian behavior with modern sensibilities and even the problems that Dracula’s powers would have. Yes, the jokes start to become a bit formulaic as the movie continues, and the humor is not as good as in Young Frankenstein, but when it is good, it is very good. The staking scene in particular stands out as one of the funniest, especially with the improvised lines. Quite a few jokes were improvised here and it was all incorporated perfectly.
The characters are played well such as Reinfeild played by Peter MacNicol, who channels Dwight Frye perfectly for his role. His scenes are some of the best and he plays off Harvey Korman’s Dr Seward perfectly. Mel Brooks makes an excellent choice to be Van Hellsing in a parody of the classic portrayals. Leslie Nielsen does a remarkable job as Dracula, and it has been pointed out by many, that when not playing the role as comedy, he is actually very effective in the role and might have made a decent Dracula in a horror movie.
More importantly, Dracula Dead And Loving It is a wonderful tribute to horror cinema. From vampire movies like Nosferatu and Coppola’s Dracula, to horror cinema in genera, there are references galore. Dracula Dead And Loving It is an unfairly hated movie in my opinion. Yes, it is uneven, and some scenes fall flat, but it is far from the mess that it is made out to be. I urge you all to try this if you want a few laughs on Halloween sometime, because it is a witty movie and overall very well done.