Dracula-thon (Part 8)

So, being a cultural institution at this point, naturally, Dracula has been involved with his share of spoofs, and lampoons.

These are those.


The Munsters (1964-1966)

The show-

The Universal monsters in a sitcom.

Herman is The Frankenstein Monster, Grandpa is Dracula, Lily...I never quite figured out if she was a Vampire Bride, or Bride Of Frankenstein with her hair combed down,..and Eddie is a werewolf, but we never saw him change.
And, Marilyn is a normal human, but from the Munster's point of view, she's a homely freak.
Like, the Meg of the family.

Anyway, cute show.
I always liked Addams Family a little bit better.
Munsters tried to fit in, Addamses liked being weird.

Grandpa was the best character, anyway.
And, Al Lewis was awesome in real life.

He hosted the weekend horror movies on USA after they retired Commander USA, and he was fucking great.

They've tried a couple remakes of this over the years, and they're about to attempt another.
I don't want any of that business, leave me out.

The history-

Basic cable as a kid.
They...haven't played it in ages.

So, anyway, this show spawned the film...


Munster, Go Home (1966)

The film-

It's...well...a sitcom movie.
Kind of what you'd expect from say, a special episode of "Married With Children", or "Facts Of Life".

They go to England under flimsy pretexts, there are antagonists...under flimsy pretexts, and, there's a car race.

Also, it's in color.

Shit, it's better than the Simpsons movie....

The history-

Ditto the show.

This was followed many years later by...


The Munsters' Revenge (1981)

The film-

The Munsters are framed for crimes they didn't commit by robot wax dummies of themselves, and have to prove their innocence.
That's about it.
The rest is shenanigans.

The history-

Ditto the other flick, and the show.


The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)

The film-

Directed by, and starring, Roman Polanski.
This is the one where he met Sharon Tate.

If you can overlook that little bit of morbidity, it's an absolute fucking riot.

Dracula isn't exactly in it...but, Count Von Krolock fits the bill in everything but name.
And...we see in the Universal sequels, he uses aliases.
And, Krolock is like Orlock in "Nosferatu".
Just go with it.

The history-

Basic cable again.
Man, cable used to be so much better...
Another one they haven't played in ages.
You kinda have to track it down.
Worth it though, it's really great.


Dracula And Son (1976)

The film-

A French flick I never heard of until researching this.

Features Christopher Lee, and, the lowdown on it is, he agreed to be in it, if he was some other vampire but Dracula.
Then, the filmmakers had to go back on their word, cuz, Dracula is the most known vampire...and it's got fucking Christopher Lee in it, and they had to sell this movie to people, so, they were like, fuck it, and they changed the title, and bits of dialogue in the flick, and made it Dracula.

Sorry Chris, but, you were naive to the point of retarded on that one.

The history-

As implied above, haven't seen it, but, here's the trailer.



Looks dreadful.
...I still want to see it.


Love At First Bite (1979)

The film-

Another personal fave.

George Hamilton is Dracula.
...wait, Dracula with a tan...how can that be?

Anyhoo, this one takes the whole "Dracula as king of sexy romance", thing, and cranks it up a notch, and uses it to kinda knock the lameness of relationships of the 70's.

Also, it openly goofs on the conventions of the other Dracula flicks.

Particularly the Langella one, which, came out the same year.

The history-

HBO and USA took turns playing this to death.
Then, poof, haven't seen it in ages.
Until a couple years ago, when someone requested it at TCM.
It's held up; just as good as I remembered.
Not the best thing ever, but, I think it's a hoot.


The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (1979)

The film-

A.K.A "The Day Dracula Saved The World", (see picture).

A TV Halloween special.
Judd Hirsch is Dracula in this one.

I...do not remember this for the life of me.

*Googles up clips*
Oh,..man, that's SCTV levels of cheesey...I'm not even gonna link that.

The history-

See above.


The Monster Squad (1987)

The film/history-

See here.

Features Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, Wolfman, Mummy, and Creature From The Black Lagoon.

First time, I think, that all these guys were together on the big screen.
Live action, anyway.

Universal had Drac, Frank, Wolfie..and even those were kinda weak sauce, in that...they didn't ever really share much screen time together.

Yeah, Monster Squad might be the best monster-mash of the bunch, actually.

Anyway, the monsters are taken dead seriously, the comedy arises from the human kid characters, like in "Goonies".
So, yeah, this ain't Munsters.


Waxwork (1988)

The film-

Okay, not at all a "hey Moe, look!"" *boing!* comedy, a definite horror comedy.

The premise is, a wax museum with displays of evil figures, like Marquis De Sade, and Jack The Ripper, and, fictional guys like, oh, Dracula, is somehow also a magical time/dimension portal to the real things.
So, Dracula is in this.

Great flick.
Good one for a Halloween marathon.
There's a sequel that gets a bit goofier, and has Bruce Campbell, which I also recommend for the laughs.

The history-

Nicely's.


Dracula: Dead, And Loving It (1995)

The film-

Directed by Mel Brooks, and starring Leslie Nielsen.

Eh, I thought it was a bit clunky first time I saw it, but...I've warmed to it.

Not...exactly as good as "Young Frankenstein", but it's up there.
I think it's under-appreciated, while nostalgia has elevated "Young Frankenstein", way out of proportion.

I think it's a worthy companion.

Definitely love that they ripped on the Coppola version.

The history-

TBS.


Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

The film-

Not a Dracula movie, really.
Why include this?
Nothing to do with the actual Dracula character, but well...this...



And, the followup to that, that they won't let me embed.

A thing of beauty, innit?
;)


And, that's all of that.
I think...probably something I forgot, but, that's the best I could do.

Anyway, up next, Dracula in animation.