Dracula III: Legacy

 Dracula III: Legacy

I kept coming across Dracula III: Legacy for a while now. So, I figured why don't I check it out. I mean how bad can it be? It must be better than cringing at the cheesy Gila Monster and whatnot, right? In the end, it turned out that the movie was alright. Enjoyable and something to recommend for a 'I am at home with measles, what should I watch' day. Here goes.

The movie itself is a continuation of the storyline in two other Dracula-based movies – Dracula 2000 and Dracula II:Ascension. The third part was directed by Patrick Lussier and stars big names like Jason Scott Lee, Diane Neal and Rutger Hauer.

Then comes the story. As far as vampire movies go, this one was quite decent. You get the fighter priest, Jason Scott Lee, who is following the steps of Dracula. By that I mean hunting him down for atrocities committed, people kidnapped and all that, not putting up his poster on the wall and emulating him in front of a mirror. With a mean sickle like that, vampires bewareFunnily enough, that latter concept comes into play much later in the movie.

So the oldest fang-boy known to man is back at his castle in Europe somewhere and he still has the scientist lady, Elizabeth, from the last movie in his entourage. Muscle-man/priest is after him and he has a sidekick, the usual 'I'm geeky and scared to hit anyone' guy. Alright, so the latter is useful in most situations and he also helps bring up the cheesy one-liners. Everyone has a part to play in the movie. Which brings up the female reporter they run into during their little Dracula hunt in Europe.

Everyone else has some use in a vampire flick but this one really grated on my nerves. The fighter priest was, of course, the man with the plan, whip and nasty sickle-boomerang weapon …. not to mention a weird blood bond with Dracula. There was depth, there was mystery with this guy. By the way, am I the only one who kept thinking Castlevannia when Jason Scott Lee kept attacking folks with the whip? At the very most, you wondered if he would crack and start slobbering when fighting Dracula. Then there was the funny sidekick. He acted as the moral compass, striking a balance between being non-annoyingly good and plain irritating. I'm pretty sure he snuffed out a few vampires on their journey but priest guy kept stealing the show so I couldn't really tell. There were some bad collector types, you know folks who find fresh blood for Dracula. These guys add a bit of thrill to the movie. Not much, but it was one more opportunity for good guys to show off. Even Dracula was appealing, in his own 'I am really macho' way.

But that reporter girl, Julia! If there is one character that really gets to you in this movie, it will be her. I'm not complaining about the acting but rather the role that was assigned to that poor woman. She alternated between being helpless, acting tough (but really being a neurotic mess) and using emotional tactics on the main Dammit, how do we get rid of her?fighters. That last bit was particular annoying and rather telling of her overall role. There she is, holed up in an abandoned building with one of the good guys. They are worried about vampires following them and they don't know where Mr Boomerang Priest has gone. Suddenly, the cameraman who was part of the reporter's crew, starts knocking on the door. Of course, the wisecracking sidekick who was stuck in there with her kept warning her to be cautious. But no! Julia was in a frantic rush to open the door. Think emotional blackmail and not listening to reason. Forget the fact there there might be vampires and that camera guy might have given up his day job to walk with creatures of the night. Well, what do you know, once they let him in, they find out that he is one of them. And what happens? Julia is pretty useless and the sidekick has to save her.

Honestly, when Dracula ends up kidnapping Julia in order to bait the fighter-sidekick duo, you are relieved. A part of you hopes that maybe Elizabeth is saved and Julia will dissipate in a puff of dust. Well, the good guys reach the castle and have to fight Dracula. By that I mean priest man does; the sidekick has to save Elizabeth. It turns out Dracula has been rather bored and has played dress up with Julia. Thus, the woman is now all dressed up in a fancy gown and matching shoes. Wow, Dracula may be rather butch in a biker sort of way but he has surprisingly good taste in women's attire. That reflects well on fang-boy as I found that he was a bit too testosterone-ish. I mean throw him into a WWF ring and he would be right at home there. None of this slick, slender, somewhat androgynous look that is more becoming of a vampire. Funnily enough, some critics actually preferred the manly look of this Dracula. Go figure. Well, can Jason save the day? Will he kill Dracula and put Julia out of her misery? Or will he give into temptation? Not much of a cliffhanger really. Like I said, watch the flick to find out more but be sure to save it for a sick day.