Dracula Bites the Big Apple

The blood is lacking in Transylvania, so Dracula gets on a plane and heads to the night city New York for new blood. However to this city seems harder to dominate. This wonderfully winning 22-minute comic spoof short film was the starting point for director/writer Richard Wenk and would get the producers interested in him for creating their film "Vamp (1986)". It was shot in 3 nights for just over $5,000 after he graduated film school, and he cooks up a funky and odd episodic story, which is broken up by it's random nature and funny sight gags within the authentic locations of New York. The vivid nightlife backdrop comes across as a character of its own. The light-hearted, silly humour seems to hit the right spots and the inventive script is bursting with often funny lines. There's even an out-of-nowhere musical number of "dancing in the moonlight" that's rather amusing! Also Studio 54 and its owner Steve Rubell make an enjoyable appearance. Wenk keeps it moving at a brisk pace and does a stylish job with what his got to work with, and a pulsating music score with some nice familiar cues give it much added energy. Peter Loewy's pulpy performance is picture-perfect and always compelling as Dracula, which you're just waiting to see what he does next.

Located as an extra on the Special edition DVD of the movie "Vamp", this 22 minute short is what got Wenk the job doing that film in the first place. It has to do with Count Dracula leaving Thansyvania for New York for it's "pulsating night life". Watching it in 2005, it has dated well at all and is way too shrouded in the '70's a decade that any sane person wish didn't exist due to the crappy music, fashion, presidents, and narcissistic attitude. Yup, I loathe the "me decade" with a passion. What does this have to do with the film you ask? Well i'm stretching to meet the 10 minimum line requirement, which is hard to do when dealing with ultra-crappy short films.

My Grade: F

I'm baffled as to how this bonnefied masterpiece has gone unnoticed by movie goers and critics alike. It is one of those few films that will genuinley change your life and your outlook on the human condition. From the opening credits you know this is no mere movie, not just pictures on a screen. It's a poigniant tale of an outsider, a loner in a new and strange land. Dracula is missunderstood, that's what this film's all about, if we could just see beyond the teeth and the outragious accent, perhaps we'd see a man as frightened as the rest of us, just searching a big world for a little love. It's a message we'd all do well to take note of, don't just let this movie teach you to look beyond the assumptions you've made about undead counts, let it help you to do the same with all the creatures of the night, be it werewolves, zombies or just really big cats. So go, see Dracula Bites the Big Apple, and let it teach you, let it mesmerise you and let it be free..........please, just let it be free. Dracula bit the big apple, and in doing so, bit his way into our hearts. May you leave the cinema enlightened having experienced the beauty, the magic and the chins, this 'fish out of water' masterpiece has to offer. Go now! BE FREE! DRACULA HAS RELEASED HIS CHILDREN!!!

In 1979 there was a vampire comedy/parody, which was called "Love at First Bite", about Count Dracula who left his castle in Transylvania and went to swinging New York. Despite the fact that this movie is quite popular and gets good reviews, I personally didn't like it. Not funny at all and not at all a good use of the location and contemporary atmosphere of NYC. Via the extras on the BluRay DVD of "Vamp" (1986) I now discovered that - in the same year 1979 - another comedy/parody was made with the exact same plot. I think this film, by "Vamp" director Richard Wenk, is a lot better and not just because it's only a short film and is therefore finished after 25 minutes. No, "Dracula bites the Big Apple" contains a few hilarious moments and New York itself also feels much more authentic. My favorite part is still the melancholic intro, in which Dracula has to leave his beloved castle because he has literally sucked all of Transylvania dry. There are also jokes that don't work, but the highlights are Renfield running all across NY behind a taxi because Dracula's coffin is still inside, Dracula chasing a victim and just when he's about to strike she's getting a surprise party for her birthday and - of course - the best singalong version ever of the song "Dancing in the Moonlight"

Dracula (Peter Loewy) travels to New York for a change of scenery.

In retrospect, this film is perhaps best known for opening the door to "Vamp". But, really, it is a fine film in its own right, and in some ways far funnier. Both Dracula and Renfield are fun, corny characters. This could have been a cheap-looking film,but actually ends up looking pretty darn good for a small project.

The real mystery, at least to me, is how they got away with the music rights. Presumably, the first time around, they just used music and didn't bother to pay anyone. But what about in future DVD and Blu-ray releases? Other films have been held up for music rights (heck, "Freaks and Geeks" was bogged down hard)... so how did they do it?