APOSTLE OF DRACULA ** Spain 2012 Dir: Emilio Schargorodsky 84 mins
I have always had a love for Euro horror and especially Spanish horror and although the scene isn’t as fruitful as it once was, every now and again one comes out of the woodwork. This brings us to APOSTLE OF DRACULA, which as you can tell from the title is another attempt at keeping that old bloodsucker on the screen.
It follows a young woman called Lucy, who is being stalked by people who she at first doesn’t realise who they are. Only through her dreams and visions does she remember who she is and what her stalkers are after. Dracula of course has his fangs in her and will stop at nothing to make sure she won’t leave him. Cue the rather rotund Van Helsing who is attempting to save Lucy and to rid the world of evil including old Dracula. With his sidekick to help him, they head to the castle for the final showdown of good versus evil. Its hard to pull off a gothic style horror with a limited budget and while at times this film succeeds, it does suffer as it does try to do more then what the budget can stretch to. One of the main elements of the film that really works is the use of shadow which at times makes you think of the German expressionist horror film NOSFERATU (1922). It is well acted with special attention to be given to Paul Lapidus as Van Helsing and Nathalie Legosles as the unfortunate Lucy. This isn’t to the standard of a Jean Rollin movie or the eroticism of a Jess Franco movie, but it does capture what is missing from alot of horrors these days……atmosphere. Be sure to pick up the release by Wild Eye Releasing because as an extra included with the film is an interview with Jess Franco and he has alot to say about this film and its director.
Review by Peter ‘Witchfinder‘ Hopkins
