The Gratuitous B-Movie Column: Tales of Dracula

The Gratuitous B-Movie Column Issue #616: Tales of Dracula Hello, everyone, and welcome once again to the internets movie review column that has never met a vampire, a werewolf, or a weirdo scientist’s monstrous creation because, well, I just haven’t, The Gratuitous B-Movie Column, and I am your host Bryan Kristopowitz. In this issue, issue number six hundred and sixteen, I take a look at the low-budget, black and white horror flick Tales of Dracula , which was released in late May, 2015. Tales of Dracula Image Credit: Wolfbain Productions Tales of Dracula , written and directed by Joe DeMuro and Thomas Rice, is a true blue love letter to the old Universal monsters.

Featuring the big three monsters (that would be Dracula, the Wolfman, and Frankenstein’s monster), it’s chock full of mood and general black and white movie spookiness, while also seemingly setting up a sort of low-budget franchise of some sort. DeMuro and Rice and everyone else involved in the movie clearly love the old monsters and those early black and white movies and it shows with every minute of their movie. The movie does drag a bit every now and then, but whatever deficiencies it may have are overwhelmed by, again, the obvious love of the moviemakers in what they’re making.



Tales of Dracula basically features four stories that eventually all converge at some point. The first story is Dracula nemesis Von Helsing (Mickey Ray) writing in his journal while riding on a train to, once again, take on Dracula. We see, via flashback, Dracula (Wayne W.

Johnson) mourning the loss of his bride Ingrid (Laura Brink) while also confronting the people that killed her. We then see Dracula say that he will look for a new bride. The second story involves inn keeper Daniel (David Merrell) looking for his missing daughter Ilona (Greta Volkova) in the woods after sending her out to do something inn related (she has a basket and kind of looks like Red Riding Hood and even mentions that that’s who she feels like).

We see Ilona find a dead body in the woods, freak out, and then fall and hit her head on a rock. Where did the dead body come from? Who is the dead body? The third story involves a man named Creighton Reed (Tom Delillo) looking for the castle of Dr. Frankenstein, getting lost on the way, and then interacting with Daniel and his inn employees.

Reed is hoping to talk to Dr. Frankenstein about his ongoing affliction (Reed is a werewolf. Reed carries around a calendar with info on the moon phases and he needs to get help before the next full moon, which is the next day).

And the fourth story involves Dr. Victoria Frankenstein (Courtney Bennett) hanging out in her father’s castle and working on her father’s monster creation (the monster is played by co-director Joe DeMuro). Victoria’s father, the Dr.

Frankenstein Reed is looking for (Reed doesn’t know about Victoria), is apparently “out hunting” and will eventually be back. I don’t want to say any more about the plot of the movie as one of the movie’s great joys is seeing how all four stories converge and how all of the various characters interact. When the movie begins, you think it’s only going to be about Dracula and his search for a new bride.

Wayne W. Johnson’s Dracula is a truly striking figure that you are immediately drawn to, and you want to see how he’s going to get what he wants. There’s more going on in Tales of Dracula , though.

Much more. As we meet more characters and see who they are, the anticipation grows to see when and how they all “fit” into the movie. You know that they’re all going to meet and interact at some point, but how? And how is all of this going to happen in the movie’s 77 minute running time? Now, I will say that the movie doesn’t end with much of anything resolved.

I can’t necessarily call the movie’s ending a full on cliffhanger, but when the screen fades to black you want to know what happens next. Thankfully, based on checking out the movie’s Facebook page (check that put here ), there are at least two sequels coming, so there’s going to be more black and white monster madness. But what happens next? Where the heck is all of this monster madness going to go? The first thing you’re going to notice about Tales of Dracula is the general spooky mood created by the movie’s crisp black and white cinematography.

Cinematographer Mike Rudolph does an amazing job creating a real fear that vibrates from the screen. I mean, how often do we see black and white movies these days? Is the movie going to eventually dissolve to color? It doesn’t. The black and white image helps transport the audience and the story to another time and place.

Black and white in a modern movie is “not usual,” so what the heck is going to happen next? And it doesn’t matter where the story goes (into the woods, inside Daniel’s inn, in Dracula’s castle, in Dr. Frankenstein’s castle), there’s a real uneasiness among the beauty. I love this aspect of the movie.

Tales of Dracula also has some top notch special makeup effects. As I said earlier, Dracula is a truly striking figure here, with a truly harsh and severe face (Johnson’s long hair helps accentuate Dracula’s harsh white face and dark eyes). And when Dracula shows off his teeth, he’s terrifying.

There are moments where you think Dracula may come through the screen. The makeup helps make that seem potentially possible. The eventual werewolf transformation is very much an homage to the 1941 original The Wolf Man and it looks fantastic.

And the look of Frankenstein’s monster sort of resembles the Universal standard, but it obviously isn’t (no one wants to get sued). The grossness and nastiness of the character’s look comes through exceptionally well. I also want to commend the moments of what appears to be stop motion animation of one of Dracula’s many forms.

If that isn’t actual stop motion and is actually CGI of some sort, it’s some of the best looking “CGI/stop motion” I’ve ever seen. Dracula’s castle also has that wonderful “it’s obviously a model of some sort” look to it, but when you see it you think that maybe it could be a real place. That’s how cool it looks.

Image Credit: Wayne W. Johnson The main performances are all quite good. Wayne W.

Johnson does a great job as Dracula. Instead of radiating a dangerous charm, Johnson’s Dracula is an imposing monster. There is nothing remotely seductive about him, he makes Dracula all menace.

A portion of that is due to the harsh makeup used, but it’s mostly because Johnson knows how to inhabit the screen. Johnson’s Dracula is a monster that you don’t want to deal with or have coming after you. It will be very interesting to see how his Dracula performance develops over the course of the series.

Will Johnson’s Dracula become scarier? Nastier? Just how much more terrifying can the top vampire be? Greta Volkova does a nice job as Ilona, the young woman who goes into the woods and doesn’t come out the same. Volkova makes Ilona the most innocent person in the world, and as the story progresses Ilona slowly becomes something else. Is she still innocent, considering what happens to her, or do you have to push that feeling aside because there are more pressing matters? I was a bit surprised by how Ilona’s character plays out.

David Merrell also does a nice job as Daniel, the inn keeper and Ilona’s father. He’s a concerned father that ends up going through some truly terrible things, and throughout the movie you feel for him. You’re also curious as to how he will handle everything that’s thrown at him.

Daniel’s costume is a little weird, or at least it seems that way to me, as Daniel appears to be wearing modern clothes. No one else has clothing quite like Daniel’s. Am I just unaware of the wide variety of clothing options for people during Dracula’s time? Courtney Bennett is fantastic as Victoria Frankenstein, Dr.

Frankenstein’s ambitious daughter. At first, you’re not quite sure what her deal is. Is she continuing her father’s weird beard monster work, or does she have her own monster scheme that she’s working on? It’s oddly fun how she seems to be always flabbergasted at whatever new wrinkle pops up keeping her away from her work.

I am curious to know how people will react to not only her relationship with her father’s monster creation, but what she hopes to accomplish with the creature. I loved it. Joe DeMuro is outstanding as Frankenstein’s monster.

From acting through the considerable makeup to making the creature his own thing, you will definitely remember DeMuro’s creature. And when you realize that DeMuro also co-directed the movie, his performance is even more impressive. Image Credit: Wolfbain Productions Tom Delillo is incredibly interesting as Creighton Reed.

At first, he’s just some stranger walking through the woods. You don’t know who he is and you’re not entirely sure if you can trust him. When you find out that he’s a werewolf and that he’s looking for both help and a place to stay because he doesn’t have much time before he’s going to change again, you start to get worried for him.

Is Reed going to get the help that he needs? Is he going to end up hurting any of the nice people that try to help him? Just what the heck is going to happen with him? Reed’s “condition” provides the movie with a sense of suspense it probably wouldn’t have otherwise. And Mickey Ray is just wonderful as Von Helsing. You think he has things well in hand, as he is the man that has taken on Dracula in the past.

He always seems to be in control, especially when he’s writing in his journal. And then the ending happens. Is he going to get out of it alive? I can’t wait to find out.

I also want to say, based on the performance given by Cassandra Hayes as Elsa, I would love to see a movie about her working at the inn and dealing with the regular day-to-day operations of the inn in the midst of general monster fear. And that would be the whole movie. How do these “normal” people handle all of this weird stuff happening around them? Tales of Dracula is a true wonder to behold.

A well-made, moody love letter to the old Universal monster movies. It’s a little slow in the middle, but the outstanding performances, artistry, and clear love for the subject matter makes Tales of Dracula an absolute must see. If you’re an old school monster movie fan, Tales of Dracula is something that you will want to experience.

You don’t see movies quite like it anymore. See Tales of Dracula . See it, see it, see it.

Image Credit: Wolfbain Productions So what do we have here? Dead bodies : At least 8 Explosions : One Nudity? : None. Doobage : Journal writing. Crucifix to the face.

Face burning. Bodies in coffins. Multiple stakes through hearts.

A serious confrontation. Crucifix crushing. The woods.

Handshaking. Dead body finding. A calendar.

Eating. Booze drinking. A transformation.

Off screen bolt removal. Electricity. Blood removal.

Chain bondage. Off screen monster escape. Talk about a gorilla.

Double barrel shotgun hooey. A funeral. A wooden box.

More journal writing. Train stuff. A funeral procession.

A church bell. A big crucifix. Off screen monster sighting.

A werewolf transformation. A lit candle. Off screen window breaking.

Off screen dog killing. More booze drinking. Attempted dead body fixing.

Coffin stuff. An injection. Mirror hooey.

A box of matches. A surprise meeting. Neck breaking.

A brief monster brawl. Wall breaking. Exploding basement.

A house on fire. Holy water to the face. Kim Richards? : None.

Gratuitous : The movie is in black and white. Stock footage. A body of water filled with lily pads.

Opening a door and wielding a crucifix. Garlic hanging everywhere “for decoration.” Strange looking lab equipment.

Bed making. Snooping. A wax seal.

Ordering coffee while on a train. A tombstone that has “Rice” on it. Hidden whiskey.

Praying to God to stop Dracula. Guy with a dog in the woods. An obvious dummy dead body.

An ending that implies a sequel of some sort. Best lines : “See, Fritz, she is at peace.” “You have spilled the blood of my blood.

I will now have to find a new bride.” “I feel like Little Red Riding Hood with my basket of goodies. Well, watch out for wolves, Little Red Riding Hood.

” “I wouldn’t want to frighten her.” “Victor! You lazy thing! What are you doing taking a nap in the middle of the woods?” “Daniel didn’t say anything about a cross road?” “One more night. I hope Dr.

Frankenstein can help me.” “Call me Creed.” “We’ve got a lot of work to do.

” “Father sends his best.” “Please help her! She’s dying!” “If you can understand me, make a fist!” “I’m a werewolf.” “How could I ever thank you enough? You can’t.

” “Will this hold my tortured soul?” “Creighton? Are you well?” “No, you don’t understand! I can’t stay here!” “Really, father? You’re drinking all of the profits.” “Father, why can’t we destroy him?” “Father Thomas, when will Von Helsing get here?” “We must learn more about your guest!” “What in the name of God?” “A wolf! A werewolf!” Ungrateful child! Save some for me!” “Yes, he has lost a daughter and I am losing my mind.” “I take it you’re a vampire? And why not? I’ve encountered a werewolf, chased after a monster, and had villagers warn me of all manner or strange things.

So, why not a vampire?” “Count Dracula himself. This is not my day.” “The idea of personal space is foreign to you, isn’t it?” “He knows I’m here.

” Rating: 9.0/10.0 ** The Gratuitous B-Movie Column The Facebook Page! Please check out and “like” The Gratuitous B-Movie Column Facebook page , which is here .

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B-movies rule. Always remember that. Tales of Dracula Wayne W.

Johnson – Dracula Greta Volkova – Ilona David Merrell – Daniel Dwight Kemper – Anton Cassandra Hayes – Elsa Courtney Bennett – Dr. Victoria Frankenstein Joe DeMuro – Frankenstein’s Monster Tom Delillo – Creighton Reed/The Wolfman Mickey Ray – Von Helsing (check out the rest of the cast here ) Directed by Joe DeMuro and Thomas Rice Screenplay by Joe DeMuro and Thomas Rice Produced by Wolfbain Productions Not Rated Runtime – 77 minutes Buy it here.