Dracula Exotica (1981)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Shaun Costello

Writer:

Shaun Costello (written by)

Genre:

Adult | Horror

Tagline:

He came for a bite...and ate the whole thing.

Plot:

Sailing to the USA, smuggler Vita Valdez stabs Count Dracula, but he bites her. A necrophiliac morgue attendant reveals she became a vampire. She becomes Dracula's secretary but turns a sergeant into a vampire against Dracula.

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Vampire | Cunnilingus | Sex Orgy | Sex With Food

Cast

Jamie Gillis	...	Count Dracula
Samantha Fox	...	Surka/Sally Iancu
Vanessa del Rio	...	Vita Valdes
Eric Edwards	...	Big Bird (as Erik Edwards)
Roger Caine	...	Sgt. Wilmo Blick (as Mark Dexter)
Gordon G. Duvall	...	Renfrew
Bobby Astyr	...	Anatole
Murray Bukofski	...	Chikopnik
Alba Bonn	...	Castle Guide
Leigh Hope	...	Hunter Graduate
Terry Yule	...	Gilda Glad
Carol Markoe	...	Shopping Bag Lady
Inez de Falla	...	Flamenco Dancer
Denise Sloan	...	Vampire Wife #1
Diana Sloan	...	Vampire Wife #2

Also Known As:

Dracula Erotica (Australia) (video box title)
Love at First Gulp

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:X

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Quotes:

[while biting her "exotically" after she stabs him]
Count Dracula: Can you type?
Vita Valdez: [mumbling] Yes...
Count Dracula: Excellent. How fast?
Vita Valdez: [in a pleasurable last voice before dying] Fifty words a minute.
Count Dracula: Marvelous.

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever: XXX-Treme Special Edition (2007) (V)

Shaun Costello's crowning achievement

Director Shaun Costello made a great deal of awful films before finally coming into his own first with 1976's Waterpower and 1979's More Than Sisters, and although both of those films offer fine production values, acting, and direction, neither of them can be labeled as great;or at least not in my book.

Dracula Exotica though it in a class all by itself. Not only is it the best Costello film I have ever seen, it is also one of the best explicit films of the early 80s. Furthermore, unlike many Dracula films, it actually provides a reason for why the once noble count was turned into a raging bloodsucker. Of course the talented cast including Jamie Gillis as Dracula(this was his second time playing the count, with the first being in 1979's Dracula Sucks)and Samantha Fox as Dracula's long-lost love, do their parts in adding an extra degree of professionalism to the proceedings. Also of note is Venessa Del Rio in a hilarious role as Dracula's secretary.

Costello, as usual, provides sound direction that is very reminiscent of the old Hammer Dracula films, but with a surprisingly poignant and romantic conclusion. The script is tight and well written, being heavily packed with clever wit and sarcasm. The film is also surprisingly violent in places, featuring nasty bite wounds and an excellent effect of two vampire women being scalded by holy water. Nevertheless, the film maintains its smart balance of comedy, horror, and a surprisingly poignant romantic drama throughout.

Although Costello uses his Warren Eavns pseudonym on this piece, it has the glossy look and feel of many of his later, high budgeted productions.

Dracula Exotica is an example of that rare type of film that bridges the gap between erotica and cinema(not that the genres cannot be one)and simply works as great entertaining cinema.