ARGENTO'S DRACULA (2012) Directed by Dario Argento **
To be honest, it's not very good, but I don't think it is the total wipeout that some genre fans have claimed. Argento's reputation has been in free fall for a while with me but this certainly isn't his worst film - I think MOTHER OF TEARS deserves that dubious honour. But it is Argento for the man who made DEEP RED (still my favourite) and SUSPIRIA to have turned in such a routine piece of work is obviously disappointing. Having said that, there are things I liked such as Dracula wiping out the town council, appearing from a swarm of flies and becoming a Praying Mantis (a silly scene but a nice idea). Stylistically it lacks the punch of the early Argento although the setting is quite believable. Performances are a little restrained with Rutger Hauer looking uninterested in his turn as Van Helsing. Thomas Krechtmann's Count Dracula seemed a bit ordinary but I did warm to it as the film progressed. A failure but an interesting one.
