Directors: Patrick Lussier, Robert Harmon
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Jason London, Jonny Lee Miller, Omar Epps, Roy Scheider
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed by: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 29, 2011
Running Time: 364 minutes
Dracula 2000: 4 out of 5 stars
Dracula II: Ascension: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Dracula III: Legacy: 3 out of 5 stars
They: 3 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray Score: 3 out of 5 stars
The main draw for me to this release was the three “Dracula” films, all presented by Wes Craven. “Dracula 2000″ was a really clever and fun film. The two “Dracula” sequels are decent but have a direct-to-video feel, still the three together are worth the purchase alone. I was never a huge fan of “They” but it is also a decent bonus to this release. Wes Craven’s name personally to me does not bare much weight recently I feel that he has really lost his street cred…I mean have you see “Scream 4″? Nonetheless, they films are worth purchasing for horror fans, especially for the low cost.
“Dracula 2000” takes the tale of Dracula into the 21 century where a team of techno-savvy thieves break into a vault they find a crypt unopened for 100 years. Dracula is unleashed and wreaks havoc. “Dracula II: Ascension” follows a group of medical students who discover the body of the Dracula and will wish that they hadn’t. “Dracula III: Legacy” follows vampire hunters Father Uffizi and Luke as they follow Dracula back to Eastern Europe they aim to end his reign again. “They” follows a student who experienced night terrors only to find out that the monsters in their closets are real and they are coming for her.
The Blu-ray presentation of these discs are not the greatest like most Echo Bridge multi-feature releases but they are honestly worth it to have these films on Blu-ray. The first two “Dracula” films are the best two films but also the worst presented here. They both included 1080i transfers and are only equipped with Dolby Stereo 2.0 tracks. This is a bit disappointing as they have full 5.1-channel versions on the DVDs. Though “Dracula III” & “They” both are presented in 1080p and both have 5.1 surround tracks. I wish that Echo Bridge will focus on unifying their releases and include 1080p and 5.1 sound on all films in these sets. Fans of these films, will still be happy for these HD upgrades.
