Dracula's Widow (1988) Reviews

Emmanuelle's Sylvia Kristel vamps it up as Vanessa, the widow of the legendary Count Dracula, whose coffin is transported from its resting place in modern-day Romania to a Hollywood "House of Horrors" wax museum. After her arrival, she awakens to seek both the remains of her husband and the descendant of Jonathan Harker -- who has gone to great lengths to ensure that the count will never rise again. Notable mainly as the debut effort of Francis Coppola's nephew Christopher, this film benefits from a flamboyant style and great use of film noir ambience (gritty, neon-lit street scenes; Josef Sommer's Chandleresque voice-overs) but the tired script is in dire need of a punch-up. This basic premise was handled with far greater panache in Michael Almereyda's Nadja. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi