[Victoria, BC] Dracula: Lord of the Damned Explores the End Times

*full disclosure: a free screening of this film was provided by director Theodore Trout.

Director/writer: Theodore Trout.

Cast: David Macpherson, Amanda Lisman, Denise Brown, Mike Grimshaw, Ian Case, Hal Hewett, and Randall Carnell.

Nearly all of the who’s who of Victoria, BC’s theatre scene can be listed in Theodore Trout’s indie film, Dracula, Lord of the Damned. This movie nicely recreates the look of a turn of a century product a la Edison’s Frankenstein (1910) with some Georges Méliès style of flamboyance tossed in. The effects are cheap, but when this film is made on a shoestring budget, it manages to stand out because this movie is a vision of one man’s ideas.

Other than the fact that Trout is taking auteur theory to extreme levels, he deserves points for spending five years to fine-tune his product. He was out to recreate a work that belongs to a different time, when cinema was truly in its infancy. Trout succeeded. Most of the standard definition footage was upscaled to enhance the grain. Even the effects included digital techniques that most people will laugh at today. B grade cinema is where this product belongs even though the some critics may give this one-off a C grade.

With some work to correct the pacing of this product, this movie can go to the next level. Story-wise, no further tinkering is required. While Dracula’s entry into London is glossed upon, nearly every treatment of the tale looks at it from some unique standpoint. With this product, the Lucy's point of view is emphasized to play up her promiscuity. Also, very rarely is the threat of female sexual expression looked at. The hints in the blooper reel suggest that Trout and performers knew of the problems females faced during Victorian times. Either they were chaste or a whore; that was how upper class society treated them.

This movie is essentially a passion project for this director/writer/actor/animator and editor. Previous works Theodore Trout acted in include Dark Paradox (2007), Meat Market 3 (2006), The Dead Inside (2005) and Exhumed (2003).

To see Trout dressed for success, much like Meatloaf during "Bat out of Hell," he shows how much he enjoyed making this movie. The way he plays up Dracula is nothing like how Gary Oldman played him in Coppola’s version. His style is by far more dystopic—far different from the modernist hero. In the animated intro he made, the characters are designed to look like heroes from the magazine, "Heavy Metal." Although that made for a confusing start, most movies are better off tackling one theme rather than tackling several ideas.

Viewers eventually learn that Dracula is more like a savior who is about to bring a plague upon civilization. The inter-titles heavily point this movie in that direction while the rest of the story plays out. When the story switches gears to focus in on the relationship between Mina Murray (Amanda Lisman) and Lucy Westwood (Denise Brown), the rest of the tale tries to find some footing.

Sadly, Renfield’s (Hal Hewett) role is underplayed. More could have been done with him since he’s pivotal to the entire story. Hewett did not sell this character’s lunacy to satisfying levels. Ian Case as Dr. John Seward was far more fitting, and Mike Grimshaw as Dr. Abraham Van Helsing provides the highlight, when he narrates Dracula’s origins.

Helsing’s explanation of what Dracula represents is brought forth a brilliant slide-show of well-known artwork from various movements, ranging from the renaissance styles of Albrecht Dürer in his Apocalypse series to some neo-classical ramblings of the Greco-Roman period, trying to define who is the savior, the devilish bringer of light or a holy messiah?

While this movie is heavily influenced by German expressionism, especially with plenty of Nosferatu moments, the apocalyptic ramblings suggest an ending nearly worthy of Revelation. The Christian content certainly makes this movie worth rewatching. Without it, the messages that Trout wanted to leave audiences with may well get forgotten. At least in this story, the Adam and Eve here escaped paradise by much more than the very skin of their teeth.

Overall: 7 out of 10.

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