I am a fan of Bram Stocker’s Dracula and today am pleased to learn of a promising sequel;aptly named The Un-Dead. We get the monstrous news from movieweb:

According to Blackfilm.com, Spike Lee’s former Director of Photography Ernest K. Dickerson will direct a sequel to Bram Stroker’s Dracula. Entitled The Un-Dead, this follow-up comes some fifteen years after Francis Ford Coppola’s original film.

Javier Bardem is rumored to be playing Dracula, replacing Gary Oldman in the title role. Other cast members believed to be starring in the film are Monica Bellucci as Lucy and John Hurt as Professor Van Helsing. There is no mention as to whether Keanu Reeves will be reprising his role as Jonathan Harker, but we seriously doubt it since many believe he was the reason the first film failed to resonate with critics.

Three things make me excited about this project. The first is the endorsement by the Stoker family. From what I am reading - they do not endorse alot of Dracula films, and the fact that they gave this screenplay a tip of the hat is encouraging to me. The film this sequel is following did not even receive that honor.

The second reason I am excited about this project is Monica Bellucci. She was in the first Dracula film as a vampire slut, and it will be great to see her back in the second. Few people are able to convey sexy on the screen as good as Bellucci. She has a black belt in seduction and uses her skills like a woman possessed by devils of desire. Dracula and Bellucci in the same film = a full tank of sexy.

The final reason I am exited about this film is that it is being filmed in England and Romania. I love vampire movies, and I have a preference for those that take place in Romania. The Romanian lands are part of the mystique and lore of the Dracula story, and I think the location is as important to the story as the drinking of blood. Th cobblestone streets, the eerie castles and fog about the land - this is the backdrop to terror.