Italian Dark Universe: Blood for Dracula

Welcome back to Italian Dark Universe. Yeah I may have made that title up...like so many others. Today's film is also produced by the legendary Andy Warhol and directed by Paul Morrissey (Flesh, Lonesome Cowboys, San Diego Surf, Trash, Women in Revolt, Heat, L'Amour, Flesh for Frankenstein, Blood for Dracula and The Hound of the Baskervilles). Will this be as lurid and lewd as its predecessor Flesh for Frankenstein? This is Blood for Dracula a.k.a. Andy Warhol's Dracula, Andy Warhol's Young Dracula, Dracula and Young Dracula.

Bah, credits always show up when I am putting on my face.

Our film opens with Dracula (Udo Kier of Mark of the Devil, Provocation, The Salzburg Connection, Blood for Dracula, The Last Word, Trauma, Suspiria, Lulu, The Island of the Bloody Plantation, Johnny Mnemonic, Blade and Shadow of the Vampire) looking baroque as he rubs a dark makeup in his eyebrows, presumably hiding the aging the vampire takes on when he has fed. But he requires virgin blood to improve his undead health or it is permanent death for him. It is the 1920s in Transylvania is lacking a larger population thanks to centuries of feeding on his people for so long, it is time to set up shop elsewhere and proceeds to to Italy with his manservant Anton (Arno Juerging of Die Kramer, Flesh for Frankenstein, Blood for Dracula, All Around Service, Ein Mann will nach oben and Didi- Der Doppleganger) as a gentleman abroad searching for a suitable bride. Yup that old chestnut.

That is NOT the Transylvanian Twist!

Surveying the countryside and its people, the Count is aware of the highly religious Catholics being strict with their daughters when he encounters a family with no less than four daughters wets the Count's appetite.

Saphiria (Dominique Darel of Death in Venice, La cosa buffa, The Grand Duel, Sepolta viva, Blood for Dracula, Year One and Il nero muove), Esmeralda (Milena Vukotic of Blood of Dracula, The Phantom of Liberty, Erotomania, The Voyage Into the Whirlpool Has Begun, My Friends, The House of Raoul, La terrazza, La locandiera, Sunday Lovers and Fantozzi Against the Wind), Rubina (Stefania Casini of Blood for Dracula, 1900, Suspiria, The Belly of an Architect, Lontano da dove and Maicol Jecson) and Perla (Silvia Dionisio of Police Chief Pepe, A Girl Called Jules, Blood for Dracula, My Friends, Terror Express, Ciao marziano, The Fascist Jew, Murder Syndrome and La sconosciuta) each pleasing to the eye makes the count wonder if these girls are as virginal as they claim.

Yeah she seems less virginal. Not judging!

Groundskeeper Mario(Joe Dallesandro of Flesh, Lonesome Cowboys, San Diego Surf, Trash, Heat, Flesh for Frankenstein, Blood for Dracula, Garden of Death, One Woman's Lover, The Climber, Black Moon, Season for Assassins, The Streetwalker and Born Winner) burns off excess energy by porking at least two of the sisters, some times in the same night. Never knew how randy a Marxist could be.

Will Dracula have his virgin breakfast,tea, supper the lot?? Will Mario fight Dracula and save his Peach?

Little side note here.  I was wondering if it was all an act on Udo Kier's part but turns out he lost 20 lbs in a week for the role and was extremely ill so he had to sit for most of the scenes on the first day. It is odd that Flesh for Frankenstein fell under the Video Nasty standing and yet a flick with sexuality, clearly a clash of aristocratic monarchy vs Communism and a rape for good intentions (yeah I know I just typed it and believe me I wish I hadn't seen it) this somehow remained intact without a ton of cuts to it.

Originally tallying at 103 minutes, it was chopped down to 94 minutes when released to VHS but was made whole in 1995 and since made to DVD the uncut (PENIS JOKE!) version has long graced the Horror shelves.

With the disturbing content of molestation, vampirism hymen attacks and lapping blood off the floor you can gather if I need to see a Dracula film I can stick with Christopher Lee of the Hammer titles, Dracula 1979 with Frank Langella or the Francis Ford Coppola 1992 version with Gary Oldman thank you! Now if you will excuse me, I need to throw mind bleach down my system.

Tee hee.  Jake snubbed you of the nudity again!