Dracula II: Ascension
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| Dracula II Ascension | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Patrick Lussier |
| Produced by | W.K. Border Nick Phillips Ron Schmidt |
| Written by | Joel Soisson |
| Starring | Jason Scott Lee] Stephen Billington Diane Neal Craig Sheffer Khary Payton |
| Music by | Marco Beltrami Kevin Kliesch |
| Editing by | Lisa Romaniw |
| Running time | 85 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | unknown |
| Preceded by | Dracula 2000 |
| Followed by | Dracula III: Legacy |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Dracula II Ascension is a horror film, a sequel to Dracula 2000 although only one of the original's cast returns. It was followed by Dracula III Legacy. It was released direct-to-video.
[edit] Synopsis
The film begins with a vampire hunt, as Father Uffizi hunts a girl in a diaphanous gown. Near the end of the chase, what appears to be a reflection turns out to be the girl's twin sister, also a vampire. They nearly turn the tables on Uffizi but he decapitates them both with a whip. He notices then that their fangs scratched him.
Following the events of Dracula 2000 the charred and hanged body of Dracula is brought to the New Orleans morgue. Elizabeth Blaine, examining the corpse, pricks her finger on what she realizes is a fang--in what is supposed to be a human mouth. About this time Father Uffizi shows up, demanding the body. Elizabeth and a colleague switch this body with that of a homeless man. Elizabeth's lover, Lowell, is suffering from an ultimately fatal degenerative sickness. He's also, he says, been contacted by a wealthy investor wishing to learn the secrets of the charred "body" which seems to be slowly regenerating. Lowell, Elizabeth and several colleagues spirit the body to an abandoned mansion for study. Lowell, it turns out, years before had encountered another vampiric corpse, also claimed by a Priest. He's been looking for another one ever since.
They begin by dousing the body with blood. But this awakens Dracula, and he feeds on Tanya, killing her. Lowell's quick thinking prevents any further trouble, and they re-locate.
Elizabeth, meanwhile, is feeling increasingly strange. She even sees an odd coloring of her veins from the hand where she was pricked...
Uffizi (who turns out to be exposing himself to the sun every morning, which makes him scream) begins to track down the corpse. A Cardinal (the same Priest Lowell had seen years ago) notes that Dracula changes form, but remains the same, but can be killed only if given absolution (the Church realizes that Dracula is in fact Judas Iscariot). Police and Uffizi find the abandoned house at roughly the same time, and run afoul of a resurrected Tanya before Uffizi kills her.
Inside an abandoned building, Dracula (now much better, but still desiccated) is fastened to a framework in an empty pool while Lowell leads them into performing tests on his blood. He insists this creature contains within him the secret of immortality and that this has nothing to do with God or morality. One of the team, Luke, doubts this and seems to be proven right when he tests Holy Water on vampiric blood. He is the one who puts a net of knots over Dracula (vampires must untie knots) and surrounds him with mustard seeds (vampires must count them). At the same time, huge lamps keep the vampire flooded with the equivalent of sunlight.
One of the team injects himself with Dracula's blood, transforming before their eyes and running into the night where he feeds on a girl. Uffizi finds them both, then back-tracks.
Elizabeth, whom Luke loves, feels increasingly drawn to Dracula. Then, the truth comes out. There is no "secret investor." All of this has been a plot by Lowell to find a cure for his illness, for which he has used Elizabeth and the others ruthlessly. An injection "cures" him. But Dracula escapes. He has already undone all the knots. He has counted the seeds (and when Luke throws a bucket-full at him he calmly counts them in mid-air). Uffizi arrives and kills Lowell when attacked. Elizabeth, on the verge of turning, he tells to enter the sun. He says it will be agony, but the vampiric part of her will be burned away. Then he goes after Dracula...
Dracula taunts him for his lie, knowing Elizabeth will simply die. But in his weakened state, Dracula is not quite a match physically for Uffizi. The priest manages to get a whip around Dracula's neck and begins the rite of absolution. But Dracula simply asks him "Don't you want to know what it was like? With Him?" (i.e. Jesus) And Elizabeth shows up, attacking Uffizi from behind. She has changed completely, and leaves with Dracula. The Master Vampire, warned by Uffizi that he will find him, simply notes that is why he's letting him live.
At the end, Luke and Uffizi join forces.
[edit] Cast
- Jennifer Kroll as Twins of Evil
- Jason Scott Lee as Father Uffizi
- Craig Sheffer as Lowell
- Diane Neal as Elizabeth Blaine
- Brande Roderick as Tanya
- Chris Hunter as Corello
- Tom Kane as Cartoon Voice of Doctor (voice)
- John Light as Eric
- Stephen Billington as Count Dracula
- Nick Phillips as Officer Smith
- John Sharian as Officer Hodge
- Roy Scheider as Cardinal Siqueros
- Daniela Nane as Cat-Woman
- David J. Francis as Jesus
[edit] Trivia
- Daniela Nane later appeared in Bloodrayne.
- Jason Scott Lee appeared with former Dracula Christopher Lee in the horror film Tale of the Mummy, which also starred Lysette Anthony (who played Lucy Westenra in Dracula: Dead and Loving It.
- This motion picture actually uses several details from vampire folklore, such as the supposed need for a vampire to count mustard seeds.
- David J. Francis played Jesus Christ in both films.
- The twins chased in the opening sequence may be an homage to the Hammer horror film Twins of Evil. Likewise the woman who attacks her cat upon becoming undead might be an homage to the film Count Yorga, Vampire.
- Craig Sheffer played a vampire-like creature in Clive Barker's film Nightbreed.
