Steineded How sad is this?

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Yvonne Jodi Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Cineanalyst I've been seeking out Dracula movies since reading Bram Stoker's novel, and I've now seen five from 1979 alone. "Dracula Bites the Big Apple" is certainly the smallest of these pictures, both in production and runtime. Its parody is similar to "Love at First Bite," another Dracula parody from 1979. In both films, Dracula extends his trip to the West farther than had Stoker's original character--all the way to New York. In both films, his travels are aided by Renfield. Moreover, both films find much of their humor in Dracula's adjustments in the New World, both fire the gags with rapid fire--some miss, some are dated, but most of them hit--and I think that both parodies are rather cathartic experiences after having also viewed the two disappointing major dramatic Dracula movies of 1979, Universal's Disco Dracula starring Frank Langella and Werner Herzog's dreary Nosferatu remake.Neither comedy specifically parodies either of the dramatic Dracula films of the year (and they may've been made before one or both of them--I haven't checked production or release dates), but both contain bits that mock the kind of filmmaking done in the dramatic versions. In "Love at First Bite," the tanned George Hamilton seems no more ridiculous than Langella's boyishly-handsome vamp--fashioned as he is in the style of 1979 instead of the film's early-20th-Century setting. Moreover, the mutual fun of the two leads in "Love at First Bite" is so much better than the dime-romance-novel misogyny of the Universal film. "Dracula Bites the Big Apple," on the other hand, opens with images of corpses and a brooding Drac quoting Hamlet--the film's only scene photographed in black-and-white. It's the kind of ponderous, if not pretentious, filmmaking that bogged down Herzog's "Nosferatu," which also opens with images of corpses and features a dour vampire and drab cinematography.Both comedies are silly fun without reference to the other films, though. Besides the twist on the location of Dracula's Western invasion, "Dracula Bites the Big Apple" doesn't have the heft or length to do much more of interest in regards to reworking Stoker's character as with "Love at First Bite" and other feature-length Dracula movies, but it gets quite a few laughs out of common Dracula elements: his fellow fliers all leave the plane rubbing their bitten necks, the bits regarding his lost coffin and his cape being spray painted by a graffitist. Other bits aren't specific to the Dracula persona. The best part might be when Dracula leads New Yorkers in a musical number of "Dancing in the Moonlight," including an interruption for Dracula to break the fourth wall.(Mirror Note: No mirror shots, but Dracula's inability to be photographed is employed for a brief gag.)

Red-Barracuda This short film was made in New York in 1979 at a time when the city had a thriving underground film-making culture. A lot of the short movies made at that time and place are now classified under the No Wave movement. Lots of them were subversive and daring but a few were just silly. I'm not 100% certain if Dracula Bites the Big Apple qualifies as a No Wave movie but it certainly shares a similar aesthetic and it does fit into the sillier side of the bracket. It is best known now as the film that got director Richard Wenk noticed, leading him to make the 80's comedy-horror Vamp, a film with some cult value.Its story is very simple - Dracula takes a plane to New York to sample new blood but finds the late 70's Big Apple too much for even him. The emphasis in this one is squarely on humour not horror. Early on the Count starts up a big musical number, singing the awful song 'Dancing in the Moonlight' with a variety of passing New Yorkers. He then stalks a woman in the underground and Central Park but it ends in a big joke. The last straw for him is being refused entry to the Studio 54 disco nightclub by its owner Steve Rubell on the basis of him not being able to dance.Like most short films it simply has not enough time to make any real impression. I suppose it does at least try to keep things moving along and it has been made on an absolute shoestring but it's a film that is only of limited interest. Probably ultimately of most value as a snapshot of late 70's New York.

lost-in-limbo The blood is lacking in Transylvania, so Dracula gets on a plane and heads to the night city New York for new blood. However to this city seems harder to dominate. This wonderfully winning 22-minute comic spoof short film was the starting point for director/writer Richard Wenk and would get the producers interested in him for creating their film "Vamp (1986)". It was shot in 3 nights for just over $5,000 after he graduated film school, and he cooks up a funky and odd episodic story, which is broken up by it's random nature and funny sight gags within the authentic locations of New York. The vivid nightlife backdrop comes across as a character of its own. The light-hearted, silly humour seems to hit the right spots and the inventive script is bursting with often funny lines. There's even an out-of-nowhere musical number of "dancing in the moonlight" that's rather amusing! Also Studio 54 and its owner Steve Rubell make an enjoyable appearance. Wenk keeps it moving at a brisk pace and does a stylish job with what his got to work with, and a pulsating music score with some nice familiar cues give it much added energy. Peter Loewy's pulpy performance is picture-perfect and always compelling as Dracula, which you're just waiting to see what he does next.

movieman_kev Located as an extra on the Special edition DVD of the movie "Vamp", this 22 minute short is what got Wenk the job doing that film in the first place. It has to do with Count Dracula leaving Thansyvania for New York for it's "pulsating night life". Watching it in 2005, it has dated well at all and is way too shrouded in the '70's a decade that any sane person wish didn't exist due to the crappy music, fashion, presidents, and narcissistic attitude. Yup, I loathe the "me decade" with a passion. What does this have to do with the film you ask? Well i'm stretching to meet the 10 minimum line requirement, which is hard to do when dealing with ultra-crappy short films.My Grade: F