Diener des Bösen (Video 1991)

Diener des Bösen: Directed by Ted Nicolaou. With Angus Scrimm, Anders Hove, Irina Movila, Laura Mae Tate. Three students get caught in the struggle between a good vampire and his evil brother in the Transylvanian mountains.

“Itu0026#39;s the classic story of good brother vs. bad brother as the vampire sons of old King Vlad – handsome, noble, boring Stefan and hideous, jealous, scheming, fascinating Radu – battle over the rights to their inheritance. At stake (sorry) are ancient Castle Vladislas, played to perfection by ancient Castle Hunedoara, and the familyu0026#39;s prize, the mystic Bloodstone; a holy relic that drips the blood of saints. (What a unique invention! I wish the movie said more about its nature and history.) Into the middle of this gory sibling squabble wander the obligatory clueless bunch of cute American students, doing a research project on local folklore, and weu0026#39;re off to the races.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHas its weak spots, especially the awkward animation and matting-in of Raduu0026#39;s tiny demon servants, but its energy, enthusiasm and imaginative ideas – such as the u0026quot;shadow transitu0026quot; by which the vampires travel, and the reptilian relish of Anders Hoveu0026#39;s performance as Radu – easily carry it over these gaps. Add in some gore and nudity for the high-school crowd, and the pleasure of seeing a vampire film actually shot in Romania and using its wonderful medieval locations so central to Western vampire lore, and you have a thoroughly capable and enjoyable little horror film. Those who appreciate bloody but clever small-scale horror such as Brian Yuznau0026#39;s Lovecraft films should have no trouble adopting this one.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e(If you enjoy my reviews, you can read more of them under my previous name – just plain u0026quot;angelynxu0026quot;.)”