Number 17 — DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT
For the month of October, we’re counting down the best horror movies of 1995! Check back every day for a new entry in the list.
When we got the list of the 1995 movie writing assignments for Neon Splatter, there was one movie on it that I knew had to be mine. It felt like a sign from my late cousin who passed in the month of October years ago and was my purveyor of movies I was too young to watch. Robert, if you can hear me, I want to tell you that I'm getting paid to write about Mel Brooks movies. I am carrying on all that you taught me. Thank you forever for the gift of DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT (1995) after our grandparents went to bed, renting it weekend after weekend until we knew every line that we would repeat for a decade after.
If you haven't seen DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT, you are missing out on a laugh out loud horror spoof directed by Mel Brooks. It stars the tremendous Leslie Neilsen as Count Dracula, Mel Brook as Van Helsing, Steven Weber (from Wings) as Jonathan, Amy Yasbeck (also from Wings) as Mina, and Peter MacNicol stealing the show as Renfield. The plot follows the traditional story of Renfield going to see Dracula, getting possessed, and then Dracula pursues the women as Van Helsing and the rest fight to destroy him. It is full of Brooks's tongue in cheek comedy, clever wit, grand physical comedy, and a fun commentary on Dracula movies before it. If you love old school horror movies, you will love this, and boy, did my cousin Robert love this movie.
My older cousin Robert had the burden of having a big heart, and so much empathy that it made him crazy. He didn't fit in with the rest of his ultra conservative, judgmental family. They were busy calling kids satanic on Halloween, while he was a secret monster kid who loved all things schlock. For different reasons, his and my refuge was our grandparent's house. We would both spend the hot days working in the garden and garage with our grandpa, getting rewarded with RC Colas, eat a big country dinner at 5pm on the dot, and then wait for the adults to retire to their bedroom at 9pm. Except for the nights that my grandpa would get up to watch Silk Stalkings after my grandma was asleep, the weekend nights were usually our unsupervised playground.
Looking back on it now, I see that DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT was an indicator to young me that I would love horror comedy, and especially over-the-top bloody practical effects. I still remember the first time I saw this movie and how the scene where Jonathan stabs Lucy's vampire body (played by Lysette Anthony) not only made me belly laugh loudly, but it also filled my heart with a pure epiphany like joy. In that moment, I briefly felt like myself again and had discovered the thing that lights up my life. Obscene blood sprays played for laughs. While most kids were waiting for a Christmas morning of presents to get that joy, I was hungry for my next horror comedy. I had developed what you could say was a taste for blood. It was from this movie I also started a lifelong deep respect affair for the comedic talents of Amy Yasbeck and Peter MacNicol. Amy had already made me fall in love with her in Mel Brooks's ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS (1993) as Maid Marian. Seeing her nail the role again where she delivers believable dopey innocence with raunchy comedy is a lot of fun. She is a blast and stands out against this strong cast of men. But the real star of the show is Peter MacNicol as Renfield. He delivers the comedic performance of a lifetime. I have never laughed so consistently hard in my life during a movie as I have watching him play the imbecile and lunatic Renfield. His physical comedy is flawless, his mugging is inspired, and oh my god, watching him try to slyly eat bugs is still the Mona Lisa of my comedy preferences. MacNicol is a truly underrated actor who deserves more leading roles. I would love to see him go over the top at least one more time.
I wish my cousin Robert would have lived to see writing for online zines about movies and apps like Letterboxd. He was the “movie guy” to all his younger cousins. When we stayed at my grandparents, he made sure we rented the right trash, but also the best critical films from the gas station rental store. If he were alive, it would be him writing about this movie, and he would've talked about how much joy it brought into all our lives. He passed from a heroin overdose October 23rd when I was 18. He was deeply depressed and desperate to hide it from everyone. On the surface, he was everyone's best friend, best grandson, and one of the most patient and loving people I've ever met. And, while he was truly all those things, he also carried a deep lifelong pain from fighting a traumatic childhood and severe mental illness. I was too young to see it at the time. He wouldn't let us see it. I wish I had known that movies were his escape from that pain. I see the same in myself now, and I have a feeling in me he saw a kindred soul.
Watching DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT (1995) now, I see more than a hilarious classic Mel Brooks movie. I see laughing through the pain via blood and boob jokes. I see two kids huddled in sleeping bags in front of a box TV laughing so hard they are crying at 3 in the morning. I see that movies can save us, if only temporarily, because they give us a break from ourselves and the world around us. Just as the movie was clearly made with a lot of love and laughs, so are my memories of it. Thank you, Mel Brooks, for making one hell of a funny movie that gave my cousin, my hero, some much needed moments of happiness and peace. And thank you, Robert, for showing me how to love movies. This one's for you. May you remain forever undead in my heart.
