Nathan Fillion Week: Dracula Goes To Mardi Gras

Dracula is kind of unique among monsters. In the pantheon of monsters, there are few that can hold a candle to the man himself. No other monster walks with his head held as high. There is no iconic mummy. No standout amongst the werewolves. No singular zombie that the others aspire to. Frankenstein's monster comes close, but let's be honest, no one cares unless the monster is played by Boris Karloff.

No, Dracula is more than just a vampire, he's the vampire. The one they all aspire to be. He is, as they say, The Man. We know this already. So, what can Dracula 2000 do to add to the myth? What can it do that hasn't been done before? Um...well...we could go to the year 2000 and check out Mardi Gras?

The 'This is SPARTA' guy from 300 plays Dracula, aka Judas Iscariot. 7 of 9 plays a reporter who becomes a vampire. Dr Foreman is a thief, Sickboy is an antiques dealer and Christopher Plummer owed someone a favor and repaid it by playing Van Helsing himself. THE Van Helsing. Kept past his 'sell by' date by injecting himself with Dracula's blood...filtered through leaches. You know, so it would healthier...like light cigarrettes.

Also, in a star making performance is one Nathon Fillion playing the pivotal Father David. And by pivotal I mean completely irrelevant. This is, of course, pre-Firefly. So, he wasn't brought in to play the smarmy, jokey kind of character that he plays so well these days. He's just a priest. A friend of Mary's who tries to help her in a time of spiritual crisis. He adds little to the story. Which is a shame.

Because...it could use the help. It's fun to watch some of the actors in this. Some, like Sparta Guy and Fillion are here before people really knew who they were. Others, like Christopher Plummer...well, sometimes it's just fun to watch an actor like that slum it in a movie like this. Like John Rhys-Davies in Chupacabra Terror. Unlike Chupacabra Terror though, I don't think I'd want to sit through this one again.