Dracula II: Ascension (2003)

Sadly Over-hyped

Perfect cast and a good story

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

There are three reasons to watch this film:1. It's a Dracula/Vampire Film. 2. Jason Scott Lee is in it. 3. Roy Scheider is in it. I actually liked this movie better than the first one (Dracula 2000). I loved to watch Jason Scott Lee as Father Uffizi -- he reminded me of Van Helsing mixed with Bruce Lee. That provided most of the entertainment for me. I loved Roy Scheider since I was a young girl in the 70s - Jaws! Roy did a good acting job as Cardinal Siqueros although his part was a bit smaller than I would have liked. No, it's not the greatest Dracula film but it is quite entertaining to watch! 6/10

In Dracula II: Ascension, the short-awaited sequel that horror fans didn't demand, producer Wes Craven and director Patrick Lussier have created another slick, contemporary vampire tale that once again plays fast and loose with the Dracula legend; thankfully, neither goofy Gerard Butler nor thoroughly irritating Jonny Lee Miller return for Part II, and matters are dealt with in a far less pensive manner than before, making the film a more enjoyable effort overall than the rather disappointing Dracula 2000.Having been burnt to a crisp by the sun at the end of the first film, the legendary vamp's charred corpse is delivered to a morgue where a group of medical students soon realise that the latest body on their slab belongs to no mere mortal. Believing that they can use the vampire's remains to advance medical science, and offered a huge sum of money by a total stranger to do just that, they smuggle Drac out of the building and take him to a deserted mansion to begin their experiments. Meanwhile, dedicated Vatican-approved vampire slayer Father Uffizi (Jason Scott Lee) searches for the missing vamp with the intention of destroying him forever...Some decent gore, including several neat be-headings and a bloke having his faced chewed off; a few interesting pieces of vampire lore rarely seen in the movies; solid acting, with a cool turn by Stephen Billington as Dracula, who seems to be channelling Tom Cruise's Lestat for his performance; and cheap but effective scares that'll make you feel rather stupid for having jumped: Dracula II is pure popcorn fun with zero pretensions, and is all the better for it.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

Featuring Diane Neal (A.D.A. Casey Novak from "Law & order: Special victims Unit"), this straight to DVD movie has some great special effects, brilliant cinematography, and some true jump-outta-your-skin moments.We jump from an exciting opening scene where Father Uffizi (Jason Scott Lee) beheads a couple of luscious vampires to New Orleans where medical students discover a vampire (Stephen Billington) and bring him back to life, costing the life of Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick. What a shame.This is all about getting Dracula's blood to heal a scientist, Lowell (Craig Sheffer). They need to work fast as the self-flagellating Father Uffizi is on their tail.This was one of Roy Scheider's last films. He only has a cameo, but it is still good to see him.This would have been a much better movie had there been some gratuitous nudity. There were certainly enough times that it would have been appropriate.There was some really good stuff at the end, but I'll leave that for you to see.

I saw WES CRAVEN'S Dracula II (ASCENSION) on Showtime the other night; and, I found it to be is a fairly unique take on the vampire mythology. That is, until I saw Blood of the Vampire on AMC; and, realized that a "scientific" approach to vampirism isn't that original.First, I have to admit that I have not seen DACULA 2000, so I may be a bit lost. However, I did like the opening sequence as an introduction to Father Uffizi. I found him a compelling and credible character; and, think the part was well-acted by Jason Scott Lee.The rest of in the cast are one-dimensional and the acting is pretty average. The psychotic, controlling, wheel-chair bound homosexual / bisexual) mad scientist, played by Craig Sheffer could not have been a worse foil to our vampire hunter. And, his "reveal" at the end is just the film makers' ridiculous attempt to tie up loose ends.WES CRAVEN'S Dracula II (ASCENSION) is only an average horror film, which shows many flaws.