To Die For (1989 film)

Last updated
To Die For
To Die For 1989.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Deran Sarafian
Written byLeslie King
Produced by Lee Caplin
Barin Kumar
StarringBrendan Hughes
Duane Jones
Philip Granger
Julie Maddalena
Amanda Wyss
Cinematography Jacques Haitkin
Edited byDennis Dolan
Music by Cliff Eidelman
Distributed by Skouras Pictures
Release date
  • May 16, 1989 (May 16, 1989)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million [1]

To Die For (also known as Dracula: The Love Story) is a 1989 American independent romantic horror film directed by Deran Sarafian and starring Brendan Hughes as vampire Vlad Tepes, Duane Jones (in his final film role), Philip Granger, Julie Maddalena and Amanda Wyss. [2]

Contents

Plot

Vlad Tepes, the Prince of Darkness, resurfaces in Los Angeles with a new look, new life and new love. But with the new life comes an old nemesis who has waited an eternity to settle the score.

Cast

Production

Producer Greg H. Sims wanted to produce a Dracula film that emphasized the romantic aspects of the character as he personally felt prior incarnations had not adequately tapped into that side of the character. [3] Sims had considered titling the film Dracula: The Love Story, but ultimately decided to go with To Die For as downplaying the Dracula connections would help increase the film's commercial chances. [3] Sims cast Brendan Hughes as Vlad Tepes having previously worked with him on Return to Horror High as Sims thought Hughes had all the qualities he wanted to see in his interpretation of Dracula. [3] The film's special effects were supervised by John Carl Buechler. [3]

Release

The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by Skouras Pictures in 1989.

The film was released on VHS by Academy Entertainment in the late 1980s. The film was released on DVD in the United States under the title Bram Stoker's To Die For by Triumph Marketing in 2005. [4] This version is currently out of print.

Sequel

The film was followed by the sequel Son of Darkness: To Die For II in 1991.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bram Stoker</span> Irish novelist and short story writer (1847–1912)

Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish author who is best known for writing the 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and business manager of the West End's Lyceum Theatre, which Irving owned.

<i>Dracula</i> 1897 novel by Bram Stoker

Dracula is a gothic horror novel by Bram Stoker, published on 26 May 1897. An epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking a business trip to stay at the castle of a Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula. Harker escapes the castle after discovering that Dracula is a vampire, and the Count moves to England and plagues the seaside town of Whitby. A small group, led by Abraham Van Helsing, investigate, hunt and kill Dracula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vampire literature</span> Speculative literary genre

Vampire literature covers the spectrum of literary work concerned principally with the subject of vampires. The literary vampire first appeared in 18th-century poetry, before becoming one of the stock figures of gothic fiction with the publication of Polidori's The Vampyre (1819), which was inspired by the life and legend of Lord Byron. Later influential works include the penny dreadful Varney the Vampire (1847); Sheridan Le Fanu's tale of a lesbian vampire, Carmilla (1872), and the most well known: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). Some authors created a more "sympathetic vampire", with Varney being the first, and more recent examples such as Moto Hagio's series The Poe Clan (1972–1976) and Anne Rice's novel Interview with the Vampire (1976) proving influential.

<i>Bram Stokers Dracula</i> (1992 film) Film directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Bram Stoker's Dracula is a 1992 American vampire horror film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by James V. Hart, based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. The film stars Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Billy Campbell, Sadie Frost, and Tom Waits. Set in 19th-century England and Romania, it follows the titular vampire (Oldman), who falls in love with Mina Murray (Ryder), the fiancée of his solicitor Jonathan Harker (Reeves). When Dracula begins terrorizing Mina's friends, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Hopkins), an expert in vampirism, is summoned to bring an end to his reign of terror. Its closing credits theme "Love Song for a Vampire", is written and performed by Annie Lennox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vlad the Impaler</span> 15th-century ruler of Wallachia

Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history and a national hero of Romania.

<i>Dracula</i> (1979 film) 1979 British horror film directed by John Badham

Dracula is a 1979 gothic horror film directed by John Badham. The film starred Frank Langella in the title role as well as Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence and Kate Nelligan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mina Harker</span> Fictional character

Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vampire film</span> Film genre

Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of silent films, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptation of vampire fiction has been from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, with over 170 versions to date. Running a distant second are adaptations of the 1872 novel Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. By 2005, the Dracula character had been the subject of more films than any other fictional character except Sherlock Holmes.

<i>The Historian</i> 2005 novel by Elizabeth Kostova

The Historian is the 2005 debut novel of American author Elizabeth Kostova. The plot blends the history and folklore of Vlad Țepeș and his fictional equivalent Count Dracula. Kostova's father told her stories about Dracula when she was a child, and later in life she was inspired to turn the experience into a novel. She worked on the book for ten years and then sold it within a few months to Little, Brown and Company, which bought it for US$2 million.

Dracula is an 1897 novel by Bram Stoker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Dracula</span> Title character of Bram Stokers 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula

Count Dracula is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been inspired by the 15th-century Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler, who was also known as Vlad Dracula, and by Sir Henry Irving, an actor for whom Stoker was a personal assistant.

<i>Bram Stokers Dracula</i> (1974 film) 1973 television movie directed by Dan Curtis

Dracula, also known as Bram Stoker's Dracula and Dan Curtis' Dracula, is a 1974 British made-for-television gothic horror film and adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. It was written by Richard Matheson and directed by Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis, with Jack Palance in the title role. It was the second collaboration for Curtis and Palance after the 1968 TV film The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

<i>Dracula</i> (miniseries) 2002 Italian television miniseries

Dracula, also known as Dracula's Curse, is a 2002 Italian horror miniseries written and directed by Roger Young and starring Patrick Bergin, Giancarlo Giannini and Stefania Rocca. It is based on the 1897 novel of the same name by Bram Stoker, though it updates the events of the novel to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Dracula in popular culture</span>

The character of Count Dracula from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, has remained popular over the years, and many forms of media have adopted the character in various forms. In their book Dracula in Visual Media, authors John Edgar Browning and Caroline Joan S. Picart declared that no other horror character or vampire has been emulated more times than Count Dracula. Most variations of Dracula across film, comics, television and documentaries predominantly explore the character of Dracula as he was first portrayed in film, with only a few adapting Stoker's original narrative more closely. These including borrowing the look of Count Dracula in both the Universal's series of Dracula and Hammer's series of Dracula, including the character's clothing, mannerisms, physical features, hair style and his motivations such as wanting to be in a home away from Europe.

<i>Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula</i> TV series or program

Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula, alternately titled Dracula: The Dark Prince and Dark Prince: Legend of Dracula, is a horror-war television film, which premiered in the United States on the USA Network on Halloween, October 31, 2000. It is about Vlad III Dracula, "the Impaler", the historical figure who gave Bram Stoker's Dracula his name.

<i>Anno Dracula</i> 1992 novel by Kim Newman

Anno Dracula is a 1992 novel by British writer Kim Newman, the first in the Anno Dracula series. It is an alternate history using 19th-century English historical settings and personalities, along with characters from popular fiction.

<i>Bram Stokers Draculas Curse</i> 2006 American film

Bram Stoker's Dracula's Curse is a 2006 horror film by The Asylum, written and directed by Leigh Scott. Despite featuring Bram Stoker's name in the title, the film is not directly based on any of his writings or a mockbuster to the 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula, but shares similarities to films such as Blade: Trinity, Dracula 2000, Underworld: Evolution and Van Helsing. The film also shares some similarities with the 1971 Hammer horror film Countess Dracula, which also features a Dracula-esque femme fatale in the lead role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Dracula</span> Fictional castle in Bram Stokers Dracula

Castle Dracula is the fictitious Transylvanian residence of Count Dracula, the vampire antagonist in Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel Dracula. It is the setting of the first few and final scenes of the novel.

<i>Son of Darkness: To Die For II</i> 0000 American film

Son of Darkness: To Die For II is a 1991 American romantic horror-drama film directed by David Price. The film is a sequel to To Die For.

<i>Dracula</i> (2013 TV series) British-American television drama

Dracula is a horror drama television series. The series, a reimagining of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, was produced by London-based Carnival Films; it aired in the United States on NBC and in the United Kingdom on Sky Living from 25 October 2013, to 24 January 2014. It was created by Cole Haddon and Daniel Knauf, while Daniel Knauf served as showrunner and head writer.

References

  1. "To Die For (1989)". AFI . Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  2. "To Die For - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes". nytimes.com. 2008-02-25. Archived from the original on 2008-02-25. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Teitelbaum, Sheldon (May 1989). "To Die For". Cinefantastique . Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  4. "Bram Stoker's To Die For". dvdempire.com. Retrieved 2011-04-08.